I was somewhat aware that, even after being voted off the island, Markadelphia just couldn’t stay away. I’ve been told that he writes posts at his blog about stuff I post here, and – to be honest – I visit his site every month or three just to see what he and his peeps are writing about. And to be even more honest, I find it amusing as hell that his comments seem to be pretty much exclusively occupied by a couple of MY readers.
Well, I know for a fact now that Markadelphia is, indeed stalking me. He showed up at Quora.com to give moral support to my latest adversary. To wit:
Andy, I’m going to give you some advice from someone who has spent some time debating Kevin Baker on his site (and was voted off). Kevin is part of a group of people in this country who have very serious issues with control and authority. They are tremendously insecure and paranoid people who likely had very poor relationships with one or both of their parents and were probably bullied in school, hence the need to be constantly adolescent and contrary.
And, of course, their need for guns:)
They take their personal feelings of anger, hate and fear (again, from childhood and probably an enlarged amygdala) and place them all on the federal government. This is the base of the conservative movement today. They live inside of a bubble that acts as a giant echo chamber that acts as an enabling device. As you have noted, their entire ideology is based on logical fallacies (ad hom, misleading vividness, appeal to fear, appeal to probability, straw man) and they employ a serious of tactics to make you look and feel as weak as their position actually is. Here is a handy list of those tactics.
Dr. Cynthia Boaz: 14 propaganda techniques Fox “News” uses to brainwash Americans
Look familiar?:)
To give you an idea of just how insecure Kevin is, go to his site and take note of how he has cut and pasted his discussion with you on there to get high fives from his band of mindless sycophants. Would a man confident in his assertion do such a thing? Nope.
You are correct in pointing out that they don’t really think and far too rude and emotional to be taken too seriously. They ignore facts and basically lie. An example of this would be the “violence is down” meme. The reason why it seems this way is due to how these statistics are reported. Deaths are indeed down but it’s because medical technology has improved so more lives are being saved. That doesn’t mean that any less people are being shot. For more on this, read here…
In Medical Triumph, Homicides Fall Despite Soaring Gun Violence
The main thing to remember is how deathly afraid they are of the truth and the changes that our country is going through. They don’t really care about the 2nd amendment. Their chief concern is their own hubris and ego, which might seem massive on the outside but is really that of a frightened child on the inside.
Take comfort in the fact that they would never survive a debate outside of their bubble in any sort of peer reviewed forum of critical thinkers. They can’t argue on the facts alone. They must resort to their usual tactics, fallacies and personal attacks because they feel just that inferior about themselves.
My response (You know I had to leave a response…):
Mark! I knew you were still stalking the blog, but really! I’m touched that you still care so much!
I also note that you’re still up to your old style. Let us fisk:
“To give you an idea of just how insecure Kevin is, go to his site and take note of how he has cut and pasted his discussion with you on there to get high fives from his band of mindless sycophants.”
Wow. I’m insecure. You don’t see me stalking your blog. Wow. EDIT: I originally replied: And yes, I cut-and-paste from my blog because I’ve spent ELEVEN YEARS acquiring the knowledge and writing the words there. Seems a waste not to take advantage of all that work. Sorry, I read that wrong. My bad. Yes, I cut and paste discussions from Quora to the blog because I’m spending time here and not there. When you’re a blogger, you need content. This is content. It also is not against Quora’s rules. END EDIT.
“They ignore facts and basically lie.“
Really?
For example: “An example of this would be the ‘violence is down’ meme.”
Gee, let me cut-n-paste from my blog. How about this one from 2010: Clueless. It has graphs from the Bureau of Justice Statistics showing that not only has the homicide rate declined but the rate of NON-fatal firearm related crime and non-fatal firearm VICTIMIZATION is down. That means fewer people are getting shot and shot at. Rape rates are also declining, as are robbery rates. Improved medical technology isn’t magic, Mark. It has no effect on these statistics. The decline in violent crime isn’t a “meme,” it’s a FACT.
As always, your assertion fails the smell test. Nice to know that hasn’t changed.
“The main thing to remember is how deathly afraid they are of the truth and the changes that our country is going through.”
Projection much?
“Take comfort in the fact that they would never survive a debate outside of their bubble in any sort of peer reviewed forum of critical thinkers.”
He says on a forum where anyone can post.
“They can’t argue on the facts alone.”
Coming from you that is so freaking rich. You wouldn’t know a fact if it bit you on the ass, developed lockjaw and was dragged to death. (See “Violence is down meme” above.)
I’ve missed you, Mark. I mean that, honestly. The crap you spewed in my comments over the years inspired so many incredible comment threads, and so many really excellent posts. I mean, seriously, there’s an entire section of my “best of” selections dedicated to YOU. The place just hasn’t been the same.
And remember – when you were voted off the island by my “band of mindless sycophants” it was a VERY close vote. If they were mindless sycophants, shouldn’t it have been a landslide? And shouldn’t that comment thread (that ran 176 comments long) have been one long tirade against you? Well, OK, it was, but still.
I’m honored that you find me so irritating that you just can’t leave me alone!