Going to war...

[agilebrit]

Figuratively speaking. Why, yes, I'm looking at ginmar again. Now, understand that I haven't looked at her or even thought about her much since my last entry about her. And then last night I start getting emails in my inbox from that entry. Note the date of the entry: Clear back in May. Apparently ginmar found this entry last night somehow (I'd love to know exactly how that happened, because, dude. Just...dude.) and decided to make an issue of it.

Now, it's one thing to attack me. I'm a big girl, I can take it. Not like I haven't been attacked for my beliefs before. And it's not like I haven't had people get pissy and personal and downright mean with me because I dared to disagree with their politics.

However.

When you attack my friends? Especially when you attack a very dear friend over what she chooses to do (or not do, in this case) with her body? The gloves come off.

There are many ironies in this situation. Gin has 603 people that she has friended, and 600 more who have friended her. My defriending her shouldn't have even been a blip on her radar screen. And it apparently wasn't--at the time, back in May. Why she decided to make an issue of it this late in the game is a mystery that will probably never be solved. And how she made an issue of it is fascinating and causes me to call "troll."

Not because she disagrees with me. I don't care if someone disagrees with my politics; lots of people do, especially on LJ. I can discuss issues in a calm manner, without getting into personalities, until the cows come home. But she apparently didn't have any answer for the substance of my argument, since she never addressed it. No, she resorted to vulgar, profane ad hominem attacks, and straw men. She said she was mad because I did it "behind her back."

Well, there's a reason for that. Her LJ, her space. My LJ, my space. Had I had the temerity to disagree with her in her space, she would have subjected me to exactly the same sort of attacks, labeled me a troll, and banned me. The difference is, all her one thousand, two hundred and three friends would have jumped down my throat as well. Did I want the drama? Did I want the email flooding into my inbox? No. Therefore, I posted in my own LJ, figuring (rightly, at the time) that she wouldn't notice, and with the added bonus of getting something off my chest that had been annoying me for quite some time. Which I'm allowed to do, last time I checked, in my space. Maybe I shouldn't have named her particular name; Lord knows enough talking heads on television were saying the same thing at the time. Maybe I should have flocked the post. However, both those actions, in my mind, would have been more chicken-hearted than I was (apparently) already being by not posting the argument in her LJ, and I wanted her to have the opportunity to respond, if she chose.

So, what happens? She finds the entry nearly six months after the fact...and doesn't respond to a single point in the actual post. Instead, she goes off on my friends, who OMG! agree with me that I can defriend whom I want to defriend for whatever reason I choose. She accuses one of my friends of only seeing things in black and white (which is absolutely hilarious coming from her). She whines about how hard her life is. She talks about seeing mass graves. Yeah...did we create any of those mass graves? No? Way to make my point for me, Gin. Which was, in case anyone missed it, that the statement "We're committing worse acts than those we are opposing" is complete and utter Bravo Sierra.

So. You want a war? Bring it, lady, because I'm beyond furious right now. But leave my flist and their lifestyle choices out of it.

ETA: Due to some rather profane spammage, anonymous comments are now screened. You want to be an asshat, be one in public where everyone can see you. That being said, I'm leaving the offending comment up, because that way everyone can snicker at what an immature person whoever left it is. Plus, it helps me make my point (see "vulgar, profane ad hominem attacks, and straw men" above).

Comments

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

Good grief! This woman is extremely ill-mannered and unpleasant - and being in the armed forces is absolutely no excuse for the vitriolic profanities she is spilling all over your journal or the way she insulted both you and one of your friends. Being in the forces should surely have taught her some respect. My own views on the war in Iraq could well be seen as left-wing - it was a pointless invasion based on spurious non-information just about sums my views up - and I know that at times you and I are likely to have differing angles on things - but it is no excuse to go on like that! And if seeing mass graves has had the effect on her that it appears to have I think she should seek counselling. I should go and say so on the actual page I guess - but I'm probably too much of a coward to put up with her verbal diarrhoea.

[agilebrit.livejournal.com]

And if she starts dropping f-bombs in my LJ again, I'll ban her butt. I'm actually rather embarrassed that I dropped on on that entry myownself last night, because I use that word maybe three times a year, but I was furious.

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

I was brave after all, and have just put my head above the parapet - as you will have noticed if the e-mailing is working better than it was!!

[agilebrit.livejournal.com]

Email's not working...or Yahell is being wonky and not telling me when I have mail--but I'm obsessively refreshing this post because I have nothing better to do, since the Muse has apparently gone into hiding. Having looked at the entry again, all I can say is, you go, girl! Good on you.

I haven't been involved in a kerfuffle in awhile. Heh.

[kathleendoris.livejournal.com]

That person is so crazy. What the hell is she angry about?

You said you admired her and wished her well.

All I can figure out is that she would have perfered you to have been brave/rude by attacking her on her lj becuase you're public post was cowardly. She's a nutcase.

I am tempted to make a post on my lj about how crazy I think she is to see if I can increase the number of comments on my lj. Right now the number is really low and it makes me look unpopular. If I can get this person to leave me 15 or so comments asking if I have seen mass graves and calling me a cowardly bitch it would increase my lj cred.

[midnightsjane.livejournal.com]

I made a comment over on the other post..but I'll say it again. She has absolutely no right to come into your LJ and insult and curse at you. She doesn't seem to understand that.
It's just kind of bizarre.

[agilebrit.livejournal.com]

I think she's just angry in general. She'd like me to attack her in her own LJ because her 1203 minions could then attack ME. If I "attacked" her in her own LJ, she could call me a troll and ban me for a "reason." Why should I subject myself to that? I'm still in shock that she somehow found an entry from May and is angry about it.

[agilebrit.livejournal.com]

Would have been one thing if she'd actually replied to the POINT I made. But she chose to attack my friends instead. That is something up with which I will not put, since all you guys were doing was supporting my right to friend and defriend whomever I wanted. Over-react much?

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

all I can say is, you go, girl! Good on you.

My pleasure!!

ps - I also have no problem with people swearing on their own journal - don't feel that I am sitting here with a mouth like I've just sucked a salted lemon!!

[calliopes_pen]

Wow, that is insane. I originally friended her because I, also, wanted to see how she was doing in Iraq. I, also, defriended when things got a little too political.

She had no reason to go completely over the edge like she did. (And I'm trying to be nice--I could say something else, but I won't.) You did great in the way you tried to talk reason to her, but you shouldn't have had to go through that.

*Hugs you*

[agilebrit.livejournal.com]

It was one thing if she had responded to me. But she didn't even answer the post; she answered the replies to the post. And the way she treated honorh was inexcusable. Gin owes her a huge apology.

*hugs back* Thanks.

[kantayra.livejournal.com]

*blinkety blink blink* Whoa! o.O

You know, I've had people insult me in their LJs before, and I've known about it. You know what I did? Nothing. Because they're entitled to think whatever they want of me, and they're allowed to say it in their own space, and it's really not worth my time to try to piss in their pool. But seriously... WTF? The gratuitous swearing just makes her look so very crazy. And, from what I can gather, I might have even agreed with her original viewpoint.

Also, since when is avoiding conflict 'cowardly'? I would have called it more 'mature'... This situation is so very strange to me. It does not seem to follow Earth Logic. o.O

[agilebrit.livejournal.com]

And it was that whole thing I was trying to avoid by posting it on MY LJ rather than hers. I'm a much smaller fish than she is, and I figured she wouldn't even notice. And she didn't...at the time. Why she chose to visit it at this point in the game is anyone's guess.

[ludditerobot.livejournal.com]

She's a big part of the reason I fear talking about politics on LJ. I unfriended her because she just got to caustic.

As you well know.

[kantayra.livejournal.com]

Why she chose to visit it at this point in the game is anyone's guess.

Maybe she ran LJ Seek on her username and found it? *shrug* Unless someone decided to tattle on you...six months later. o.O

[darkrosetiger.livejournal.com]

I'm probably 180 degrees from you on the political spectrum, but in case you're wondering--not all liberals are like her. You may want to think about banning her because as far as I've been able to tell, she's nuts, and you don't deserve the abuse from her.

[palmaceae.livejournal.com]

i have no words. it's like, crazy talk. just spews hate and anger at any available target and justifies it with her war experience, which as horrid and tragic as it was, doesn't mean she can attack you in your eljay. i stopped reading her months ago for the same reasons, she scared the heck out of me. *hugs*

[crayonbreakygal.livejournal.com]

Not even sure what to say other than, yep, you're right. And I hate it when people curse at me for no reason. I wasn't even commenting on Iraq or anything like that.

BTW, love your icon. And I haven't been reading your fic lately. I feel so guilty. I need to get my squee back.

**love and hugs**

[agilebrit.livejournal.com]

Thanks. Don't worry, I don't think all liberals are like her. :-) And I won't ban her unless she gets abusive again. I have the page bookmarked just in case.

[agilebrit.livejournal.com]

*hugs back* Thanks.

[agilebrit.livejournal.com]

*hugs back* Hey, you're busy with the new babe; I don't expect you to be reading my fic. It'll still be there when you have more time, right there on my FFN profile. You take care of yourself, hon.

And, dude, she had NO call to go off on you like that. You didn't do anything wrong.

[agilebrit.livejournal.com]

Yeah... You know what though? I'm not going to let other peoples' opinions stifle me on my own space. Anyone who reads my userinfo knows what they're getting into. But if she has a problem with ME, she should take it up with ME...not my friends who happen to comment on the post.

[honorh.livejournal.com]

Psst! We got wanked!

Also, some of us virgins are thinking of creating our own community, as we're now suddenly aware we're not allowed to comment or have opinions on anything with our "embalmed hymens."

Seriously, I've gotta remember that . . .

[melaniedavidson.livejournal.com]

Psst--icon love!

[midnightsjane.livejournal.com]

Impressive. I'd say that the majority vote goes to sanity.
Would I be eligible for the community? It's been so long that I'm thinking of getting a bumper sticker that says "Born again virgin..." hee.