Further to yesterday's post...
With the passage of time, I have learned a little more.
The dreadful comments on Eccles' blog were apparently deleted by Eccles the very day that they were posted. Their circulation now is thanks to those who decided to screenshot and circulate them, doubtless with the best of intentions.
Bernard Manning, whom Eccles was compared to, was an unfamiliar name to me. As my regular reader knows, I was bought up without a TV, and subject my kids to the same cruel and degrading regime. However, Wikipedia has cast some light on this, and I am struggling to see, from that description, why Eccles is said to be like him.
Both Mulier Fortis and Eccles himself have blogged on this, and both are worth reading.
I have also realised a few other shortcomings in the way I use twitter:
I don't follow and unfollow people on a regular basis to show approbation or disapproval.
I don't block people, other than spam accounts, still less announce it as a badge of honour.
I don't assume people whom I dislike must be sock puppets.
I don't think the most effective way to influence someone is to assume bad faith and insult them.
I don't imagine we can guess who is behind some of the nastier blogs/sock puppet accounts with any confidence: particularly after one sock puppet whom we were told was certainly a particular individual turned out to be a sad old woman in Wales whom nobody had previously heard of.
I tweet what I see fit to tweet, and refuse to have that dictated to me by anyone else.
I continue to see the whole thing as pretty trivial, except for the fact that some people can genuinely get hurt...Perhaps with time I'll learn to take it more seriously, but I am a slow learner.
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10 comments:
Well said, that man!
Funny how they're always from Wales, innit? *ducks*
I am shocked, shocked I tell you, by the racist comment above, and by my failure to censor it!
Why, before I know it, I will be publishing links to such hate-provoking material as this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vh-wEXvdW8
Eccles is at it again - mocking members of the differently-eared community. As for Mulier Fortis - don't mess with her or she'll send a cat to sit on your laptop. You have been warned.
Dilly
Are you now, or have you ever been a sock puppet?...
;-)
Two points. First, I have made it very clear to all concerned that I was responsible for @MissyPigator. This was a short-lived and quite inoffensive sockpuppet which was purely dreamed up as a response to a certain self-important individual who was sending unwelcome emails to myself and several other people. The fact that I have admitted responsibility has not mader any difference to the people who carry on blaming Eccles.
Secondly, I found the offensive comment that Eccles removed from his blog totally unacceptable. (I suppose that is why Eccles removed it.) But that was two months ago! Haven't people got anything better to do than screencap and re-Tweet loony nonsense?
FrereRabit
I thought twice about posting your comment, as I do not agree with you about 'quite inoffensive.'
I think that spoof account was clearly designed to hurt and upset one individual in particular, and for that reason deprecate it.
However, I have published it, as I think readers will find your comments instructive in one way or another.
Thank you. You are entitled to your opinion. It is important to realise that pre-moderation was brought in by Eccles immediately as a response to that situation. The person who wrote the offensive comment can be identified from Catholic Herald comment threads. I will say no more. It is obviously someone with a particular agenda and anyone can see the difference in substance and tone.
I have slept on, prayed about and consulted my SD on this blog post. I tried to be charitable and consider that the sniggering tone was accidental but in fact, I'd be kidding myself.
It's so thrilling for all the above that you that you can all use your pseudonyms to be smug and condescending, some of us however, take the faith a lot more seriously and stand up for the truth which is much more important than any ride on lawn mower you may want to purchase.
When you've put up with some of the abuse that, well lets face it, any of the above could be responsible for, ie the frere and the piggator accounts, is metted out by the sort of person who hide behind anonymity, when you've endured that, pop back and have a word with me.
Also, do it in the flesh, you are all able to get hold of my number, and do it using your real name, like I do, sorry, I am not going to accept your tawdry standards.
You can intellectualise your cowardly behaviour all you like, but it's still cowardly behaviour, the sort that spawns this type of thing:- http://brotherlapin.wordpress.com/deacon-tony-flavin/
When you indentify with the one true faith from behind your sniggering, cowardly mask, you cheapen the brave such as Fisher, More, Polycarp, Clitherow, Ward, etc.
Unless you have the backbone to to deal with me directly, don't waste my time, you are not worthy of it.
And after all that, I doubt this post will be approved
Deacon Flavin,
I think the time has come to stop your whining about the way you perceive yourself as a victim and ask yourself the question why people who do not even know you have heard so much shocking stuff about your activities (particularly in regard to bullying women on the internet).
I have no idea what you are all about, to be honest. I have very rarely used Twitter but was encouraged to go on Twitter just to observe what was going on, after Southwark friends told me some of the horrendous stuff they had been reading.
You need help mate, and it is no use shooting the messenger. This messenger lives in Spain, and is nothing to do with the tawdry little world of South London Catholic Twitter cabals. I was only too happy to come in briefly and lend support to people who are suffering.
The fact they are suffering at the hands of an ordained minister of the Church is a scandal. You need to get a grip.
I post as Frere Rabit and Brother Lapin, but everyone knows that I am not a sockpuppet, and if you have not worked out my name yet (available through simple links to everything I have written), then know that I am,
Yours sincerely,
Gareth Thomas
Thank you Gareth. I hope those who accused Caroline of being you will now have the grace & humility to apologise.
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