Oh, man, the fun comments I get.
I’m used to weird comments, ignorant comments, comments meant to distract, confuse, muddy an issue.
I seem to get these a lot more when I post on politics and/or religion, of course. That’s the nature of the beast. And when you go to social network sites you’re sure to see an even higher ratio of that (because, of course, the people who comment here on the BA Blog tend to be smarter, more rational, and better looking than your random person).
Many commenters on Digg.com are thoughtful, but some… well, some make me laugh. On my recent blog post about another Bush flunky who got a job at NASA, a Digg commenter wrote this (warning: that link has some NSFW language):
Interesting article, I will reflect on this with my coworkers at the water cooler. Did you know the author, Phil Plait, is a known communist who flip flops on the important issues?
Nuts, he somehow got a photocopy of my Communist Party card! Curses!
For the record, I think communism on large scales is a bad thing, because it precludes playing poker for real stakes. But that’s another issue. Anyway, I generally don’t reply when someone says something so, well, bizarro — it seems unfair, like dropping an anvil on a pecan to crack it open — but I decided to make an exception this time. I wrote back:
I’m a known communist? That’s news to me. Flip flop? I change my mind when better evidence comes in, if that’s what you mean, as opposed to some ideologues who are so fossilized and ossified they cannot move out of the way of a truck barreling down on them.
I hope he replies. Hilarity will most definitely ensue.
