Urrgh. A former list troglodyte seems to have resurfaced, on the list I moderate.
This one appears to thrive on being proven wrong -- he just comes back and argues
harder. Last time the only thing that shut him up was when people started to
ignore his idiocies.
The problem is, I don't like doing that.
My natural inclinations are to go on arguing until everyone else realizes I'm
right. Only what really happens is that they give in only through sheer
exhaustion, which is not nearly as satisfying a way to win an argument as through
the sheer power of being Right.
Anyway, this guy has come up with
some outrageous and offensive arguments, and I have the feeling he may not even
believe them, but says these things just to get people riled up. Ugh, ugh, ugh.
That's the last thing that list needs, after some of the recent bad feelings
there.
I haven't said anything to him yet, only because quite a few
other people have told him he's a moron more convincingly that I could. I did
administer a very gentle rebuke to one person who flat-out called him stupid, but
my sympathies are all on her side. If he keeps on like this, I will eventually
have to tell him to improve his manners or shut up, a chore to which I don't look
forward. Maybe it's time to retire.
At least camping this weekend was
relaxing. Was.