You wake up early in the morning, suck down some coffee and make an effort to make some kind of decisions that will affect the outcome of your day. Going to work is out of the question. Snow storm from hell is being predicted and experience says that spending three or more hours trying to get home from work isn’t worth it.
You check your email. There’s a Facebook message for you from someone you never heard of.
Someone that Likes your Facebook page said something that this guy doesn’t like. Now it’s your problem. You’re being threatened with economic harm by him and apparently his hoard of followers if you don’t do something about this. This thing you have no clue about.
I also read it as saying… you do what I say, you tow my line, or I will reign economic harm down upon you.
I’m sorry, but I don’t take well to threats.
I learned that from my dad. Always stand up to the bullies and the assholes and never let them win. Easy for him to say and do. He was a high school boxing champ, Army vet, a life long roofer and almost six feet tall. To this day, even though he can barely walk, there’s something in his face that says “don’t fuck with me.”
The only thing I have in common with him is that look and his attitude. I’m amazed at times that I’m not dead already.
For all the banter about building your brand on blogs and social media like Facebook, my experience over the past 20 years or more of being on forums and early types of social media have proven to me that they are primarily occupied by trolls. As entertaining as screwing with trolls may be, it loses something after the millionth time. My blog is my own entertainment, Facebook is just another outlet for nonsense. If you think of it as anything more than that, you need to shut your computer off more often and go out for a walk. It will be time much better spent.
But really, threatening me? Poor stupid you. Did you actually think that would get you anywhere?
I’ve taken out the names and the links involved, they’re not important. Pretty much like this whole conversation that came out of nowhere. Since I started typing this, I got a response. Further proof to me that human beings are basically clueless.
I did like how I dealt with this though. I think if more dealt with the trolls this way, the trolls might start to think twice about leaving dumbass comments since they get nowhere fast.
But then, they are trolls. They simply don’t know any better.
From the troll:
Just curious, is this guy an employee of yours? Name Deleted? If you will read his comments regarding the photograph of the injured veteran, I think you will understand why myself and other veterans are looking to ensure that no business goes in any direction tied into this person. He’s got your farm listed on his likes. If this is the kind of behavior you want to be associated with, we’d like to make sure you don’t gain any business from people who served, are related to those who serve or have any interest in those who serve our country. Thank you.
Here’s the photograph and his comments. You can click the photo itself and see him calling the injured soldier an idiot and worse.
________Troll,
For starters, I don’t have a business. I write about the outdoors in the Fox Valley outside Chicago and that’s about it. I’ve been doing that for around 15 years now, have made virtually nothing off of it and do it because I enjoy it.
I’ll agree that what Name Deleted said is pretty stupid. Would never dawn on me to say something like that. I’ve also never met Name Deleted along with most of the other 140 or so others that Like my Waterdog Journal page.
I do know that those that Like my page run the gamut of the political spectrum from flaming liberals to staunch conservatives. They’re political stances mean nothing to me. Do they like to fish? Hunt? Wander around in the outdoors and do whatever they can to protect our natural resources? If so, then I’m glad they read what I write.
I have no interest in wandering around the internet monitoring anything they may have to say about whatever they believe no matter how stupid it may sound. If you wouldn’t have sent this to me, I would have never known about it, which is fine by me. He has the right to go say whatever stupid stuff he wants.
It would also never occur to me to censure someone for whatever their stupid beliefs are. It also would never occur to me to threaten and basically try to blackmail someone into towing the line on these beliefs. If I were a business and I were making money off what I do, I’d be pretty pissed off that someone was threatening me with the possibility of economic harm all based on comments made by someone I’ve never met.
Do I think what he said is stupid? Yes.
Do I agree with his stupidity? No.
Am I pretty pissed off about someone contacting me telling me I should censure someone that Likes by Facebook Page and that if I don’t they’ll somehow cause me economic harm?
You can damn well bet I’m pissed off as hell about it.
Thanks.
Ken G
_______Response from the troll:
I’m pretty sure you are just about as pissed off as I am about what he says. While you have the luxury of making money off of people regardless of their beliefs agreeing with you or not, our commitment tends to be quite a bit more true to one another.
________You missed the part where I make no money off what I do. I’m kind of done with this conversation. Go take it up with Name Deleted.
Ken G
______One last one from the Troll:
Dont take it personal. Good luck with what you do. We ask before we act. Which is the courtesy you were given. I could see if you got your name blasted as being this turds buddy before anyone came to you but you got asked a question…relax
And with that, blocked, deleted, marked on Facebook as spam, goodbye.
Dan The Impractical fishermen
5 Mar 2013I had to deal witht he same issue. Remember back when people dealt with eachother in a civilized manner? Neither do I… But at least the gripes were more private.
Ken, not that you care, but I like you for you. Stay classy.
Dan
Ken G
5 Mar 2013Same guy Dan?
Nick mentions it below too.
My neighbor can attest to how a face-to-face pissed off session isn’t all that classy with me. Luckily my keyboard has a delete key, which I use often. Used it a lot when I was crafting my response.
Jim McClellan
5 Mar 2013Good responses, Ken. Forceful, but measured. Since when did any of us become responsible for monitoring our followers or FB friends?
Ken G
5 Mar 2013Thanks Jim, I try to do things that way. Hopefully it makes where I stand very clear. Apparently it wasn’t working on this guy, he just wasn’t getting it.
My kids are adults, I don’t baby sit them any more. To do it on Facebook seems the ultimate in absurd.
bob
5 Mar 2013? I wish I was smarter. I never know what the heck is going on?
Ken G
5 Mar 2013Makes two of us Bob. Enjoyed the conversation with you today. We need to do that more often.
Dale Bowman
5 Mar 2013You gave the bastard more time than he deserved.
Ken G
5 Mar 2013I agree Dale, but he caught me before the coffee kicked in and reason won out.
Based on other comments here, he’s doing the same to others. I’m surprised you’re not on the list too.
Nick@BrookfieldAngler.com
5 Mar 2013You got this, too?
I went off on the guy for sending this message to two of my pages. Just because that guy “likes” my Facebook page doesn’t mean he is a part of my company or group.
This one really pissed me off
Nick@BrookfieldAngler.com
5 Mar 2013Once again…he simply “likes” my page. I can’t and won’t stop people from liking my Facebook page just because they have a political view that is different than mine, yours, or Joe Blow down the street.
Secondly, I don’t make money from this site. It’s a blog about fishing. It’s a blog about enjoying the outdoors.
Third, I don’t appreciate the threat that was attached to your original email. Don’t send me a message with a threat to cause financial harm to me because some guy who “likes” my page said something that you don’t agree with – that’s just downright American and in direct violation of the United States Constitution – 1st amendment to be specific.
Finally, who is this “we” that you speak of? I would like to know who would be responsible for any negative exposure to my website so I know who is directly responsible for defamation of character. And don’t tell me it’s this Steve guy because he isn’t the one threatening financial harm. It’s you and the “we” that you speak of threatening me because of somebody else’s comments that you don’t agree with.
Ken G
5 Mar 2013Since you brought it up, I heard from Steve that there is no “we”. I won’t comment on anything else about this guy cause it’s none of my business and I don’t care what his motivations are.
But since you got the same message, go to the guys facebook page, not Steve’s, scroll down and look for the the picture of him smiling and holding up a sign, posing with someone else. If he thinks that’s funny, he’s a scumbag. I’m not naive, I know what guys go through in times of war and what they think and do, but sticking it out there for all to see pissed me off even more.
Ken G
5 Mar 2013I was wondering who else might have heard from this guy Nick. Oddly glad it isn’t just me.
On Facebook you can “report” a conversation in the message section as threatening. Which I’ve done. I highly recommend you do that. Don’t know if it amounts to anything, but like I said, you can’t let the assholes win.
Howard Levett
5 Mar 2013Ken, no matter what you ever say or write or do, it will never be any better than this. I had an issue come up on FB because someone apparently not too bright, couldn’t figure out the difference between Windknots & Tangled Lines (hopefully a humorous fishing blog) and my private page. He jacked me around for awhile about my political views (which are also humorous to say the least…I don’t like anyone.) Luckily it hasn’t gotten any further than losing a reader or two.
Please, I’ve bot bigger fish to fry you morons usually works as my parting shot.
Ken G
5 Mar 2013You mean I’ve been taking your blog seriously all this time and it’s supposed to be funny? 🙂
There’s nothing worse than having a dry sense of humor Howard. Zzzziiipppp, there it goes over somebody’s head. I wonder if our age is showing. There’s a certain point where so many things just don’t matter….
“You want to go fishing?”
“Sure.”
“Who’d you vote for?”
“Romney.”
“You’re an idiot and now you’re buying the beer later.”
See, I can get along with anyone, as long as I can figure out a way to make them buy the beer.