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FUD
FUD is an acronym meaning:
"Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt"
And I am not a fan of it. I have never seen a good or justifiable reason to spread FUD and have come to the conclusion that people who do it do so in order to create an environment of panic where their insecurities and anger can fester like the cancer they are.
While FUD is often fully fabricated, the worst kind of FUD is that which contains something that seems truthful but is twisted in such a way as to be presented in the absolute worst way possible so that whatever bizarre and hurtful position these people desire to be accepted as fact seems plausible. As far as I am concerned, folks who spread FUD are parasites on society and ridicule is the best thing we can offer in return.
Since their entire focus is to spread discord and hate and convince people to act in a destructive manner in order to further whatever perverse version of reality they are convinced will make them happy for this second, there is nothing redeeming in their behaviour and as there is nothing redeeming there is no need to treat their behaviour as worthy of respect. We need not ask them why they are acting in such a manner, we need not concern ourselves with their feelings, we need not wonder at their motivation. We need only oppose and expose their destructive behavior.
Just as you would first stop a rapist before investigating the motivation behind their actions, so you must stop those who spread FUD before any other conversation can happen. Stopping a rapist is not a matter of saying "please don't assault people, can you please tell me why you feel the need to act out your aggression and anger against other people?" The victim is the first concern and any damage done to the rapist while stopping their attack falls into the "tough shit" category.
Right now I have made some people angry. These same people who are angry will lash out at me and call me names they hope I will find offensive and clamour that I be punished for daring to state my opinion and stance.
Why? What harm have I done? What transgression have I committed?
Have I publicly betrayed a confidence?
Have I fabricated accusations and leveled them against members of this site?
Have I personally attacked someone?
Have I demanded someone be excluded from a group?
Have I called for censorship?
No.
What I have done is make a moral judgement on behaviour I find destructive and stupid. The people who respond in anger to this blog, who call me names, who whine and cry about me daring to say anything are the same people who participate in the spreading of FUD and because I do not like their actions and have called for these types of actions to be opposed they are convinced I am attacking them personally and will dutifully drape themselves in the cloak of victim-hood just like a rapist who suffers injuries while being prevented from committing a rape.
As this is not a sane or reasonable conclusion and I will not bother to respond to in any constructive manner to claims that I am attacking someone by name. When I attack someone I do my very best to leave no doubt and the person whom I am attacking is the first to know.
So, if some of the points I brought up or questions I asked appear like a personal slight against you, it is your guilty conscious making itself heard. Listen to it, stop being a prick, be more tolerant and less judgemental of people who hold opinions and stances that do not exactly match yours, and stop spreading FUD.
Or go pound sand.
Either one is fine with me.
"Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt"
And I am not a fan of it. I have never seen a good or justifiable reason to spread FUD and have come to the conclusion that people who do it do so in order to create an environment of panic where their insecurities and anger can fester like the cancer they are.
While FUD is often fully fabricated, the worst kind of FUD is that which contains something that seems truthful but is twisted in such a way as to be presented in the absolute worst way possible so that whatever bizarre and hurtful position these people desire to be accepted as fact seems plausible. As far as I am concerned, folks who spread FUD are parasites on society and ridicule is the best thing we can offer in return.
Since their entire focus is to spread discord and hate and convince people to act in a destructive manner in order to further whatever perverse version of reality they are convinced will make them happy for this second, there is nothing redeeming in their behaviour and as there is nothing redeeming there is no need to treat their behaviour as worthy of respect. We need not ask them why they are acting in such a manner, we need not concern ourselves with their feelings, we need not wonder at their motivation. We need only oppose and expose their destructive behavior.
Just as you would first stop a rapist before investigating the motivation behind their actions, so you must stop those who spread FUD before any other conversation can happen. Stopping a rapist is not a matter of saying "please don't assault people, can you please tell me why you feel the need to act out your aggression and anger against other people?" The victim is the first concern and any damage done to the rapist while stopping their attack falls into the "tough shit" category.
Right now I have made some people angry. These same people who are angry will lash out at me and call me names they hope I will find offensive and clamour that I be punished for daring to state my opinion and stance.
Why? What harm have I done? What transgression have I committed?
Have I publicly betrayed a confidence?
Have I fabricated accusations and leveled them against members of this site?
Have I personally attacked someone?
Have I demanded someone be excluded from a group?
Have I called for censorship?
No.
What I have done is make a moral judgement on behaviour I find destructive and stupid. The people who respond in anger to this blog, who call me names, who whine and cry about me daring to say anything are the same people who participate in the spreading of FUD and because I do not like their actions and have called for these types of actions to be opposed they are convinced I am attacking them personally and will dutifully drape themselves in the cloak of victim-hood just like a rapist who suffers injuries while being prevented from committing a rape.
As this is not a sane or reasonable conclusion and I will not bother to respond to in any constructive manner to claims that I am attacking someone by name. When I attack someone I do my very best to leave no doubt and the person whom I am attacking is the first to know.
So, if some of the points I brought up or questions I asked appear like a personal slight against you, it is your guilty conscious making itself heard. Listen to it, stop being a prick, be more tolerant and less judgemental of people who hold opinions and stances that do not exactly match yours, and stop spreading FUD.
Or go pound sand.
Either one is fine with me.