Bloggernacle Bullies

Last updated on: April 10, 2008 at 10:15 am by TT

Bloggernacle Bullies 2008-04-10T10:15:53-05:00 TT

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

I don’t venture into other blogs as much as I used to, mostly because of time. Lately, however, either I have been procrastinating a bit more than usual, or there is a uptick in the kinds of posts that I am interested in, so I have been following a few more blogs. One of the things that I have noticed is that there seem to be new bullies that weren’t there before. Of course, there have always been bloggernacle bullies, but some come and go. What I am interested in is some sense of how these bullies are treated by the bloggernacle.

In my not-so-scientific first stab at this, I think that there are three kinds of bullies. The first are bullies of orthodoxy, ready to sniff out heresy, criticism of the brethren, and failure to have remembered that some GA at some point already definitely spoke on whatever this topic is. These bullies berate the posters or other commenters, attempting to assert their own authority on doctrinal matters. The second are bullies of liberal orthodoxy, who basically do the same thing, but take all the opposite positions. The third are just straight bullies who just want to be contrarian. This last type will often pick up on tangential issues and attempt to blow it out of proportion, such a sa perceived insult, usually in an attempt to avoid a losing argument.

Now of course, not all “orthodox” and “liberal” bloggers and commenters are bullies. Bullying is a specific way of engaging others. This is the part that I am having a hard time putting my finger on. It is more than just taking strong positions or having pointed criticisms. People should be able to openly discuss serious disagreements, and I am the first to raise a critical point. Bullying is not just disagreeing, but a specific type of disagreeing. For me, I think the thing that gets on my nerves the most when I see these bullies is that they simultaneously take strong positions, but then refuse to actually engage the arguments, or at least restrict themselves to the arguments. They often level backhanded personal attacks, treat their opponents’ arguments dismissively, and generally are as disrespectful as they can be within the socially accepted confines of whatever blog they happen to be on.

What annoys me the most about these bullies is their implicit (but sometimes explicit) claim to intellectual superiority who can’t see that they are complete hacks who have simply learned how to speak authoritatively, no matter how thin their actual expertise is in the relevant field. Maybe they went to a “good” school, or maybe they have obtained a certain amount of “success” in the world, or maybe they have held “important” callings. Whatever the reason for their bloated self-importance, they don’t miss an opportunity to let everyone know just what they think and why some poor sap is wrong.

Bullies often get away with their posing because most of their interlocutors are just as ignorant as they are. These bullies dare to speak authoritatively on other churches, feminism, questions of sociology, complex theological matters, historiographical methods, hermeneutics, biblical studies, scientific matters, and ethics without an ounce of awareness of the complex scholarly discussions of these issues. Now, I am not saying that people without actual expertise on these topics should not be allowed to express opinions, only that there should be a certain self-reflexivity and a lot less rigidity than bullies are willing to show when they offer authoritative statements on these topics.

The final issue to consider is why some bullies thrive and others are bullied back, often eventually leaving. Of course, some thrive because they are major players on certain blogs. They can be rude and disrespectful because they are in their sandbox, and their fellow-bloggers are uninterested or unwilling to reign them in. Others thrive because they bully on the side of those who run the blog. Even if their methods are harsh, the administrators agree with their ideological stance, so they are tolerated. The bullies who seem to be less successful are those who take on the blog administrators personally, and who end up getting banned. They fail to recognize where the real bullying power lies.

What have I missed in this analysis?

NB: I want to specify that this post is not about naming specific bullies or ranting about other blogs. I will moderate these kinds of comments. Please keep the discussion to the nature and types of bullying.

Mormon Culture

Previous Post

April 7, 2008

What if...?

Next Post

April 10, 2008 Elder Holland's Subversive Message?

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category 2013 Scriptures Administrative Apologetics Atonement Bible Book of Mormon Book Review BYU Doctrine Extra-Biblical Literature Family Feminism Guests History LDS Church History Leadership Marginalia Metaphysics Mormon Culture Mormon Studies Personal Issues Political Philosophy Politics Scripture Sexuality Speculation Spotlights Studying Religion Ten Tidbits The Tenure Track Theology Tips on Applying Series Tips on Being an Independent Scholar Uncategorized

Select a Month June 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 July 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz