Seriously?
So, I lived in Calgary for a while. While there I was part of this wonderful thing called the ‘Gifted and Talented Education’ program. Altogether it was pretty much completely meaningless though I guess it did bring some like-minded individuals together. I mean, ideally, such a program would be composed of youngsters ultimately cunning, witty, and most of all intelligent, but reality is a bit more harsh and for the most part it was as much an uninspired cesspit as, well, everywhere else in the city. Perhaps its only advantage was its smaller class sizes of 12-15 students as opposed to the typical 23-26.
Why is this advantageous? Well, surely it means more student-teacher interaction or something, I don’t know, that’s not why I mention it. Rather, it’s an excellent setting for studying sociological phenomena. When dealing with such small groups of people, modeling their relationships and their thoughts and what-have-you is so much simpler. Apply some game theory and bam! instant paper. But that’s not what I mean to get at, either. It’s fascinating, is what it is. It’s a tightly-knit group and the deceits and developments and subterfuge all make for excellent entertainment. Cliques still exist of course, but they’re much more subdued. The focus is on the individual rather than the whole and you’ll have students who fit in pretty much everywhere.
There’s also not any inherent opposition to others. There’s no negative stigma toward say, those creepy japanophiles or the technophiles or the retards 4channers. I’ll write more about the latter group later as they (and their derivatives) have risen to such a prominence that something really needs to be said about them.
Well, anyway, at least that was my experience. Now, the class ‘below’ mine, they were a tad different. My observations of them were sadly limited, interactions doubly so. Their class was even smaller, though only slightly — the social groups were even more defined. Anyway, when I heard about a blog about them, I was immediately overjoyed, I mean really, it’s glorious. You may not know this about me but I drink the sorrow of people and it acts as my sole sustenance love adolescent drama more than anything else in the world. Adolescent problems are always hilarious, without exception. Especially their relationships! I pretty much salivate at the thought. Okay that’s veering off into a creepy tangent so I’m going to segue back into my main point.
Point being, they have a blog. Catch it here, dear readers. Once I skimmed through the actual contents, my excitement shifted to an emotion I’ll so eloquently refer to as ‘pity’. Not pity for them, no. Pity for myself. Oh, what a pitiable soul I am! I mean really, I had expectations for them and yet they were shattered so effortlessly! As fragile as a pane of glass. So I used my immense linguistic superiority to deliver some constructive criticism:
Truly an aristocratic response from our pals over there at GATE Happpenings 2010-2011. A round of applause for Mr. BoatLoadOfC-Men, ladies and gentleman!
Now, what followed this was a banning from their chatbox and then some being called a troll. Me, a troll! Ha ha ha, what a ridiculous thought to behold, surely. I’m also rather interested in how my above message could possibly be misconstrued as computerly. I’d love to be vain and say that the immensity of my vocabulary triggered some primordial inferiority complex and his only reaction (as is so typical of arrogant people!) is anger, but honestly, the only ‘big’ word I used there was ‘onanism’. I even threw in some dumb memes ‘kthxbai’ for irony’s sake!
No, I’m afraid that’s not it at all. His lambasting tone leads me to believe that he genuinely thinks me a troll, my criticism truthfully ringing false, seeking only to offend and not to help. He’s such a close-minded fellow he believes that any flaws I find with his own personal vernacular, his personality, or his usage of the blog itself, are in fact simply imaginings! Obviously since I said that I didn’t care much for it, I’m a troll!
“In Internet slang, a troll is someone who posts inflammatory, extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community, such as an online discussion forum, chat room, or blog, with the primary intent of provoking other users into a desired emotional response.“
Well, gee. I wasn’t inflammatory, extraneous, or off-topic. I wasn’t even seeking an emotional response! I just wanted him to maybe try a little harder and put some effort into his blog. When I explained myself on their handy chatbox, this was the response that awaited me.
But I'm not trolling you guys! Honest! Don't be so antagonistic and close-minded.
Okay, hold on a minute. I post a view that’s slightly different than the mainstream. I get banned. My messages are being censored! You know who else censored people’s opinions? Hitler.
Attention CIA: I suggest you put Donovon Nemeth on your watchlists. He is pretty much Hitler and the Antichrist rolled into one good ol’ fleshy blob of human!
Anyway. We then proceeded to have an insightful MSN conversation wherein he threatened to send people to beat me up. We’ve already broken through his facade and revealed his true fascist form, but this is just further evidence. The youth of today, oh lordy, what will we do?
Ultimately this is not meant to be taken in an inherently negative light; rather its purpose is to demonstrate just how horribly broken some people in this world are. Flagrant immaturity aside, this is not the proper reaction to criticism. I think I’ve nailed this point home. If someone says something you disagree with, you don’t say, “lol fag” unless you’re actively trying to make yourself out as, well, lacking some essential mental faculties the rest of us possess.
Also, just saying this:
Way to shoot yourself in the foot before you even start.
