I’m a male who has commented on feminist thought which I agreed with, but found so hostile as to be antipersuasive—the attitude demonstrated seriously made me reconsider whether or not I even agreed with them—and was promptly called a concern troll, among other invectives.
(I will add that that particular post rapidly turned into a shitstorm which resulted in several readers, including myself, ceasing to read the blog in question. I’ve seen commenters on unrelated blogs link to it as an example of why the author shouldn’t be taken seriously.)
“Derailment” and “concern trolling” are rationalizations; they’re an author seeking a mechanism by which to justify ignoring criticism.
No doubt; trolls will utilize any behavior effective in eliciting a reaction. The grown-up thing to do is to realize the trolls are a fact of the internet and deal with them on an individual basis; categorically eliminating every troll behavior in turn doesn’t lead to an end in trolling, only an end to honest debate. I’ve seen requests for clarification being treated as troll behavior, for an example of where that leads.
I’m a male who has commented on feminist thought which I agreed with, but found so hostile as to be antipersuasive—the attitude demonstrated seriously made me reconsider whether or not I even agreed with them—and was promptly called a concern troll, among other invectives.
(I will add that that particular post rapidly turned into a shitstorm which resulted in several readers, including myself, ceasing to read the blog in question. I’ve seen commenters on unrelated blogs link to it as an example of why the author shouldn’t be taken seriously.)
“Derailment” and “concern trolling” are rationalizations; they’re an author seeking a mechanism by which to justify ignoring criticism.
Concern trolling is definitely real, though.
No doubt; trolls will utilize any behavior effective in eliciting a reaction. The grown-up thing to do is to realize the trolls are a fact of the internet and deal with them on an individual basis; categorically eliminating every troll behavior in turn doesn’t lead to an end in trolling, only an end to honest debate. I’ve seen requests for clarification being treated as troll behavior, for an example of where that leads.