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Last update - 00:09 28/05/2008
The talkbacker as terrorist
By Bradley Burston
Tags: talkbacks, Burston, Israel 

In an earlier age, we might well have concerned ourselves with the Taxonomy of the Talkbacker, probing, collecting, and classifying the sorts of people who appear to live a good portion of their lives at the bottom of the page.

As in any biological example of rapid, globe-circling growth in a habitat of markedly favorable conditions and few predators, the genus Backtalkus has spawned countless distinct and flamboyantly diverse species.

There is, of course, the species Pottymouthus, whose favored mode of communication, to say nothing of reasoned discourse, is variations on a few basic vocalizations, e.g., "You're a moron," "You're a *&^%$#%$," "Your mother's a *&%&$%."
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This group includes a subspecies popularly known as the Diagnostician. Examples of the characteristic calls of this variety are "When did you go off your meds?" "When did you slip out of your straightjacket?" or "When are you going to do the world a favor and die?"

A second, not unrelated, subspecies is the Sadistic Undertaker, who reserves his or her cruelest comments for gloating at the death of a prominent person, especially if the death is particularly tragic.

While all of these groups has its own undeniable charm, they have nothing on the profoundly embittered, fanatically boilerplate, immutably singleminded crusaders who never shrink from a fight, defending the incomprehensible, including violence against civilians, on the condition that they can wage verbal war from their keyboards thousands of miles away from the local battlefields.

There is the species which may be called the Terminator, viewing mass killings and expulsions as the answer to all ills.

And then there is the mirror image, the Genocidophile, who spares no opportunity to accuse the other side of advocating and carrying out the systematic murder of millions.

This ground has, of course, been plowed before, as in the essay entitled Talkbacks are for cowardly bigots.
But it may be worthwhile taking a closer look at the talkback shock troops, the hardliners, for whom talkbacks are, effectively, terrorism by other means.

These are the readers who cannot stomach, much less listen to, an opposing viewpoint. These are the readers whose side - whichever it may be - is the only side.

These are the readers who, rather than relate to those with whom they disagree, badger, berate, curse, humiliate, cow, dismiss and otherwise abuse them for daring to think otherwise.

These are the readers who would like nothing better than to terrorize the talkback landscape into a verbal version of Grand Theft Auto video games. These are the readers whose purpose, first and foremost, is to dehumanize. They are counter-compassionate, denying all humanity for those they feel that it is their life's duty to, literally, write off.

They would like nothing better, than to reduce discussion to the level of what may be called Dinformation, in which noise and volume and misdirection and misappropriation of selective portions of truth, take the place of fact and reason.

The hallmarks of the BarcaLounger bomber are many, their causes and betes noires diverse. They may include:

There are no Palestinians, never were. Therefore, let them go back to where they came from, or starve, or be killed, where they are.

Jews have no claim to Jerusalem or the Holy Land. Therefore, let them go back to where they came from, or be put on trial, or put to death, where they are.

The goal of the other side is to ethnically cleanse and/or annihilate all of those on my side. Therefore, all means are legitimate in resisting their goal.

The road to hell is paved by moderates. Those who preach moderation are wussies or naive or cowardly at best, treasonous at worst.

Those of us who are dubiously privileged to see all Talkbacks in their original, straight-from-the-large-bowel form, long ago gave up hope of having people actually communicate with one another through this remarkable medium.

What a damn shame. What a crying waste.
_______________

Previous blogs:

The Palestinians' time is running out.
We owe the Palestinians a state
60 years of Nakba, 60 years of nothing
Our Defense Forces, our war crimes, our terrorism
For our worst enemy, Hamas, just two words
The New 12 Tribes of Israel

Talkbackers interested in being interviewed for a prospective article on the talkback phenomenon are invited to send an e-mail to haaretztalkback@gmail.com
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  1.   Bradley - you can do better 14:07  |  ERSB 27/05/08
  2.   The moderators have been disingenuous 14:23  |  dyinglikeflies 27/05/08
  3.   Counterterrorism 14:40  |  Anonymous 27/05/08
  4.   Talkback forum 14:47  |  Anonymous 27/05/08
  5.   Talkbackers 14:54  |  Said 27/05/08
  6.   reality bytes 14:54  |  albert paul ortiz 27/05/08
  7.   The Road To Hell is Paved By Dhimmis, Lefties, Puppets, Poodles 15:21  |  Joseph . E 27/05/08
  8.   Bradley, Elephants and Chyna store 15:39  |  Ofer Maimon 27/05/08
  9.   Hmm... 15:45  |  Aaron Levitt 27/05/08
  10.   This time Bradley doesn`t belong in hell? 16:25  |  Tali 27/05/08
  11.   Talkbacks should be ended 17:28  |  McQueen 27/05/08
  12.   Burston, the goal of the Palestinians is not to destroy Israel? 17:29  |  McQueen 27/05/08
  13.   Everyone should consider what Bradley wrote abt the talkbacks! 18:12  |  Hanna Bard 27/05/08
  14.   Keyboard Commandos/Jihadists 19:06  |  Existential 27/05/08
  15.   talkbacks are a stench. I usually won`t do them. But this time... 19:31  |  Anonymous 27/05/08
  16.   Hi Bradley 20:33  |  Natalie 27/05/08
  17.   You won`t see professor Tosefta on this thread 20:55  |  S 27/05/08
  18.   REMEMBER The Rabbi Who Posted... 21:15  |  Yosemite 27/05/08
  19.   I love this article 21:36  |  Mikey 27/05/08
  20.   Cyber warfare isn`t for wall flowers 22:39  |  American in NY 27/05/08
  21.   What about talkbackers that want the U.S. to 23:35  |  Wendy 27/05/08
  22.   BB you left out a whole group that doesn`t exist 00:43  |  Margie in Tel Aviv 28/05/08
  23.   Hanna Bard 00:54  |  Margie in Tel Aviv 28/05/08
  24.   Wendy # 21 jews cannot win a war without America 01:42  |  American in NY 28/05/08
  25.   Haaretz is a leftist, undermining israel daily 02:29  |  talk iz. cheep 28/05/08
  26.   talkbacks 02:49  |  phil 28/05/08
  27.   #24 American. American aid to Israel became significant AFTER our 03:00  |  Chaim 28/05/08
  28.   How can any rational comparison be made between talkbackers and 03:04  |  Chaim 28/05/08
  29.   Response to McQueen - #12 03:43  |  Tod zuckerman 28/05/08
  30.   Planting a peach tree Brad thought.... 06:18  |  Jew- and Bookburner 28/05/08
  31.   Talkbacks should be ended? 07:06  |  leven5 28/05/08
  32.   Burston`s analogy accurate of talkbacker stifling discussion ... 07:11  |  Smadar 28/05/08
  33.   The bottom line 08:15  |  ScotGuy 28/05/08
  34.   American in NY 09:13  |  x-ray 28/05/08
  35.   x-ray (34), poverty is no hindrance to culture 10:34  |  Jew- and Bookburner 28/05/08
  36.   Bradley, I assure you, I am not a terrorist 10:42  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 28/05/08
  37.   Margie #22 11:16  |  Guido 28/05/08
  38.   ANOTHER GROUP: THE MUTANT 11:20  |  indrajaya 28/05/08
  39.   Introspection and Haaretz as Well 11:25  |  FOX 28/05/08
  40.   Guido #37 11:40  |  Hastaroth 28/05/08
  41.   burston you do not help when you use the word 11:45  |  ilkely moor 28/05/08
  42.   Bradley you are a genius 11:52  |  Edith 28/05/08
  43.   Self reflection is in order 11:56  |  El-Birawi 28/05/08
  44.   BRADLEY HAS IT EVER OCCURRED TO YOU .. 11:59  |  Miriam Ashkelon 28/05/08
  45.   No surprise here 12:00  |  Natallie Durson 28/05/08
  46.   The difficulty 12:02  |  Colin Wright 28/05/08
  47.   BRADLEY TO ACHEIVE EQUILIBRIUM DONT POST 12:02  |  victor hardman 28/05/08
  48.   Re Natallie Durson `No surprise here.` 12:08  |  Colin Wright 28/05/08
  49.   Technical criticisms 12:17  |  Colin Wright 28/05/08
  50.   More suggestions 12:30  |  Colin Wright 28/05/08
  51.   Colin Wright: Valuable lessons can be learned here 12:39  |  Natallie Durson 28/05/08
  52.   Get real! Haaretz chooses each TalkBack - its a marketing tool!! 12:40  |  Dr. L. Brnd 28/05/08
  53.   OK, let`s not be drama queens here 12:47  |  Aphemia 28/05/08
  54.   But what if you genuinely believe that Phalestins don`t exist? 12:50  |  Ronny 28/05/08
  55.   An editor needed...a `Talkback God` 12:56  |  Phillies Wright 28/05/08
  56.   Registration smooths out things, somewhat 12:56  |  spyguy 28/05/08
  57.   Colin Wright get`s it about right...#48 13:02  |  Esther 28/05/08
  58.   Chaim #27 correction please 13:14  |  S 28/05/08
  59.   th e talkbacker terrorist 13:15  |  Hilda 28/05/08
  60.   Colin, thank you, but 13:19  |  FOX 28/05/08
  61.   Guido 37 - what Margie means is that 13:20  |  ChanahS 28/05/08
  62.   lets have a talkback pride parade 13:24  |  christoph 28/05/08
  63.   Cut and Paste Politics 13:38  |  Ronnie Wolman 28/05/08
  64.   talkback 13:43  |  jack 28/05/08
  65.   To El-Birawi 13:44  |  J 28/05/08
  66.   FOX- #60 Savage!? 13:55  |  examiner 28/05/08
  67.   But....Colin Wright in general.... 14:02  |  Esther 28/05/08
  68.   Black & White Palette 14:07  |  FOX 28/05/08
  69.   BB you used to have some guidelines but didn`t both