# Where are the liberal trolls? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 30, 2014, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-the-liberal-trolls/703012 "2014-10-30T15:00:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2014, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-the-liberal-trolls/703012/61 "2014-10-31T00:14:02Z")
> [@bump](#): > > I > > \*\*Shodan \*\*and **John Mace** aren’t quite so inflammatory- they’re good examples of posters who can hold opinions contrary to the accepted norm around here, yet still not quite troll. So I’m “not quite a troll”? Thanks. I think… ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2014, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-the-liberal-trolls/703012/62 "2014-10-31T00:26:57Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > The SDMB is at most in the middle, not a “bastion of liberalism”. Maybe from a global standpoint, but from the USA’s standpoint, it’s a “bastion of liberalism”. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2014, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-the-liberal-trolls/703012/63 "2014-10-31T00:29:06Z")
Think Globally, Act Loco. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2014, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-the-liberal-trolls/703012/64 "2014-10-31T01:12:52Z")
Visualize whirled peas. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2014, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-the-liberal-trolls/703012/65 "2014-10-31T02:29:30Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > So I’m “not quite a troll”? Thanks. I think… No… I didn’t phrase that so well. I was saying that you’re able to articulate an opposite viewpoint that’s not well received without being perceived as a troll, even though a lot of other posters saying something similar would be viewed as such. In other words, I think everyone knows you’re not in it to piss everyone off when you post something that might be considered inflammatory to one side or the other, and you can’t really say that for other posters like **Der Trihs** or **Bricker**. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2014, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-the-liberal-trolls/703012/66 "2014-10-31T02:42:44Z")
> [@bump](#): > > No… I didn’t phrase that so well. I was saying that you’re able to articulate an opposite viewpoint that’s not well received without being perceived as a troll, even though a lot of other posters saying something similar would be viewed as such. > > In other words, I think everyone knows you’re not in it to piss everyone off when you post something that might be considered inflammatory to one side or the other, and you can’t really say that for other posters like **Der Trihs** or **Bricker**. OK, but can you not put in the same category as **Shodan**? ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2014, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-the-liberal-trolls/703012/67 "2014-10-31T02:43:58Z")
We’re becoming a society that finds truth offensive. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2014, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-the-liberal-trolls/703012/68 "2014-10-31T02:48:15Z")
You can’t handle the truth! ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2014, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-the-liberal-trolls/703012/69 "2014-10-31T03:00:52Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Maybe from a global standpoint, but from the USA’s standpoint, it’s a “bastion of liberalism”. So are most places on Earth. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2014, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-the-liberal-trolls/703012/70 "2014-10-31T03:30:54Z")
[QUOTE=Der Trihs;17860457 The affair demonstrated a problem with trolling/parodying conservatives; actual conservative beliefs are _so_ extreme and _so_ stupid that _even conservatives themselves_ have great difficulty telling the difference between the real thing and mockery. [/QUOTE] Now there’s a perfect example of liberal blindness. Actual conservative beliefs are NOT extreme in the slightest. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2014, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-the-liberal-trolls/703012/71 "2014-10-31T03:51:02Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > Now there’s a perfect example of liberal blindness. Actual conservative beliefs are NOT extreme in the slightest. So you’re not actually a conservative, right? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2014, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-the-liberal-trolls/703012/72 "2014-10-31T04:13:35Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > Now there’s a perfect example of liberal blindness. Actual conservative beliefs are NOT extreme in the slightest. I think you just supported **Der Trihs** point. If I didn’t know you were conservative, I would have assumed this remark was mockery. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2014, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-the-liberal-trolls/703012/73 "2014-10-31T04:22:41Z")
> [@Malthus](#): > > The question answers itself: out-and-out trolls (rather than simply very opinionated posters) sre likely to self-select/take on the opposite character from the way a board “leans”. I’m not sure. I think non-right posters who want to provoke a right-wingers will espouse extreme _right-wing_ views, to make a caricature, or reductio ad absurdem of right-wing thought. > [@JesterX](#): > > Pretty sure resident conservatives will disagree, but IMHO, I find liberals tend to be more intellectual. It takes more to stimulate smarter people. Trolling doesn’t do it. It’s often ignored but [studies have shown](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/20/republican-democrat-brain-politics-fmri-study_n_2717731.html) that [political differences are linked to differences in brain function](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biology_and_political_orientation). For example, [Conservatives are more easily disgusted than liberals (pdf)](http://yoelinbar.net/papers/disgust_conservatism.pdf). ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2014, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-the-liberal-trolls/703012/74 "2014-10-31T04:25:56Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > Now there’s a perfect example of liberal blindness. Actual conservative beliefs are NOT extreme in the slightest. Yes they are; they are either blatantly evil or border on outright insane, when they aren’t _over_ that line. ---
**Author:** ![montag01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/51bf81/32.png) [@montag01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/montag01)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2014, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-the-liberal-trolls/703012/75 "2014-10-31T04:34:26Z")
They hang out at DailyKos, I think. Click on any diary entry there and scroll down to the comments, and you’ll quickly find insanity and “lefter than thou/more progressive than thou” bickering and sniping. ---
**Author:** ![Stringbean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Stringbean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stringbean)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2014, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-the-liberal-trolls/703012/76 "2014-10-31T05:07:59Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > Yes they are; they are either blatantly evil or border on outright insane, when they aren’t _over_ that line. And, this is what we call trolling boys and girls. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2014, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-the-liberal-trolls/703012/77 "2014-10-31T05:14:34Z")
> [@Stringbean](#): > > And, this is what we call trolling boys and girls. No; it’s what you call “trolling”, and what I call honestly expressing an opinion. _And_ pointing out the obvious. ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2014, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-the-liberal-trolls/703012/78 "2014-10-31T06:28:46Z")
Really. A distinction should be made between a confrontational posting style and trolling. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2014, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-the-liberal-trolls/703012/79 "2014-10-31T10:49:57Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > You can’t handle the truth! _I_ certainly can. Got my protective gloves right here. > [@Clothahump](#): > > Now there’s a perfect example of liberal blindness. Actual conservative beliefs are NOT extreme in the slightest. > [@Dre Tris](#): > > Yes they are; they are either blatantly evil or border on outright insane, when they aren’t over that line. FTR, I don’t think either of you two mooks are trolls, but of what earthly use to anyone do you think are either of these ridiculously sweeping posts? Your incessant, non-specific partisan cheerleading, repeating banal views that everyone already knows you hold and has heard thousands of times before, is part of the problem, not the solution. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2014, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-the-liberal-trolls/703012/80 "2014-10-31T11:14:18Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > By the definition of the OP, they are. Well, the OP was a bit sloppy in that one line, but I still think you’re reading wrong. You can make childish comments without trolling. You have to be doing both, per that definition. A childish comment, in and of itself, is not trolling. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-the-liberal-trolls/703012.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-the-liberal-trolls/703012.md?page=5)