From: Michael Wiik (mwiik@messagenet.com)
Date: Sat Aug 17 2002 - 11:33:04 MDT
lcorbin@tsoft.com wrote:
> After all, we might have differing meanings of the term! To me, trolling
> is the (despicable) art of inciting an argument (a) using statements you
> don't believe for a moment and (b) that you consider a big joke, especially
> when the participants start tearing away at each other while you sit back
> laughing.
Just a comment on the (b) statement here: While I never intend to do that to
the list, I find it to be on occasion an interesting way to look at human
history.
I use a term, 'lethal slapstick' to describe this. Picture Larry, Moe, and
Curly (the three stooges) at a construction site. One is carrying a long board
over his shoulder. The obvious slapstick possibilities occur immediately to
anyone who has seen such a skit.
Now, put rusty nails in the board. When Moe (carrying the board), turns to
face Larry, the nails dig into Curly's skull. Instead of just a slap in the
head, we're now talking about injury, possibly including brain damage and
death. As Moe whips around to see what's up with Curly, the other end of the
board (again with nails sticking out) rips into Larry's skull.
Apply the same concept to something like the 20th century. If it helps (I
think it does), picture yourself as an advanced alien discussing earth
history with another alien. You're poking fun, much as two norwegians will
make jokes involving swedes (and vice versa) (e.g., Q: You sure you're
norwegian? You look swedish. A: Yeah, but I've been sick) You watch WWI start
and begin chuckling. You see thousands of soldiers try to attack an enemy
trenchline, taking horrendous losses from artillery fire and machine guns,
and break out into open laughter. You see millions of soldiers and civilians
die screaming on the russian steppe and it's so uproariously funny you can't
control yourself. You see millions of Jews and Gypsies and homosexuals and
others being herded into death camps and it's so side-splittingly hilarious
it hurts. And the reason it's so funny is because it's such an incredible
waste. Here you've given these humans a leg up with that black monolith
thingie and look at what they do with it. The fucking idiots. Larry, Moe, and
Curly, by the billions, over and over again, century after century. They never
learn.
We may like to think of human history as a grand drama, or 'Tragedy and Hope'
or some other such moniker, but maybe we're just fooling ourselves. Maybe it's
all a slapstick comedy farce and the only reason it doesn't seem funny to us
is because we're the butt of the joke.
Maybe you found the above offensive. Maybe you learned something about jokes
referencing ethnics or people otherwise different from you. Maybe, just
maybe, you found a little more reason to try to understand luddites or green
activists or anti-globalization demonstrators or any of the other humans who
seem to be ready targets for derision on this list.
Or maybe not.
-Mike
---- This message was posted by Michael Wiik to the Extropians 2002 board on ExI BBS. <http://www.extropy.org/bbs/index.php?board=61;action=display;threadid=52772>
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