I made something trend on Twitter


There’s glory for you.

I’ve never done that before! And doubtless never will again.

I just settled down to a few minutes of joking, and then people joined me, and then it kept going.

#FTBullies

I had to. Because of this one, by Paula Kirby, which is just too funny –

More RTs coming up. If you are sick of the #FTBullies, it is safe to speak up – YOU ARE NOT ALONE. And if you don’t speak up, who will?

Do admit. Every part is funny. Announcing future RTs, as if to a breathless world. You don’t announce future RTs! You do them or you don’t, but you don’t announce future ones, as if they’re like a book launch. It’s Twitter, people! Well ok if you’re actually trying to topple the mullahs in Iran, fine, you can get all self-important, but short of that – it’s Twitter, not a meeting of the underground.

Then “it is safe to speak up” – well no kidding! Did anybody think it wasn’t? Did anybody think we would murder them if they spoke up? And there was Paula calling me hysterical for being worried about those emails. And then YOU ARE NOT ALONE – again, no kidding! This isn’t The Count of Monte Cristo. No, you’re not alone, there are seventy squillion people on Twitter and no doubt there are some who hate this mysterious blob called FTB.

And the last one is the funniest of all. [breathlessly] I don’t know, who??

Speak up about what? About 35 or so blogs, some of which include articles that say things Paula Kirby disagrees with. Take cover! Pack a lunch! Bring plenty of batteries!

There’s even a post here that disagrees with Paula Kirby herself. Yes it does; yes I do; I disagree with her claim that I’m a totalitarian or like the Nazis or the Stasi. Big woop.

So now it’s trending.

Comments

  1. GMM says

    So Paula is, like, an actual adult-type person? This is straight out of a petty, vindictive Middle School girl’s playbook. Maybe she’s feeling nostalgic.

  2. Stacy says

    I’m not on the Twitter, so I’ll just say this here:

    Ophelia made me give her my lunch money.

  3. Rob says

    Then “it is safe to speak up” – well no kidding! Did anybody think it wasn’t? Did anybody think we would murder them if they spoke up?

    Well, remember that Paula does think you are just like the Nazis/Stasi – so maybe she is afraid that you will. Then again maybe she is basing her fear on a hypersensitive and irrational premise, or needlessly over reacting, or suffering from hyperbole or …

    Does this whole discussion have an echo? Are we really stuck on the wheel of time?

    I’m torn between ignoring these people because they have demonstrated their own stupidity so well or engaging in some gentle (and of course civil!) mockery. Please advise best course of action.

  4. Tyrant al-Kalām says

    I only know PK as part of the online (and sometimes, meatspace) entourage of Richard Dawkins. She has written some insightful things on rd.net in the past.

  5. Assassin's Cloak says

    And you made me spam my own twitter stream! #FTBullies

    Now all my follows know about FtBs.

    I wonder how Paula Kirby feels about accidentally starting the best ever twitter based FtB ad campaign.

  6. felixBC says

    You’ve all been suppressing the publication of 11 page PDFs, don’t deny it!

  7. 'Tis Himself says

    I remember that Ophelia Benson person in high school. Once she took my homework and fed it to her dog. She knew that the teacher might accept “my dog ate my homework” but would never accept “Ophelia’s dog ate my homework.”

  8. Utakata says

    I think it’s suffice to say the those who have been bullied and the severity of how those been bullied by ERV types would far exceed any list Kirby could ever come up with or dream up with. Yet, she now appears to be allying with them. This reminds me of those stories of cops who beat protesters, then charge them with assault.

  9. sithrazer says

    What’s RT stand for?

    Search turns up Russia Today (TV network), Ruby Tuesday (restaurant chain), and someone whose twitter name is RT. I suspect those are not the RT I am looking for.

  10. onion girl, OM; social workers do it with paperwork says

    I think it’s suffice to say the those who have been bullied and the severity of how those been bullied by ERV types would far exceed any list Kirby could ever come up with or dream up with.

    Yeah, I’d love to see a hashtag for #ThingsERVitesSay.

  11. julian says

    #FTBullies filled my twitter feed.

    Literally. I had to scroll for 2 minutes before I found something not #FTBullies related.

  12. GMM says

    Oh my god, that was hilarious. The Free Thought Bullies completely took over the #FTBullies feed and it’s still going. Poor @iamcuriousblue had to flounce:
    “Cooler heads are convincing me to back away from the #FTBullies battle…”
    LOL.

    I’m on there as @callistacat. Thanks for the laughs, that totally made my night. 😀

  13. karmakin says

    Wow did THAT escalate fast 🙂

    More or less, it’s what they call culture-jamming. Or at least that’s what they used to call it way back when.

    To be honest, catching up, Greta’s rickroll tweet made me lose it entirely. Laptop on the floor level lose it.

  14. dysomniak, darwinian socialist says

    It’s still going, and I’m still laughing. Well done, Ophelia.

  15. avh1 says

    I must admit Paula Kirby did provide something new – someone who had actually lived in a totalitarian system pulling the ‘ZOMG UR Nazis!’ card. Normally I’d only seen it done by people who hadn’t been anywhere near one, or didn’t understand what ‘totalitarian’ actually was.

  16. Ruth says

    Re the comment by Assassin’s Cloak, about this being a great ad campaign for FTB, Ophelia, could you keep an eye on the traffic is over the next few days. If you do get a new influx of actual readers (and not just drive-by slime-pitters) that would be delicious.

  17. says

    Paula just blocked me on Twitter for politely critising a terrible argument she made. It’s her business, of course, she can block whoever she likes. But it’s pathetic. I almost wish I’d been obnoxious now.

  18. SAWells says

    One of the problems here is that #FTBullies at first reading here looks like a complaint about the Financial Times.

    Only one of the many, many problems.

    I’m not going to get any work done today at all and I blame #FTBullies.

  19. says

    I hope you’Re sitting, because I’m going to give you this gem from Paula Kirby’s twitter (put into plain text for readability):

    Last year one of the Oppressed Sisters described women in the atheist movement who don’t take the RadFem view as ‘house-slaves’. Strangely, no one attacked her for the term on the basis that we weren’t actually flogged for failing to polish the doorstep properly .. or that using slavery as an analogy was disrespectful to its victims.

    Bold by me
    Oh the irony…

  20. says

    Giliell,

    That’s what she blocked me over. She explained that what she was trying to say (it wasn’t clear to me) was that the outrage of people over the nazi/stazi thing is insincere because some unnamed person allegedly said something that might be equally objectionable and nobody complained. I wanted to know whether the situations were actually equivalent. Was it a prominent blogger who said this? Was it buried in some comments somewhere? Did nobody make a fuss because nobody noticed it? Was it a joke? What? We can’t tell from what Paula said, so I asked her for a URL.

    She said:

    “You think I save the URL of every comment insulting those who don’t support RadFems?! It was a yr ago. Gd luck if u want 2 google”

    I said that no, I didn’t think that, but I’d assumed she had checked her sources. Then I pointed out that her argument boiled down to a claimed equivalence which we can’t even easily check.

    She replied:

    “You lot are unbelievable, you really are.”

    So that was a fruitful discussion.

    And that’s before I even got started on the other reasons her argument was terrible.

  21. says

    latsot
    So, basically her argument goes “somebody else did something bad so you can’t criticize me for doing something bad”?
    My kids don’t get away with that…

    That’s not even getting started with her “evidence” which consists of “I remember somebody saying that”
    We don’t get to know who that person was, what the context was, what the actual quote is.
    All we get is that she counts her as “one of the Sisterhood of the Oppressed” (that seems to be as clearly defined a group as “Freemasons” including those who run the world) and that it was dissent from “Radfem theory”.
    It’s, of course, not like Paula Kirby could actually reliably identify an actual Radfem if there was only one candidate to pick…

  22. says

    “So, basically her argument goes “somebody else did something bad so you can’t criticize me for doing something bad”?”

    Not quite, but close. She’s saying that the outrage of people complaining about the nazi stuff can’t be sincere, since those same people should also have been outraged about the house-slaves thing.

    “That’s not even getting started with her “evidence” which consists of “I remember somebody saying that”
    We don’t get to know who that person was, what the context was, what the actual quote is.”

    Well quite. I don’t know about you, but I’d want to go and check my sources before making claims like that. In fact, I assumed she had done that, which is why I asked for the URL. It didn’t even occur to me that she might be referring to a memory from a year ago.

    I’m really disappointed in Paula. We spoke a bit on the RDF forums when she was new to atheism and skepticism and she seemed intelligent, focussed and curious. I was very impressed by her.

  23. says

    latsot

    Not quite, but close. She’s saying that the outrage of people complaining about the nazi stuff can’t be sincere, since those same people should also have been outraged about the house-slaves thing.

    Yeah, but she also says that such an analogy was disrespectful i.e. wrong, which automatically means that her analogies were wrong-wrong, regardless of the (lack of) outrage.
    She also misses the point by a mile that indeed comparissons with slavery and fascism can be valid and accurate.
    It’s just that hers wasn’t.

  24. Pteryxx says

    per request above, here’s a sampler of the last 12 hours’ worth of tweets on #FTBullies.

    Warning, HELLA LONG POST AHEAD!

    ——————————————–

    Jessa ‏@jessa_bell

    #FTBullies killed Kenny. #youbastards

    skullsinthestars ‏@drskyskull

    One time I met @pzmyers and he murdered me and buried me in a shallow grave. #FTBullies #Igotbetter (#parodyobviously)

    Alyson Miers ‏@alysonmiers

    Those #FTBullies should be grateful we even pay attention to them at all!

    Kelseigh Nieforth ‏@Nezchan

    @pzmyers told Cthulhu to eat me last. #FTBullies

    Jason J Brunet ‏@Three_Ninjas

    Once I sent @pzmyers an email and it took him five whole minutes to respond graciously and enthusiastically. #FTBullies

    Kelseigh Nieforth ‏@Nezchan

    #FTBullies invented the vuvuzela!

    Andy Long ‏@andy_long

    #FTBullies took Chuck Norris’ lunch money

    Official SpokesGay ‏@SpokesGay

    If you call now #FTBullies will throw in a second Vajazzler for free. That’s a $30 value.

    Sally Strange ‏@SallyStrange

    @Sonja1023 @pzmyers @SpokesGay Is there a special deal if you get the ballgag and the vajazzler together? Please say yes. #FTBullies

    Brandi Braschler ‏@ThatAtheistGirl

    #FTBullies forwarded my grandmother a chain email and now she won’t stop talking about Obama’s birth certificate.

    Official SpokesGay ‏@SpokesGay

    #FTBullies is processed in a facility that uses peanuts.

    TerriWillis-Gardocki ‏@thetwillis

    #FTBullies told everyone what I’d do for a Klondike Bar.

    ing ‏@ingdamnit

    #FTBullies canceled Firefly

    Sally Strange ‏@SallyStrange

    @ingdamnit It is really funny that you’re the third person to independently think of that. I guess #FTBullies love Firefly. 🙂

    ing ‏@ingdamnit

    @SallyStrange I can’t know everything. All the good jokes were already taken…by FTbullies!

    Sally Strange ‏@SallyStrange

    #FTBullies cast John Travolta in the “Hairspray” remake.

    Official SpokesGay ‏@SpokesGay

    @SallyStrange Sheeyit. #FTBullies suggested a remake in the first place.

    ing ‏@ingdamnit

    FTBullies wrote the ending to Mass Effect 3.

    Kelseigh Nieforth ‏@Nezchan

    @SpokesGay Show me on the doll where #FTBullies oppressed you.

    Eskeptrical Engineer ‏@EskeptricalEng

    #FTBullies let the dogs out.

    Will ‏@dysomniak

    I was spermjacked by #FTBullies and now I’ll be paying twice my income in child support until I die!

    Chris Clarke ‏@canislatrans

    Not the least obeisance made he; not a minute stopped or stayed he; But with mien of #FTBullies, perched above my chamber door.

    ing ‏@ingdamnit

    From hell’s heart #FTBullies stabs at thee! For Hate’s sake #FTBullies spites it’s last breath at thee!

    Dan Fincke ‏@CamelsHammers

    Luke, #FTBullies are your father.

    Veritas ‏@VeritasKnight

    @CamelsHammers Nooooo…that can’t be, #FTBullies…that’s impossible!

    Kelseigh Nieforth ‏@Nezchan

    #FTBullies sewed Grendel’s arm back on.

    Amy Davis Roth ‏@SurlyAmy

    I think I need to make a #FTBullies necklace so I can regret it later.

    Greta Christina ‏@GretaChristina

    . @SurlyAmy : The #FTBullies won’t let you do that. Or maybe we’ll demand that you do. I have to consult the hive mind.

    Amy Davis Roth ‏@SurlyAmy

    @GretaChristina Whatever you decide, I promise to hate you for it. #FTBullies

    Dan Fincke ‏@CamelsHammers

    #FTBullies started the fire @billyjoel

    ing ‏@ingdamnit

    #FTBullies knows why the caged bird sings

    Joé McKen ‏@joemcken

    .@PZMyers made me stutter, @OpheliaBenson made me near-sighted and @jennifurret gave me Asperger’s. YOU BUTTHOLES. #FTBullies

    Kelseigh Nieforth ‏@Nezchan

    Watch out, we got a #FTBullies over here

    Monte Grumwald ‏@feralboy12

    #FTBullies don’t give a shit about honey badger.

    PZ Myers ‏@pzmyers

    Damn paparazzi. RT @JamieWrites Look at photo evidence of @PZMyers bullying this handsome man. #FTBullies http://pic.twitter.com/SjISCJax

    Kelseigh Nieforth ‏@Nezchan

    @pzmyers @JamieWrites You hit him so hard his eyes turned red! #FTBullies

    ——————————

    Tigger_the_Wing ‏@Tigger_the_Wing

    #FTBullies ate my last tweet about #FTBullies

    Greta Christina ‏@GretaChristina

    #FTBullies are never gonna give you up, never gonna let you down, never gonna run around & desert you. Yeah I went there.

    … ‏@QueQuoi

    @GretaChristina just #FTBullies rolled all of us.

    Eskeptrical Engineer ‏@EskeptricalEng

    Rickrolled by #FTBullies!

    Tigger_the_Wing ‏@Tigger_the_Wing

    Pluto was a planet before #FTBullies got at it.

    Monte Grumwald ‏@feralboy12

    In Soviet Union, #FTBullies you.

    ing ‏@ingdamnit

    #FTbullies finances all of Michael Bay’s movies.

    Katrina ‏@patnkatng

    #FTBullies sabotaged Amelia Earhart’s navigation system.

    Tigger_the_Wing ‏@Tigger_the_Wing

    #FTBullies even go want to do look more like

    9h … … ‏@QueQuoi

    Something tells me we’re not #FTBullies anymore, Toto!

    ————————-

    Official SpokesGay ‏@SpokesGay

    @nataliereed84 #FTBullies poke holes in condoms too!

    Natalie Reed ‏@nataliereed84

    #FTBullies are wearing the same dress as you.

    Tom ‏@Doubting_Tom

    In his house at R’lyeh, dead #FTBullies waits, dreaming.

    Natalie Reed ‏@nataliereed84

    #FTBullies hooked up with your ex the very next week.

    Kelseigh Nieforth ‏@Nezchan

    #FTBullies think Perpugilliam Brown was the best companion.

    Tom ‏@Doubting_Tom

    #FTBullies won’t break you off a piece of their KitKat bar.

    Natalie Reed ‏@nataliereed84

    #FTBullies is insisting you retweet this tweet, because it’s cursed, and if you don’t, it’s bad luck!

    Natalie Reed ‏@nataliereed84

    #FTBullies has invited you to be their neighbour in Farmville!

    Jamie Wright ‏@JamieWrites

    #FTBullies’ milkshakes bring all the boys to the yard. Damn right, it’s better than yours.

    Tom Tom ‏@Doubting_Tom

    #FTBullies is suing The Oatmeal for defamation.

    … ‏@QueQuoi

    My name is Inigo Montoya #FTBullies killed my father. Prepare to die.

    Terry Long ‏@claudiaquat

    You’re gonna need a bigger blog. #FTBullies

    ——————————————

    … ‏@QueQuoi

    @WilloNyx #FTBullies is not your only friend, but it’s a little glowing friend, but really it’s not actually your friend

    WilloNyx ‏@WilloNyx

    @QueQuoi #FTBullies made a little birdhouse in my soul.

    Steven McFadian ‏@SMcFadian

    #FTBullies are Decartes’ evil demon.

    WilloNyx ‏@WilloNyx

    @QueQuoi Triangle man hates FTBullies.

    Stacy Kennedy ‏@MsMondegreen

    #FTBullies tore off the Captain’s leg and sank the Pequod.

    Zach High-Leggett ‏@OmniZ815

    #FTBullies secretly went through your LEGOs and replaced them with Megablocks.

    Zach High-Leggett ‏@OmniZ815

    #FTBullies needed to get one million dollars out of Nigeria and agreed to give me 10% for the use of my bank account.

    Kammy ‏@Procrastinatrx

    #FTBullies put all these motherfucking snakes on this motherfucking plane.

    Rogues of Clwyd-Rhan ‏@RoguesClwydRhan

    Who moved the cheese? #FTbullies, that’s who!

    Julian Fonseka ‏@JulianFonseka1

    #FTBullies mostly come out at night, mostly.

    David Byars ‏@ByarsDavid

    #FTBullies can stop Thunderfoot from vlogging anytime they want, but this is all part of their master plan.

    Stacy Kennedy ‏@MsMondegreen

    #FTBullies made Peter Higgs cry. (Me too.)

    Stacy Kennedy ‏@MsMondegreen

    Calling women c*nts–FREE SPEECH! Objecting to calling women c*nts–#FTBullies!!!11!

    JoeZowghi ‏@JoeZowghi

    #FTBullies ban anyone who says fezzes are cool.

    John-Henry Eric Beck ‏@JEBeck00

    #FTBullies forced me to change my mind with their “facts” and “reasoned arguments”!

    Rachel Holmes ‏@mcgingersnap

    #FTBullies made me get this haircut in the 1980s. And wear those specs. And hug a plastic Mountie. http://pic.twitter.com/CurTPbrS

    paragwinn ‏@paragwinn

    @SallyStrange @PhilosophyExp @PaulaSKirby Maybe #FTBullies need the help of the feMGB, feMI6, and feMukhabarat?

    Will ‏@dysomniak

    @paragwinn @SallyStrange @PhilosophyExp @PaulaSKirby #FTBullies have already made alliances with the Femsheviks And the Femher Rouge

    paragwinn ‏@paragwinn

    @dysomniak @SallyStrange @PhilosophyExp @PaulaSKirby Well, #FTBullies, you’ve now alienated the femskyites and the feMoral Majority.

    ————————

    chris delozier ‏@csdelozier

    #FTBullies put the ‘b’ back in ‘God-less America’

    Tabby Lavalamp ‏@TabbyLavalamp

    #FTBullies call people things like “Rebeccunt Twatson” and devote months to disparaging… Oh, sorry. I got confused somewhere…

    Ophelia Benson ‏@OpheliaBenson

    @MsMondegreen We killed you in the face with bears! It’s what we do. #FTBullies

    Ophelia Benson ‏@OpheliaBenson

    It’s going to take me all morning to go through 13 hours of #FTBullies tweets – and I HAVE to bec. many are hilarious. #FTBullies

  25. Sili says

    I must admit Paula Kirby did provide something new – someone who had actually lived in a totalitarian system pulling the ‘ZOMG UR Nazis!’ card. Normally I’d only seen it done by people who hadn’t been anywhere near one, or didn’t understand what ‘totalitarian’ actually was.

    It’s Stasis. Get it right, dammit.

    Kirby did not live through the Third Reich, and she’s far too intellectually honest to draw any comparisons on that basis.

    Her expertise is the DDR after living their for an entire two years, so she knows from Stasis. She’s wholly qualified to make judgements on that basis. Stop strawmanning her argument by claiming she called anyone a Nazi.

  26. says

    There is some very funny stuff in there. I’ve been making my way through the overnight items and retweeting a few. There are some creative wits out there! Too bad they’re all on the other team. Oh wait…

  27. onion girl, OM; social workers do it with paperwork says

    Greta’s rickroll made me laugh so hard my cats ran away! All right, now I have to join in the fun…

  28. says

    Yes everybody is pissing herself laughing at Greta’s rickroll and I don’t get it. It’s so embarrassing. They explained it to me at Jason’s but the hilarity still escapes me. I’m such a nerd.

  29. Dave Ricks says

    I’m not on Twitter, so the only trends I saw last night were —

    • Generalísimo Francisco Franco is still dead.

    • Milhouse is still not a meme.

    I tried adding a serious thought, but I’m still laughing at the Femsheviks and the Femher Rouge.

  30. smhll says

    @ingdamnit It is really funny that you’re the third person to independently think of that. I guess #FTBullies love Firefly.

    Is three enough for a “hive”, or do I need to brainwash another half dozen?

  31. says

    Yes everybody is pissing herself laughing at Greta’s rickroll and I don’t get it. It’s so embarrassing. They explained it to me at Jason’s but the hilarity still escapes me. I’m such a nerd.

    #FTBullies selectively destroyed the part of Ophelia Benson’s brain that would have otherwise gotten the Rickrolling joke. BWAHAHAHAHAHA!

  32. onion girl, OM; social workers do it with paperwork says

    #FTBullies selectively destroyed the part of Ophelia Benson’s brain that would have otherwise gotten the Rickrolling joke. BWAHAHAHAHAHA!

    *gasp* The evil! Is there no end to their villainy?!

  33. Sili says

    • Generalísimo Francisco Franco is still dead.

    • Milhouse is still not a meme.

    And whose fault is that?

    #FTBullies

  34. Clifford Baines says

    Oh my god. Oh my god. I’m dyin’ over here. Pteryxx @ #37, that is the best thing ever. I’m definitely an FTB fan, but I honestly didn’t know how strong the comedy-fu was around these parts. I keep wanting to call out my favorites, but that’s like half of ’em.

    (Definite bonus points to the “Decartes’ evil demon” reference and Femsheviks/Femher Rouge, though.)

  35. Rob says

    This soooo makes me wish I had signed up to Twitter.
    *puts on best Herbert Farnsworth voice* “Well done everybody!”

  36. avh1 says

    Sili, my apologies. I could have phrased that more accurately and I didn’t intend to strawman Paula Kirby. I would stand by the second part of my comment though – that most people who try this form of argument have never lived in a totalitarian system.

  37. Besomyka says

    Glad to have (maybe) helped. Or at least I enjoyed piling on!

    I really don’t understand these people. I’ve read that google docs, I’ve followed the various blogs, so I think I have a good handle on things.

    Some women who participate in conferences either personally had, or were warned about, real harassment. Real actual harassment. They then, rather than name-and-shaming people, had a civil discussion about what to do about it, and they came up with a solution that was already successful elsewhere, namely suggesting that, if one wasn’t already in place, that there be an anti-harassment policy. Oh, and also people should know that those policies exist.

    The other side has said variations on themes. 1) there is no problem, so don’t talk about it. 2) Talking about the problem is worse than the problem itself, so don’t talk about it. 3) You’re blowing it out of proportion(ie: being hysterical), so don’t talk about it. And/or 4) Anti-harassment policies ruin my fun, so stop talking about it.

    Only they tend to make those points while being personally insulting, perpetuating sexist and misogynist memes, and belittling the rational thought that goes into examining and describing social power structures.

    Since this all started with real, actual problems, I’m gonna side with the people that want to talk about it and work out a sensible solution.

    Also, #FTBullies made me say that, obviously.

  38. says

    I’ve finally found time to read Paula’s famous document. I did it because lots of twitter people were crying that we abused what they somehow considered ‘their’ hashtag rather than trying to refute Paula’s nonsense.

    It turns out there’s nothing much to refute. She claims a whole lot of bullying and bad behaviour without giving a single example. In 11 pages. You’d have thought she might have managed to point to at least one specific case, backed up with URLs or other evidence. But she does not.

  39. NickS says

    #FTBullies mockery has made my day :3

    Well, that and 2 pills of Citalopram + coffee…

  40. Tigger_the_Wing says

    I’ve had more fun on Twitter the last couple of days than at any time since I joined it (I usually only pop in once a fortnight or so to pick up any messages from family). I just can’t keep up, though!

  41. says

    The first couple of days were way better! The last two got clogged up with one person going on and on and on and on about her imagined grievances, along with lots of trolls. But for the first 36 hours at least there were a lot of great jokes.

    I’m nostalgic for the day before yesterday. Hahaha

  42. Tigger_the_Wing says

    Gosh, has it really been four days?! I was having so much fun I lost count!

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