Crashing the #FTBullies Hashtag

Like the bullies we are, we FtB bloggers (and our friends and readers) crashed a hashtag originally started by a few people who just absolutely hate that we talk about social justice so much and dare to moderate the comments sections on those posts. Hilarity ensued.

This is a snapshot of some of the funniest tweets from when I was participating yesterday. It is probably not representative of all the best tweets, so much as the ones that caught my eye (or that I said and therefore think are hilarious).

Adam Lee@DaylightAtheism

Sometimes some of those bloggers write posts about stuff I’m not personally interested in. The nerve of some people. #FTBullies

Dean Burnett@garwboy

I’ve not got involved with this #FTBullies thing at all, but I struggle to see what the Financial Times could have done to earn such ire

Rachel Holmes@mcgingersnap

I’m quite uncompromising on LGBT rights. I think I might be a Lesbonazi. #FTBullies

Rebecca Watson@rebeccawatson

Lots of talk on Twitter about how bad the #FTBullies are. I don’t want to pile on, but: they wrote Prometheus.

Daniel Fincke@CamelsHammers

#FTBullies want sexual harrassment policies to be explicit, meaning the accused have WARNINGS before suffering consequences. So unfair!!

Crommunist@Crommunist

RT @QueQuoi: “If you asked #FTBullies if they had any Grey Poupon, they would say no.” || But we TOTALLY have a WHOLE THING OF IT! #Muhahaha

Chris Clarke@canislatrans

#FTBullies patiently explain that the Coriolis Effect has nothing to do with the chirality of the swirly they’re giving you.

Alyson Miers@alysonmiers

Those uppity #FTBullies keep on talking about stuff they think matters, no matter how many times we threaten to kick them in the cunts!

Amy Junker@Sonja1023

#FTBullies drank the last beer and won’t even fucking admit it!

SpaceGhoti@SpaceGhoti

Natural selection happens by design of the #FTBullies.

Chris Clarke@canislatrans

Is that why the Reavers are after them? | MT @Crommunist@Sonja1023#FTBullies canceled Firefly.

Jason Thibeault@lousycanuck

@canislatrans@Crommunist@Sonja1023 We created the Reavers in an effort to make everyone uniform groupthink! #FTBullies#firefly

skullsinthestars@drskyskull

@lousycanuck: CERN can’t get direct evidence of the Higgs Boson because #FTBullies keep silencing it” // You MONSTERS!!!

Tobasco da Gama@tobascodagama

@drskyskull@lousycanuck#FTBullies coined the term “God Particle”.

Besomyka@Besomyka

Thinking that soft sciences like history and social science are part of general rational thought and discussion = #FTBullies

brx0@brx0

Pretty sure the #FTBullies either invented or killed roller disco, whichever one is bad.

Official SpokesGay@SpokesGay

#FTBullies broke up the Supremes. And Bananarama. And LaLa-Nee-Nee-Noo-Noo.

Sasha Pixlee@sashapixlee

.@szvan suggested a book to me once. It was super good but the sequel isn’t even finished yet! #FTBullies.

Amy Davis Roth@SurlyAmy

You know who else crashed hashtags? L RON HUBBARD and HITLER! oh and #FTBullies

Rebecca Watson@rebeccawatson

@SurlyAmy I know that’s true because I lived with Hitler for two years and he was nonstop crashing hashtags! #FTBullies

Zach High-Leggett@OmniZ815

#FTBullies made me a sandwich without the crust cut off!

I almost peed myself three times (out of fear because of all the bullying, not because I was laughing too hard.)

{advertisement}
Crashing the #FTBullies Hashtag
{advertisement}

39 thoughts on “Crashing the #FTBullies Hashtag

  1. 3

    That whole thing was a bag of fun (I’m @nezchan BTW) and had me staying up WAY later than planned. And in fact it looks like things are still going to some degree.

    I was particularly amused by Hoggle, et al, still trying to take themselves seriously, and the guy who was seriously offended by someone offering a toast to Greg Laden. All the while drowning in in a sea of ridicule.

  2. 4

    I actually started this. I have not lived in vain! People are reaching heights of creative absurdity that I can only gape at in yokelish awe.

    Yesterday afternoon I just listed a few bad things and blamed #FTBullies and then whoomp! the horse ran away.

  3. 5

    My thoughts on this matter are complicated though.

    First, I’m annoyed as fuck that people are trivializing actual bullying by claiming that we’re it — because we post about social justice and moderate our spaces (or moderate via ridicule), when the vast majority of the people who agree are actively engaging in a real and targeted bullying campaign.

    Second, we actually are mocking them en masse, by crashing the hashtag and posting about how terrible of people we all are.

    Third, I think that second point is okay because we are our own targets, and we’re drowning out the trivialization of bullying by making shit up about how awful we are.

    I’m probably overthinking it. Damn #ftbullies made me overthink it.

  4. 8

    I think they really hate when you talk about social justice and disagree with them. For people who love dissent, some of them certainly hate disagreement.

  5. 9

    Well, I generally overthink things as well. And I thought about this, and I think I’ve come to a firm position on this.

    It’s pretty simple. Bullying is punching down. Full stop. That is, going after people with less status or power or whatever. And that’s why it’s wrong.What’s going on here, is a firm case of at the very least punching to the side (which is fine), but more than likely is punching up. We’re punching against people who think that they’re better than other people for whatever reason.

    (I’m not sure if I’d call what the other side is doing bullying either, per se, however it is very stalker/obsessive behavior, which is another kettle of fish)

    As long as we’re punching up, it’s fine. Now, that doesn’t give us permission to do whatever. But that’s not because it’s bullying, but it’s because sometimes it can give the wrong impression of what you’re actually fighting for. (I.E. make it seem like you’re more extreme than you are)

    So anyway. That’s my view, I think on the whole bullying thing. And yes, it’s very demeaning towards people who are the victims of ACTUAL bullying.

  6. 11

    On the subject of bullying behaviour, there’s a certain mob mentality to it as well. It was telling to me that when I went through the comments on the whole Thunderf00t mess, you had many critics putting forth actual critiques, and on the other side you had the Usual Suspects who largely just wanted to toss around invective at PZ/Ophelia/Ed/Rebecca/FTB in general and didn’t really have much content other than “they’re awful people”. They weren’t there because of the issues, but because someone was sticking it to their crowd’s favourite targets and content be damned.

    To be fair, there were some pro-FTB pile-on folks just there to say “TF is a poopyhead”, but really not that many.

  7. 25

    First, I’m annoyed as fuck that people are trivializing actual bullying by claiming that we’re it — because we post about social justice and moderate our spaces (or moderate via ridicule), when the vast majority of the people who agree are actively engaging in a real and targeted bullying campaign.

    Ever since I first say the “bully” accusations, I’ve been wondering if they have broken dictionaries. The irony has been mindblowing because most of the actual bullying behaviour I’ve seen has been coming from them. Hell, it’s been almost a year now and their campaign against Rebecca Watson shows no signs of abating.

    That said, I thought #FTBullies would have run its course when I logged onto Twitter today. I’m very glad it hasn’t because I’m still having fun with it…

  8. 29

    Some of my favourites are the people who are actually serious about “FTBullies”.

    Jack Rayner ‏@JackTheRayner

    @adurumus Also, it’s pretty sad that the #FTBullies are attempting to suppress the use of that tag by muddying the waters with nonsense.

    Steve Vanden-Eykel ‏@impossiblebones

    #FTBullies just don’t get it. It’s not about our feelings, it’s about the good of the movement.

  9. Rob
    31

    @Karmakin #9

    It’s pretty simple. Bullying is punching down. Full stop. That is, going after people with less status or power or whatever. And that’s why it’s wrong.What’s going on here, is a firm case of at the very least punching to the side (which is fine), but more than likely is punching up. We’re punching against people who think that they’re better than other people for whatever reason.

    (I’m not sure if I’d call what the other side is doing bullying either, per se, however it is very stalker/obsessive behavior, which is another kettle of fish)

    As long as we’re punching up, it’s fine. Now, that doesn’t give us permission to do whatever. But that’s not because it’s bullying, but it’s because sometimes it can give the wrong impression of what you’re actually fighting for. (I.E. make it seem like you’re more extreme than you are)

    I agree with your sentiment, but if only it were that simple to define bullying. I have been subjected to sustained and planed bullying by an employee who was well versed in employment law and who managed to skirt just on the right side of avoiding any punishment other than a couple of warnings. Even the mediator employed to try and resolve issues said she had never seen anything quite like it, although she did say reverse bullying is not actually uncommon. In short a clever bully can actually use laws and systems designed to prevent bullying and discrimination as cover – for a time at least – by using fairness and due process against others.

    Bullying in any form is despicable.

    On a brighter note – this whole #FTBullies thing has been hilarious.

  10. 34

    “First, I’m annoyed as fuck that people are trivializing actual bullying by claiming that we’re it.” – Jason Thibeault

    Oh, like how bloggers and commenters at Skepchick and FtB trivialize sexism and misogyny by using those terms to label anyone who dares disagree with the crowd? It’s real easy to convince yourself that you’re in the right if all your opponents are bigots, right? Just look at this very post, in which you misrepresent your opposition by claiming that they hate discussions of “social justice.”

  11. 36

    Oh, like how bloggers and commenters at Skepchick and FtB trivialize sexism and misogyny by using those terms to label anyone who dares disagree with the crowd?

    I noticed a severe lack of examples there. Care to provide any? #FTBullies always asking for some citations that aren’t misrepresentations.

  12. 38

    “dare to moderate the comments sections on those posts.”

    Just like Uncommon Descent does. And this is called free thought blogs?

    So disappointed. This is something the god types do. Not us. Just what would Hitchens think of this?

Comments are closed.