Same here. But trolls can only be stopped
from doing what they come to do - in this case,
preventing this from being a forum for the thoughtful
and mutually enlightening discussion of the ideas
and positions of Noam Chomsky - if those who are
not trolls refuse to play along. This is why the
roles of honorable opponents of Chomsky is
absolutely crucial - such people are both a
normal, healthy part of any civilized debate on
his work, but also, critical because it is up
to them to police their own side as it were -
to make it clear someone who is simply trying to
disrupt the group and drive people away by
creating an environment so nasty and unpleasant
that none but the thickest skins would come
near the place (and this is certainly what Kamm
has succeeded in doing - most people I know
would not even consider posting to a group like
this because of people like Kamm) does not speak
for them and that they want no part in those efforts to
disrupt. This is where the behavior of people like
Russil and Nathan become critical. We have here a newsgroup
where one person has spent the last five years posting ten
times a day, with just about every post consisting of hurling
abuse and invective, accusations of stupidity or Nazi
sympathies, against anyone who even seems like they might
seem remotely sympathetic to Chomsky's views. He is not
expressing opinions. He is engaged in a systematic
campaign of creating a hateful and hostile environment,
and driving away anyone who might be surfing the net
thinking they might be able to use the occasion to
learn something about Chomsky's views. Why else would
be repeat one damning 'fact' about Chomsky literally
hundreds of times? Yet during all these years of endless
venomous disruption, which successfully drove countless
thousands away or ensured that they were far too
intimidated to make their own opinions known, where
were the gentle, reasonable, people like Russil or
Nathan? Yet when after all these years a few people
try to answer fire with fire, and give the troll a
taste of his own medicine, suddenly that outrages
them.
   And of course the irony is it only works because
no one on our side is anywhere near as bad as
Kamm. Try appealing to Kamm on moral grounds! Try
suggesting he apologize for his behavior! Could you
possibly imagine his reacting with anything other
than more sneers and more invective?
   Me, I have been posting content pretty much
continually - I have, if you notice, systematically
refused to reply to Donald's and Constantinople's
continual personal attacks on me. Yet it hasn't
stopped them from continuing such attacks, and we
haven't seen you fellows complain about _them_, have
we? So telling _us_ you're tired of the flame wars
seems to me deeply hypocritical. Why don't you
tell Kamm to stop systematically accusing everybody
who disagrees with him about world politics of
being a nazi? _That's_ what started the flame wars
and I don't remember you guys ever having a problem
with that.
   DG