Twitmo

Well, damn. I got a week's suspension from Twitter. Know what I did? Evidently I mocked the Saudi Kingdom. In a post to Tim O'Brien, I said that the Saudis should get all their suicide pilots and bone saws ready for war with Iran. That was pretty much it, verbatim. I had previously done about 12 hours in Twitmo for insulting Tomi Lahren, something tens of thousands of people do to that stupid cunt. Twitter is kinda Catholic in it's punishments, rapping you on the knuckles and making you remove the post so you take a proactive role in your punishment. Yeah, sure, fuck whatever. They did the same this time and advised me that bullying would not be tolerated- wait- bullying Saudi Arabia? Is Iran banned too? They attacked Saudi oil fields. All I did was point out (in my own way) that most of the 9/11 hijackers were suicidal Saudis and they murdered an American journalist with a motherfucking bone saw. Well, not in those words. I merely implied and referenced those two incidents.

Tim O'Brien, by the way, probably had nothing to do with this. He's a good guy, very anti-Trump and you've probably seen him on MSNBC talking about Trump. He was sued by this president* for a book he wrote about him. He did not lose. Like most people who are blue-checked on Twitter, it's doubtful Tim ever saw my post. I imagine most are like Chris Hayes. He has his settings adjusted so that he only sees the replies to his posts from the few hundred people he follows on Twitter. Know how I know this? A couple years ago he posted on Twitter that that is how he avoids trolls or any troublesome commenters. He never sees the posts. He's got like a million followers, I think. I never cared for the guy and rarely watched his show back then. I found him to be smug and pretentious. But, one day I was on Twitter and saw that he was a Cubs fan. He was tweeting while watching a Cubs playoff game, complaining about the calls and fan stuff, in real-time. I joined in. I think I posted the pic of me with Ernie Banks. Anybody who calls themselves a Cubs fan would appreciate such a photo and probably be jealous. Didn't even get a like from Hayes! I thought that was odd until 6-7 weeks later I saw his post explaining his settings policy.

So, that explanation not only absolves Tim O'Brien of any possible tattle-telling on me, it also absolves that dumb cunt, Tomi. I don't think for a minute that Tomi read my post and got hurt. I completely get that anyone who is Twitter famous cannot possibly find the time to read even 1% of the comments to them. I've got no problem with that. I only mention Hayes because he's dickish enough to have publicly boasted about how he ignores fans. He proved me right about my initial assessment of him.

The thing is, the people getting offended when you insult or taunt a celebrity- or a kingdom- are not the actual victims. They are minions. Proxy complainers. Evidently there's A LOT of that on Twitter and Facebook. I don't know why I posted that as if it were a surprise to me, as if social media being tribal was something new. Boy, you'd think a Ferrerman who defeated Dregs, Cliques and Unspankables in immortal combat would know that... Gang-reporting is nothing new. One of the more offensive aspects of Twitter is the "Twitter- Do Your Thang" lynch mobs where someone outs someone for being a dick to minorities or something socially wrong. Those people are often kinda deserving but, who is some random Twitterer to be organizing a lynch mob for anyone? I saw "The Ox-Bow Incident" in grade school and it helped mold me into the Ferrerman I am today. Doxxing people on the 'net is not a thang I want to be a part of. Truth be told, I rarely ever participate in the less sinister gang reporting of anyone either. I figure there's usually plenty of other folks up to doing that. I prefer to block or deal with people as I see fit. If somebody annoys me, I block them. Subsequently, I don't mind if someone blocks me. Chris Hayes has effectively blocked me and 7 billion other people. OK. An apparent liberal site- LOLGOP- blocked me long ago. Though I'm decidedly in favor of gun control, Shannon Watts blocked me several weeks ago. She was complaining about mansplaining and I jokingly suggested that she was womansplaining mansplaining. Only cause she was. Kinda knew she'd bounce me for that but, it had to be said. She does good work but, she's wrapped pretty tight. I followed her but, frankly I muted her a lot. On my Twitter bio I noted the irony of being blocked by both Shannon Watts and Dana Loesch. I might be alone in that spectrum.

I don't know if I'll return to Twitter when allowed. The @Jack fuckhead that owns it might deem me OK (as if he cares...) but, what about the offended minions of all things Trump? I'm not a people-pleaser and those are not really people, or people I need to please, at least. They are like Chris Hayes's followers are to, um, Chris Hayes- just sorta there, whether he sees them ot not.

Stolen Valor

I went down a rabbit hole of Stolen Valor videos on Youtube the other night. Even I, after all my experiences at work and on Topix, am surprised at how prevalent it seems to be. One ex-Navy SEAL seems to have devoted his retirement to busting fake SEAL's. In the segment I watched he busted three current used car salesmen for trying to pass themselves off as former SEAL's. These three just happened to be used car salesman and that's just the way the complaints came in that week so, that profession isn't necessarily rife with phony SEAL's but, come on...it's used car sales...

There's a boatload of these videos out there though and most are really just pathetic people cos-playing soldier. Mental illness seems to be a major factor and I, at least, find myself feeling very sorry for the offenders. Their stories unravel very quickly as they are confronted by veterans with cell phones while going about their daily business. These poor bastards are Army Rangers and Marines and made captain out of boot camp and yada yada. I'm amazed at how, when confronted, they double and quadruple down on their bullshit rather than hightail it before the actual vet gets angry and maybe whups their ass. Maybe I shouldn't be amazed but, as seen every minute on the internet, the George Costanza line rings true:

"Remember, Jerry- it's not a lie if YOU believe it."

That's why I think it's generally mental illness afoot. You see these sad sacks on the internet and you wonder if they don't have mirrors in their homes. They're active duty Force Recon and 30-40 pounds overweight? Some guys have scammed the VA for benefits, even without ever having served. That, of course, is a crime as is stolen valor itself. It's one thing to fib a little to puff yourself up and quite another to be getting benefits you have to right to. Some guys seem to be doing it for a military discount at Starbucks or any store offering one but, I gotta believe those discounts are hinged on a valid military ID rather than showing up in fatigues or dress blues. I mean- what about hunters and hillbillies that just wear camo because they think it's stylish?

At work and at play on the late, not-so-great Topix, claiming military service was basically a way to intimidate other people. Don't fuck with me...I've been in combat and killed before... In the case of a used car salesman, I'd guess the idea is to impress car buyers more than intimidate but these guys are usually turned in by coworkers who find holes in their stories. Or maybe find them obnoxious. There were two guys on Topix that I can think of that claimed Marine service in Vietnam- before and after actual US involvement in 'Nam. Quite likely they were Marines, just nowhere near 'Nam and bullets flying. Some embellish actual service but most of these guys just seem to be winging it based on things they saw on TV or movies. Actual veterans on the street know the right questions and answers involved in drawing these men (and women!) out. What's your MOS? What's your pay grade? Most of these guys unravel at that. And, they almost always get the uniform wrong. Dress Blues and...crocs? One guy was in fatigues and wearing sneakers. He said it was "Casual Friday..." On the internet and in real life they ask for DD214's. Those are discharge papers. I don't know all that's on them but I bet it's not info anyone wants public. I'll bet like one's SS number is on there. I don't know. But it was comical on Topix when one phony would demand of another that they post their DD214. The first liar doesn't have a chance.

I shouldn't be surprised there are so many liars- and I'm not. I guess I'm surprised that so many are so bad at it.