Professional trolls

[reg42]

People often call Yahtzee a "professional troll," but I disagree. Yahtzee is just someone who has strong ways of expressing his view and, because he's famous, people seem to get offended when Yahtzee's view doens't match their own.

But there are actually professional trolls. For example, Julius Malema, leader of the ANC Youth League. Julius is either very clever, and brilliant at his job, or an utter moron. He does everything and anything to piss people (usually middle class white people) off. He refers to white people as "colonists", which is pretty damn racist itself. He also refuses to believe that their is such a thing as a hermaphrodite. People who follow championship running will remember that not long ago there was an issue with Casta Samenya, a hermaphrodite running in the woman's races. Naturally there was a big outcry, as she was cleaning house in pretty much every race. "He is a woman," that's an actually quote from him.
The thing that's so clever about him is that he really appeals to the poorer black people, who were affected by apartheid. He tells them everything they want to hear; that white people are to blame for all their problems, and that the new president will fix everything for them. Now all the government looks like heroes to the middle class when they go and slap Julius on the wrist. In this way that can appeal to both demographics easily.

tl;dr: Do you think it's right for companies and governments to employ someone as a scapegoat, to redirect fire from them? Is it cruel manipulation, or a perfectly strategic business move?

 

[electric_warrior]

Glenn Beck maybe? He's fairly awful.

 

[SnipErlite]

Scapegoats are unfair, whoever the blame lies with is who should take the blame.

But that's never going to happen....

 

[Erana]

tl;dr: Do you think it's right for companies and governments to employ someone as a scapegoat, to redirect fire from them? Is it cruel manipulation, or a perfectly strategic business move?

I think it depends on the company. There's always going to be some sort of public backlash; I think the Salvation Army would have been better off this Christmas season if they had a scapegoat for the whole, "Anti gay" rumors 'n what not.
For the most part, however, I have to say, "no." A company should be able to answer for their actions; if their behavior merits such a big outcry that they need a professional troll, then they're prolly doing something wrong.

 

[Arcadia2000]

I don't necessarily see referring to white people as "colonists" as a slur, especially if, well, that's what you were. I mean, my ancestors on my maternal grandmother's side were American colonists. Can someone please explain it to me? I mean, referring to all white people as colonists isn't so much a slur as it is stupid... what am I not getting?

 

[Lullabye]

Have you ever heard of Derek Smart? He's a game designer, and made a series of broken and buggy games called the BattleCruiser 3000 series.

However, what he's most known is for defending his products so vociferously on the internet that he caused the longest flame war in Usenets (and perhaps the internets) history.

In fact, one day in August (I think it's August 22nd(sorry that bugged me), but I'm not sure) is named 'Derek Smart says 'fuck you' to everybody' day. Because that's exactly what he did. For a whole day.

Did this actually happen? Because if it did, good on him. I think we all really just need to spend a whole day mouthing off to eachother. Relieve some stress.

OT: Yahtzee isn't really a troll. A troll feeds on response from the masses, Yahtzee seems reluctant to even talk to his friends on the best of days. I'm pretty sure he's just a regular asshole. But in a good way. I think.....maybe, whatever.
Point is, biggest troll I know is.....Michael Atkinson. I mean, if it weren't for all this attention being paid to him because of his scapegoating videogames he proly would have been out of office by now.

 

[Sir Kemper]

Professional Trolls have Standards...

Be Polite. (Untill it's not needed)

Be Efficient.

And have a plan to question everybodys sexuality you meet.

Seriously though, scapegoats just seem...wrong to me, unless the person is a wiling paticipant, then it just seems kinda like dirty busnisse, like a child climbing into tree so that it's brother can save them, so that the brother can get a cookie for being a 'Hero'

 

[reg42]

I don't necessarily see referring to white people as "colonists" as a slur, especially if, well, that's what you were. I mean, my ancestors on my maternal grandmother's side were American colonists. Can someone please explain it to me? I mean, referring to all white people as colonists isn't so much a slur as it is stupid... what am I not getting?

It's like calling black people "natives". You just don't do it, at least not where I live.

 

[reg42]

There is no such thing as a hermaphrodite though; you either have a y-chromosome or you don't, prototrophic for SRY(see: Swyer syndrome) or not

So... That makes a person born with both male and female genetalia what exactly?

 

[SnootyEnglishman]

If company X needs to employ someone just to take blame for the mistakes and stupidities then Company X is obviously in need of some internal affairs checking by themselve to see where exactly they fucked up

 

[reg42]

There is no such thing as a hermaphrodite though; you either have a y-chromosome or you don't, prototrophic for SRY(see: Swyer syndrome) or not

So... That makes a person born with both male and female genetalia what exactly?

Depends on what caused the defect.

Also, the definition of a hermaphrodite is having both FUNCTIONAL sex organs. Streak organs do not count.

They still exist though, and someone who is born as a hermaphrodite, but has one of the sexual organs removed, will still be either more masculin or feminine than a normal child.

 

[Deofuta]

Hmmm I feel he most professional trolls are the ones that succeed, and thus,

The best are those who use soundboards, especially duke nukem.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IE3KdcTgrno


"I'm Gonna Kill You Old Style!"

What?

 

[Arcadia2000]

I don't necessarily see referring to white people as "colonists" as a slur, especially if, well, that's what you were. I mean, my ancestors on my maternal grandmother's side were American colonists. Can someone please explain it to me? I mean, referring to all white people as colonists isn't so much a slur as it is stupid... what am I not getting?

It's like calling black people "natives". You just don't do it, at least not where I live.

So it's like a cultural thing I won't get because I'm American. Which means I get it. Thank you.

 

[reg42]

I don't necessarily see referring to white people as "colonists" as a slur, especially if, well, that's what you were. I mean, my ancestors on my maternal grandmother's side were American colonists. Can someone please explain it to me? I mean, referring to all white people as colonists isn't so much a slur as it is stupid... what am I not getting?

It's like calling black people "natives". You just don't do it, at least not where I live.

So it's like a cultural thing I won't get because I'm American. Which means I get it. Thank you.

I didn't say you wouldn't get it. I had no idea where you came from, I was just saying how it goes on here. I meant no offence.

 

[GrinningManiac]

Nick Griffin of the BNP

Not because he's racist, that dosen't make him a 'troll' persay,

It's because he's actually rather clever (in his tactics, not his intellegence). He manages to craft every occurance in his party into a shitstorm that attracts a lot of attention, but in a way that isn't negative to his party directly (obviously, people call them racist and evil, but the stuff he stirs up isn't actually evil in itself, it's just the connotations)

However, now he's overstepped himself and brought his party into the limelight. This means he now gets the negative attention of the main parties and the added major factor of being a target for every normal person who hates retarded feckwads

 

[AntiAntagonist]

Karl Rove. All his strategies center around defaming the opposing candidates, even if his client has worse qualities in the same paradigm.

 

[Ironic Pirate]

Most politicians have a proffessional troll or two hanging around. Karl Rove, Sarah Palin Being two prominent examples. Also, does anyone else think of Jack Thompson as a troll? He's distracting us from the fact that everyting he says is bullshit.