No, I Was Not Bullied into Not Being an Asshole

Posted on by Paul Fidalgo

Oh, barf.

Okay, so apparently that Thunderf00t guy (who I didn’t know anything about before the tumult he brought to FtB) has a video in which my name appears among a list of folks who contributed to the Skepchick series on rejecting anti-woman vitriol in the skepto-atheosphere, and asserts that the aforementioned folks were all “bullied” or “cajoled” into taking part.

I mean come the fuck on. Do I really have to do this?

For the record: I was honored to be asked to participate, I am proud of what I wrote, and stand by it entirely. I know bullying. I am still recovering from a lifetime of it, and yeah, being asked to state the obvious on a great website is not bullying.

Also for the record: I still don’t understand why anybody cares what this guy with the zeros-for-o’s in his name thinks.

Gah. I can’t believe I even had to dignify this nonsense. My eyes are rolling so far back in my head I can read my own thoughts. I need a blog shower.

Published by Paul Fidalgo

Odd duck.

66 thoughts on “No, I Was Not Bullied into Not Being an Asshole”

  1. A little context:
    Thunderf00t has a series called “Why do people laugh at creationists?” that is, for the most part, very good.
    And as a general rule of thumb, Tf00t is generally very good at promoting scientific and critical thinking and pushing back on religious claims about reality.
    I didn’t like everything he produced – but I liked the majority of his work, and considered myself a fan.
    So with all of that, Tf00t should have been a good match for FTB. But when he joined, he just went off the deep end. And the quality of his writing and posts was terrible to boot. Watching him double down in the face of sustained and patient correction from the likes of Matt Dillahunty and PZ was deeply surprising and disappointing to those like myself who thought we knew Tf00t better than that.
    None of which you need to care about persay. Just thought the context might help you frame why other people might be taking him more seriously than he deserves based on his current behavior.

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    2. This summarizes my awareness and feelings about thunderfoot. I was aware of him from years back when I found the laugh at creationists videos (very good overall) and was floored at him doubling down on being critically thoughtless regarding this issue. At this point, he seems intent on tripling down on being a complete asshat.

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  3. Too bad. At least if you had been cajoled to do this you would have an excuse and some plausible deniability. But given the banruptcy and collapse of A+, now here you stand proud to have been a colossal douchebag. And ignorant.

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    2. I’m confused. Did A+ lose all their money or the ability to ban people? Neither makes sense. I’m probably just ignorant.

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    3. Yeah, dude. Speaking out against misogyny and speaking for an inclusive, equal atheist movement is such a douchey, ignorant thing to do.Wait, what?

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    4. Paul is a douchebag for standing up for women’s rights? How does that work?
      Geez, you MRA’s don’t live on Bizarro world. You have your own Bizarro-VERSE.

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  4. I encourage everyone reading this blog to make a donation to Amy Roth’s women’s scholarships for every negative comment you see. Also, here is a picture of a house:
    ——————-
    ——–^||——-
    ——/___——-
    ——|o||o|——
    –mmmNmmm–
    –_____||____—
    –___________–
    ——————-

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      1. Maybe if you took a nice dump, Iamcuriousblue, it would keep some of that shit from pouring out of your mouth…

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      2. Just be sure not to send her anywhere where she might encounter some big mean offensive, bullying t-shirts designed to silence her. The poor thing scares easily, after all.

        Bless your heart. You must be having a bad day. I fixed that for you.

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    2. Is that a house, or a guy in a feathered Robin Hood cap peeking over the top of a fence?

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      1. Ok, so he does videos that mock creationism.And that has exactly *what* to do with his opposition to feminism?

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      2. The question was why anyone cares what he thinks. My answer was that he created a popular series of YouTube videos that has been viewed by thousands. And, I don’t think he opposes feminism, but a specific brand of feminism, which is something I wish he would make more clear.

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      4. The specific brand of feminism he opposes being the one he and his buddies created inside their minds.

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      5. The brand of feminism where women hope to attend atheist/skeptic conventions with the knowledge that if they are sexually harassed (which is a possibility since thst is a problem), the organizers have their backs?
        Yeah, I can totes see why a sexist, “I got mine”, self absorbed, arrogant, reality denying asshat like TF would be opposed to that.

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  6. Clearly you had to have been bullied, otherwise zeroes wouldn’t have mentioned it. And we all know denial is the first step towards acceptance.
    That’s logic, that is.
    I feel stupid just typing that out.

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  7. I encourage everyone reading this blog to make a donation to Amy Roth’s women’s scholarships for every negative comment you see.

    A lovely idea, but I can’t afford it.

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  10. now here you stand proud to have been a colossal douchebag. And ignorant.

    If that’s your standard then please mark me down as a proud, colossal ignorant douchebag too.
    Or, you know, just fuck off and stuff.

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  11. I was also on that list. I was also honored to be asked, and I too am proud of what I said.
    Neither was I “bulled” by a buncha chicks. For that I usually have to pay extra. 😉

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    1. You kid… but there’s a good point there, which is that it seems like there’s a higher-than-average level of awareness of and participation in what we could refer to as “alternative lifestyles,” some of which includes the whips and chains crowd. People like TF want to paint feminists as sexually-repressed prudes, when the truth is the exact opposite. And part of participation in those lifestyles usually includes a heightened awareness of consent and often very formalized “rules of engagement.” You know, the sort of rules that TF thinks ruin all the fun and are destroying atheism by their very existence.

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      1. Don’t think kinky folks can’t be sexist asshats either. There are MRA groups on Fetlife (like facebook but for kinksters), predators who think rape culture is great, plenty of the “women are weak, naturally submissive creatures who need a big strong man to lead them” types, and don’t even get me started on the Goreans. They are a minority of course but they’re enough to make themselves irritating. Feminists are just more likely to be the ones willing to talk about their kinks openly because of the concept of sex positivity.

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    2. You need to try bartering.
      I’m sure the secret to how you keep your hair so awesome is worth a few millions.

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    3. That you are on that list is a strong indicator that your moral compass is well aligned, Aron. For what it’s worth, as a subscriber from wayback (yup, it’s one word) , I appreciate your willingness to stand and be counted on this matter.

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  12. I almost wonder where he came up with the concept that anyone was bullied to say anything. I’m nearly guessing it was through extensive and exhaustive research. I barely think the idea didn’t excrete from somewhere on his body.

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    1. Simple: any man who stands up for women or feminism or is anti-sexism or misogyny MUST have been bullied into it. Otherwise he’s stand with his buddies, i.e., other males. 😛

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  13. I’m still trying to figure out how treating women with dignity and respect makes you a terrible person, while attacking and harassing and threatening women makes you an awesome person.

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  14. I’m waiting for an argument from their side that actually makes sense. Why does there have to be sides at all? I’m hoping that we can all work together to improve things for us all. And I’m glad you came to ftb.

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    1. You see, someone being upset that people made knockoffs of her jewelery with the express intent to upset her, then actually saying something about it is literally murdering Free Speech, Free Thought, and Rational Expression in cold blood. This is because of reasons.

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  15. But don’t you understand, those poor guys are all still afraid of the superpower of Rebecca Watson who made Richard Dawkins lose all he ever had and who hasn’t had a single speaking engagement or media presence ever since!

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    1. Yes. Thunderzerosinhisname is probably a little disconcerted at the way his video is backfiring on him.
      He said at the end of the vid something to the effect of “please pass this on to all the organizations so that they will never again invite any of the evil feminists to speak” and now lots of guys high up in those very organizations are pointing out how insulting it is to say they were bullied or coerced. That can’t have been the plan.

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      2. The above quotation appears to be a fabrication. The actual quotation at the end of his video is, “Please forward this video to leaders of secular groups who you think need to hear this message”

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      3. It’s not a fabrication. It’s not a direct quote, but you would know that if you read the entire comment.

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      4. We don’t understand word constructions like “something like”, and/or ignore them for the sake of our twisted convenience.

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      5. Perhaps “fabrication” was the wrong word. Nonetheless, it was incorrect. Not technically incorrect. Incorrect. If your argument is it is the same thing, which I would say is pretty indefensible, then you should have no problem at all with me correcting the record.

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      6. Feel free to “correct” all you like.
        While you are about this business of correcting, please feel free to stop by thunderf00t”s ssactuary and correct him too.
        Thanks!

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      8. Well then keep up the good fight there keithroragen!
        The sarcastic use and abuse of quotation marks is a huge problem. Thank you for your “diligence” in attending to this “important matter”.

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      9. Not a quote, but an accurate description. Like so:
        End of actual quote:
        “Please forward this video to leaders of secular groups who you think need to hear this message.”
        The rest of the quote, talking about the “message”:
        Seriously, those who organise conferences, get a grip. You do not have to appease the request of every PC whiner. The secular community can achieve great things, but it will never achieve anything while it has poison like this being dripped into its heart.

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      10. I’d have to say it’s quite definitely the same thing. To say it’s not is extremely disingenuous.
        Did Phil NOT want the vid passed to all secular organizations? Did Phil NOT want those feminists he listed to not be invited to speak? Can you really say that with a straight face? Please, specifically point out just exactly how “please pass this on to all the organizations so that they will never again invite any of the evil feminists to speak” was not the appropriate inference of Phil’s message.

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      11. My quibble is with the last part of Ms. Benson’s paraphrasing, “…so that they will never again invite any of the evil feminists to speak”. This is based on words neither spoken, or written, but assumed subtext. I can’t say I’m very familiar with Ms. Benson, but I take it she is some kind of a writer. She should know better than to put her interpretation inside quotation marks. It is a pet peeve of mine when people use quotation marks to surround indirect quotations. Again, my use of the word “fabrication” was unfair, and I retract it. Given Ms. Benson’s comment opened by ridiculing Thunderf00t’s name, I hope you will pardon my clumsiness.
        As for Tf00t’s comment, emo’s comment above yours provides more context. That, and the beginning of the video, suggest that Tf00t’s concern is that organizers are feeling compelled to host the speakers, and that some speakers are feeling compelled to speak on certain topics. Whether or not this is rational, Tf00t’s plea seems to be to organizers not being pressured into including such speakers. This is consistent with this, and other videos, in which Tf00t defends an open exchange of ideas.

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      12. “She should know better than to put her interpretation inside quotation marks. It is a pet peeve of mine when people use quotation marks to surround indirect quotations.”
        And it’s a pet peeve of mine when people intentionally misinterpret what someone says, or tries to invalidate an argument based on it’s form. While it may be wrong to put quotation marks around an indirect quote as if it was a direct quote, Ophelia is quite obviously not doing that (well, it’s only obvious for those of us who bother to read all the words, which is hard, I know). It’s perfectly acceptable to put quotations around an inference if you’re putting it in someone else’s voice, so long as the context is clear, as it is here.
        “Given Ms. Benson’s comment opened by ridiculing Thunderf00t’s name, I hope you will pardon my clumsiness.”
        Nope, I’m not feeling particularly magnanimous towards you.
        “As for Tf00t’s comment, emo’s[sic] comment …” (“ema”. Was that intentional?) “… and the beginning of the video, suggest that Tf00t’s concern is that organizers are feeling compelled to host the speakers, and that some speakers are feeling compelled to speak on certain topics.”
        Aha! They are being bullied! By the FTBullies(TM)! The “feminist bullying” meme, again.
        So, you think Phil’s being worried about poor helpless meeting organizers being strong armed into inviting feminists to talk about feminism is not the same as not inviting the evil feminists to speak? Really? Seriously? That’s your argument?
        “This is consistent with this, and other videos, in which Tf00t defends an open exchange of ideas.”
        Please, I’m not one of those people who can suppress my gag reflex.

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      13. Why do you find it necessary to be so adversarial? My greatest offense to you was using the word “fabrication” to describe someone else’s comment, which I have retracted, and misspelling someone else’s name. It’s a pity you would rather have an enemy than a discussion.
        I apologize for screwing up ema’s name(I almost just did it again). I do not know ema and have absolutely no axe to grind with her/him.

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      14. Why do you find it necessary to be so adversarial?

        Are you completely unaware of the history, here? Surely not. You haven’t just decided to jump right into a highly heated debate with no care for the background, have you? No. You’re much too sensible for that.
        Well, just in case anyone that foolish were to drop by, I’d like to point out that this is not a standalone issue. There’s been a significant amount of disagreement between various groups here, including a rather large amount of misrepresentation and bullshit from one particular faction. As a result, those of us who have been subjected to that kind of crap repeatedly for the better part of a year, have developed some rather itchy trigger fingers.
        So, if you drop into a discussion like this and start talking crap, don’t expect a warning shot. We’ll go for the kill straight away. We can’t afford not to because any quarter given will only be used to derail the thread and waste time. If you want to join the discussion, you’re more than welcome, but do your homework first. If you’re going to step into a war zone, don’t complain when your hair gets ruffled.

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  18. Tf00t’s concern is that organizers are feeling compelled to host the speakers, and that some speakers are feeling compelled to speak on certain topics. Whether or not this is rational, Tf00t’s plea seems to be to organizers not being pressured into including such speakers.

    In which case TF is proving himself to be a paranoid conspiracy theorist.

    This is consistent with this, and other videos, in which Tf00t defends an open exchange of ideas.

    As long as those ideas don’t include any hint of any topic which TF has decided, in his infinite infallible wisdom, are just not important; like that icky girly stuff…
    …or anything which suggests that there is room for improvement in the skeptical/atheist movement, which as we all know is a paradise on Earth where no one ever makes mistakes or does anything unreasonable.

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  19. I admit I enjoyed his Creationist series…but let’s be honest. His primary target in those videos was a kid who went by the name of VenomFangX who was…to be charitable…not the sharpest tool in the shed.
    Sometimes, it was a little bit like watching someone pick the wings off of flies.
    I was very happy when he joined FtB, however. And quite dismayed when he almost instantly drove the car into a bridge abutment.
    Now, I’m disgusted by him. I unsubscribed to his YouTube channel a while back. I won’t watch him again. Life is way way way too short.

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  21. Don’t you know that “something to the effect of” is totally fine when you want to distort and/or misinterpret other people’s meanings?
    I mean, Ophelia Benson is something to the effect of a pro at that, basically.
    By the way, Paul, did you actually watch the video or did you do a PZ Myers?

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    1. TF00l’s words:

      Seriously, those who organise conferences, get a grip. You do not have to appease the request of every PC whiner. The secular community can achieve great things, but it will never achieve anything while it has poison like this being dripped into its heart

      Ophelia Benson did not misrepresent his meaning with her paraphrase. You.dishonest.twit.
      Go back and read the replies to 16.1

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