WHAT IS AN ONLINE TROLL?

David Hogan
Leeds, AL

Photo from Wampler Pedals Website

OK lots of people have different takes on what an online troll is, but think about someone that comes into a discussion to STIR UP DISCORD. Emphasis on "comes into". If they were stating what others consider discord on their "own" timeline that's NOT trolling. The "trolling" aspect is about doing it where not invited, just like a troll in old tales sneaks into camp.

Most of the time trolls WILL NOT like your other posts you make about life in general, they will not celebrate anything positive in your life, they'll seldom take the time out of their superior and uppity life to like a post of you celebrating a birthday, wedding, graduation, or mourning illness or death.

But if you post ANYTHING they have a strong opinion of, they are MORE than happy to use your platform, or your post on your timeline to set the world straight and show all the error of your ways.

I don't consider someone on their own timeline to be a troll as they aren't trolling there, as it's their own original thought. Many TROLLS not only do this on your timeline they'll do it in groups too. It doesn't matter what the group is about, they'll find a way to throw in their diatribe or trigger.

A common group example is to come into a group that is absolutely biased on something and stir up crap. I'm not talking about a neutral or even supposed neutral place like a news page, even though most are biased but there is the assumption they should be fair, I'm talking about being a hater of a particular candidate for example and stirring discord and hate on their page. They know the majority will come down on them like white on rice, but they don't care, it's what they do.

Trolls exist politically on ALL sides. Many trolls head straight to their opponents pages to SHOW THEM THE TRUTH, and they believe that too. What they ignore is that unless they are making a peaceful post they haven't changed one mind, and what they have most likely done is HARDEN them up against both them and their cause.

Trolls often think they are harbingers of the TRUTH when in fact they are just SHIT STIRRERS because they're not being realistic about influencing people, they're being self-righteous dicks, EVEN if their cause is a worthy one.

That's a troll and they are a special kind of pond scum too.

An Immigration Story, Close to Home

David Hogan
Leeds, AL

Let's say you run a water distribution company out of your home and your basement is FILLED with pallets of bottled water. You even sell to a lot of your neighbors in town. THEN one day the city water supply is poisoned by a train that spills poison chemicals in the local lake water supply in a derailment, and it also blocks off the only road coming into the town as well. Authorities are struggling with the poison chemical because trying to right the derailed train may spill more and this has now moved into 4 days, and people have been without water for four days. YOU, owning a bottled water distribution center put a pallet of bottled water out in your driveway asking everyone to please take only 5 bottles a day and you'll put more out each day. In no time the pallet is emptied and the next day you hear the front door opening and people are pouring in your living room telling you they demand the water NOW. The first thing you have to do is get them out of the house and close the front door to get a hold of the situation. You want to help, but this is dangerous now. Welcome to immigration in America! So how dare you close the door, even if temporarily.

God NEVER left America, We Left God

David Hogan
Leeds, AL

God NEVER left America, we left God.

Picture courtesy of Liquid Church

There is NO doubt in my mind the rise of socialism, the rise of mass shootings, the rise of drug addicted homelessness, the amount of children without both parents, the rise in suicide, the poverty of not just lack of material things but the utter lack of any hope at all in the eyes of people I've seen on the streets and on lone park benches in utter despair, are the lack of a relationship with our creator.

Now so many are pissed at God and religion and often it's because we didn't get our way, or we had to put up with a goody two shoes pointing their religious finger at us, or we had to put up with bullies that USED to be kept in check by Godly people that looked out after one another.

Are Godly people perfect, why HELL NO. Are Godly people without the desires of pleasure, of course not many of us walk around with our pleasures showing plainly in our clothes size. Are Godly people without a need for love and yes sex from their partner, not at all in fact many of us love sex and are very good at it, we just share it with someone we love and are committed to, and for the most part save my mention of it here, keep that to ourselves.

Are Godly people better than all the rest?

Not even close, and neither do we think that, we just believe in the slogan on the money we use, In God We Trust, and one other thing, we are in NO means perfect we F$%& up all the time, we're just FORGIVEN and we know the sacrifice made to allow forgiveness and we try to give that to others.

You see America WAS founded on a belief in God and history does prove it, but more important is God NEVER left America, we as a whole, left God, but God remains loving and reachable America!

Go back to a church, move around if you have to, read the bible, stay a reasonable distance from those that point their finger in judgement at you even at churches, but also realize the path is not without work, and do your part, alone if you have to, in fact we will grow strong in our relationship with God when it begins personally and alone, for then we can truly help others.

Godly folks do not turn away those trying, do not raise a superior smug attitude on anyone trying, but neither can they sit on their duff, they must put forth effort, but with our help, not with our judgement. They will fail many times, just as we fail, and we cannot discard them, but neither can they be given a free ride, for Godly people WORK together to GLORIFY GOD.

Why? Because, IN GOD WE TRUST!

Picture from internet search and marked from PersonalExcellence.co

America Needs More Youth Kickball Games

Leeds, Al
By David Hogan

The problem with America and politics is we don't play enough schoolyard kickball or softball anymore.

Without any teacher around at all, someone would suggest a kickball game, then someone suggested two people to pick teams.

RIGHT THERE WAS THE FIRST LESSON. Some didn't like who the two leaders were, BUT everyone pressed on.

The two leaders would go back and forth picking people, starting with the best players and soon came BOTH smiles and frowns, BUT everyone pressed on.

Then the teams took to the fields and some that were good players, put their glove under their arm and stood crossed legged and pissed that they didn't get on the team they wanted to, BUT eventually these people fell into one of two categories.

These pissed off youngsters would either wake up when a ball was hit to them by instinct and forget all about being pissed and get IN the game and MAKE the play, OR they would stand there pissed and let the ball go by to the detriment of the team to show them in their act of defiance they did not appreciate NOT getting their way.

As future games were played, lessons were learned, some players got better and improved and some sat on the sidelines, skipped the game, and bitched, and some were just grateful to be able to play.

ANTI This and ANTI That

By David Hogan
Leeds, AL

I'm trying to figure out how we corrupted this meaning for, ANTI.

Some seem to think that if we are FOR something, we must by default be AGAINST its opposite or even alternatives. I find that utterly ridiculous.

I don't like olives in my egg salad, but I still like olives, and really don't care if anyone else likes them or not in theirs, and can't for the life of me figure out why anyone would give a damn. I'm not ANTI-OLIVE EGG SALAD, I just prefer mine without olives.

I see all kinds of protests going on with the preface, "ANTI" in front of something aimed at certain people, groups, businesses and more. Upon investigation there is no oppression of the choice being defended, it's usually just that the person or owner, etc. doesn't favor it or embrace it.

NOW if they were denying access to someone of whatever persuasion being defended by the ANTI-XXXX protesting, I could see the point.

IF there are public tax dollars involved in the whatever it is choice, I could see a point of debate, but not when the link is made from a stretch like trying to tie a business owner's personal preferences on the whatever it is, to their ANTI-XXXX acusations.

The ANTI-XXXX protestors are often just bitching because someone disagrees or doesn't embrace THEIR choice. WOW, that's some really fascist controlling horse shit right there. Just because someone doesn't prefer or embrace something does not make them ANTI to whatever it is.

Some controversial items of debate go well beyond this of course, but many are more about being pissed someone doesn't agree with them than anything else, and often justified by what they believe is the only "right" way to think.

All Animals Are Equal, Sorta, Kinda

Thanks to good old George Orwell!

Facebook censored several big well known accounts that made news yesterday. Guess What? I didn't like ANY of them. GUESS WHAT ELSE? I don't care if I like them or not, censorship always denies us the ability to choose. Choose what, you may say?

To ignore, to embrace, to refute, to engage, to further understanding, to shake our head in disbelief, to know NOT to do what was written, to take action, to make any of MANY choices.

Notice how there are usually no DETAILED rules when people start censoring. Everything is most always SUBJECTIVE. This is usually followed by someone saying, "surely we can ALL agree" and usually, surely we cannot ALL agree on even the color of darkness, or if there even IS, a color of darkness.

When you HIDE evil or hate, IF we can even all agree to what that is, you allow it ambush status. Talk to one another, read, refute, reject, embrace, use your brain, instead of allowing someone else to decide for you.

OR NOT.

Right Now, Leave it for Others to Find!

The good and the bad of philosophy is that my great moments of wisdom fade soon and become dried up, but as time and conditions change they become meaningful again if not for me, maybe to someone else.

IF I wait around for them to be useful to me or receive praise from others, I could get lost in the wait and risk missing other wisdoms left behind by others, for me to find, when I truly need them.

I could have just said, live in the moment, but this seemed more profound to leave for others, and possibly the hint of a boat that may be used again, down the road of time possibly.