Mr. Levy's Random Observations

Great example of why it's best to ignore trolls

noreply@blogger.com (Doug Levy) — Sat, 02 Jan 2016 20:44:00 +0000

There are plenty of offensive people on all sides of the current political scene, so I am especially reticent to shine the light on anyone who posts abusive, offensive, or ignorant comments. Occasionally, others use some of these random extremists to make a point. I think that's a mistake. If an influential person, such as a celebrity, a political leader, or other person with a significant following posts extreme or offensive comments, that's a far cry from someone who has fewer than 200 followers on Twitter. Watch what happened when I raised this point to someone who called attention to one of these inconsequential commenters earlier today on Twitter.

First, here is the original tweet that I saw:

Next, here is my tweet in response. I was careful not to tag the poster who made the racist comments:

@Ursomonie @RTED2016 Why give someone who has only a small number of followers more attention? (The person whose tweet you cited.)
— Doug Levy (@SFDoug) January 2, 2016

But that individual chimed-in with this classy response anyway:

@SFDoug @Ursomonie @RTED2016 is that what makes u so cool dork u got followers oh brother what r u 10 or retarded ? pic.twitter.com/O4X2flSuTu
— whfla (@WalterWhfla) January 2, 2016

Perhaps I should have ignored him and his fewer-than-200 followers from the outset. Lesson learned.

Mississippi forbids local laws on nutrition, super-size drinks

noreply@blogger.com (Doug Levy) — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 00:22:00 +0000

I suppose it should be no surprise that Mississippi wants to protect its post as the USA's obesity capital. What strikes me most in the statements by politicians and lobbyists about the issue is that they are using exactly the same language and positions as opponents of such things as indoor air regulations, workplace safety and workers rights measures, and a long list of consumer protections. They are using a script perfected by the tobacco industry, which worked behind the scenes state by state to pass "pre-emption" laws like this that block individual communities from enacting reasonable measures through the democratic process. Once again, business interests and campaign donors defeat the public welfare. http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSBRE92I15O20130319?irpc=932


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Mr. Levy's Random Observations

Great example of why it's best to ignore trolls

Mississippi forbids local laws on nutrition, super-size drinks

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