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The Wise Turtle · 01-15-2007, 06:07 PM

I just read this article, enjoyed a lot of it (thanks again!), and I wanted to offer a different perspective, about the last section, that some might find useful...

From what I've seen, "trolls" are actually very interested in the ideas they argue so vehemently against. Just like the loudest homophobes generally turn out to be gay, it seems that the folks many people call "trolls" (be they internet trolls or financial trolls) are really desperately looking for someone to prove them wrong (in their eyes) so that they can accept who they are and move on to a more healthy relationship with themselves.

I've seen this time and time again with many of the people I know and love who many would consider trolls. I have a pretty good idea why they do what they do, and it's not random aggression at all, but is specifically targetted at some internal conflict that they themselves are having. (Psychologists call this projection, when one's own thoughts and feelings are projected onto another, because the thoughts and feelings are seen as alien and dangerous. People say to themselves "I can't be X, because I was brought up to believe that people who are X are bad. However, I sense that someone here is X, but it can't possibly be me because I don't want to believe that I'm a bad person, so... it must be you who is X! Or you! Or maybe you?")

Obviously, if you aren't trained in some sort of mediation, Buddhist practice, psychotherapy, philosophy, early childhood education, or other form of mental/emotional health counseling, you're probably not going to be able to help the troll and might end up hurting yourself if you try. (I guess you could say that those professions are into the "extreme sports" of human relationships!) So, as Steve suggests, stay away from trolls as much as you can, and don't engage them unless you are willing to get hurt, and understand what the risks are.

But it does at least seem to help when you realize that the more aggressive and antagonistic people (trolls) get about something on the outside, the less confident and more confused they really feel on the inside. So you can feel pity for them, rather than letting yourself get dragged down into their ever deepening pit of low self esteem!

Peace, Love, and Bicycles,
-Turtle

01-15-2007, 06:07 PM	#36 (permalink)
The Wise Turtle Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Somerville, Massachusetts, USA Posts: 73	I just read this article, enjoyed a lot of it (thanks again!), and I wanted to offer a different perspective, about the last section, that some might find useful... From what I've seen, "trolls" are actually very interested in the ideas they argue so vehemently against. Just like the loudest homophobes generally turn out to be gay, it seems that the folks many people call "trolls" (be they internet trolls or financial trolls) are really desperately looking for someone to prove them wrong (in their eyes) so that they can accept who they are and move on to a more healthy relationship with themselves. I've seen this time and time again with many of the people I know and love who many would consider trolls. I have a pretty good idea why they do what they do, and it's not random aggression at all, but is specifically targetted at some internal conflict that they themselves are having. (Psychologists call this projection, when one's own thoughts and feelings are projected onto another, because the thoughts and feelings are seen as alien and dangerous. People say to themselves "I can't be X, because I was brought up to believe that people who are X are bad. However, I sense that someone here is X, but it can't possibly be me because I don't want to believe that I'm a bad person, so... it must be you who is X! Or you! Or maybe you?") Obviously, if you aren't trained in some sort of mediation, Buddhist practice, psychotherapy, philosophy, early childhood education, or other form of mental/emotional health counseling, you're probably not going to be able to help the troll and might end up hurting yourself if you try. (I guess you could say that those professions are into the "extreme sports" of human relationships!) So, as Steve suggests, stay away from trolls as much as you can, and don't engage them unless you are willing to get hurt, and understand what the risks are. But it does at least seem to help when you realize that the more aggressive and antagonistic people (trolls) get about something on the outside, the less confident and more confused they really feel on the inside. So you can feel pity for them, rather than letting yourself get dragged down into their ever deepening pit of low self esteem! Peace, Love, and Bicycles, -Turtle Last edited by The Wise Turtle; 01-15-2007 at 06:12 PM.