Good News: Butt-Hurt Is Not Fatal

Posted on | July 4, 2012 | 68 Comments

FROM AN UNDISCLOSED LOCATION
You may remember that on June 25 I published a post called “Healing Butt-Hurt: Theory and Practice,” in which I mentioned “the storm of infighting and recriminations among bloggers over the Kimberlin saga, an unfortunate development that has been a distraction and an emotional drain for the past several weeks.”

One of the things I’d done on June 24 — the day before I published that post — was to send an e-mail to Seth “Socrates” Allen, the first guy to get sued by Brett Kimberlin. Some of the people involved in trying to fight back against Kimberlin said they’d been getting nothing but hostility from Seth, which made no sense to me at all.

So I sent Seth an e-mail explaining that his attitude seemed to me a bad idea, and said that I had discarded (at least for the duration of this fight) my own personal grudges:

Let me stress an important point here: Until I got into this thing a month ago, I had been at odds with Patterico going back to 2009, for reasons it is not necessary to describe now. I had also experienced a conflict with Aaron, and furthermore had not been much of a fan of Lee Stranahan. (I had some quarrel with Lee’s blogging about WeinerGate.)
Given the gravity of the situation — the importance of this story — I have nonetheless resolved to put aside all personal considerations, welcoming every ally without regard to any previous disagreement. In fact, I’ve repeatedly found myself compelled to referee disputes among some of these allies who seem more eager to settle grudges between themselves than to keep up the fight against Kimberlin & Co.
In light of my own experiences, then, I am mystified to see you publicly quarreling with potential allies. Whatever wrongs you have previously suffered from these would-be allies, or whatever criticisms you have of other people’s involvement in this matter, by any measure would seem minor and irrelevant, in comparison to the great good that could be achieved if we were all cooperating.

So anyway, Seth decided Tuesday it would be a good idea to publish that e-mail with the title, “Robert Stacy McCain Exposed as Card Carrying Member of the Breitbart Cult.” Exactly how offering friendly advice qualifes as something that must be “exposed,” I don’t know.

But there are a lot of things I don’t know, and it’s late at night, so I’m too tired to explain everything I meant to explain here. The “storm of infighting and recriminations” continues unabated, and earlier this week I accidentally contributed to it myself. Mea culpa.

I’ll try to rectify my errors tomorrow or maybe Thursday, if I live that long. I just got word tonight that Ray Minner died.

You probably didn’t know Ray Minner, but he was a good man, and his daughter taught high school English to two of my children. Death has a way of putting other bummers in perspective.

— Robert Stacy McCain, Whereabouts Unknown

Category: Blogging

Comments

68 Responses to “Good News: Butt-Hurt Is Not Fatal”

Bob Belvedere
July 4th, 2012 @ 3:03 pm

Mrs. Other McCain would be able to answer you question, as she is well on her way to Sainthood.
Bob Belvedere
July 4th, 2012 @ 3:04 pm

Nihilism wrapped in Narcissism.
Whacked | BizNax
July 4th, 2012 @ 5:43 pm

[…] Good News: Butt-Hurt Is Not Fatal : The Other McCain One of the things I’d done on June 24 — the day before I published that post — was to send an e-mail to Seth “Socrates” Allen, the first guy to get sued by Brett Kimberlin. Some of the people involved in trying to fight back against Kimberlin said they’d been getting nothing but hostility from Seth, which made no sense to me at all. […]
JeffWeimer
July 4th, 2012 @ 7:23 pm

Who is still dead, BTW.
Monitor2112
July 4th, 2012 @ 8:00 pm

I would very highly doubt it. I think he expects NBC to front the money for that. He is entitled you see
Bob Belvedere
July 4th, 2012 @ 8:24 pm

Don’t forget the Secret Handshake!
Dianna Deeley
July 4th, 2012 @ 9:17 pm

Why would you wish to inflict such a fate on Seth Allen?!
Dianna Deeley
July 4th, 2012 @ 9:19 pm

It doesn’t work that way, so far as i know.
Randy_Rager
July 4th, 2012 @ 9:55 pm

The one involving a rubber chicken, a 12 pack of Leinenkugel Summer Shandy and a used rubber?
Monitor2112
July 5th, 2012 @ 4:27 am

We don’t even know if he has grounds for an appeal. His case seems pretty much over.

I think he wants the NBC to give him the money for his fine and the court costs, and pick up everything because HE IS THE IMPORTANT ONE
Bob Belvedere
July 5th, 2012 @ 7:51 am

It would make great Reality TV.
Bob Belvedere
July 5th, 2012 @ 7:55 am

No…that’s the Malkin Cult.

The Breitbart Cult™ Secret Handshake involves a hot dog, an acorn dipped in dark chocolate, and a Kenyan Birth Certificate.
Rob Crawford
July 5th, 2012 @ 9:47 am

You put your hand out to a leftist and they bit it. It’s what they do. It’s their nature.
Rob Crawford
July 5th, 2012 @ 9:50 am

How do you distinguish between Leftism and mental issues?
Finrod Felagund
July 5th, 2012 @ 10:33 am

IMHO, Robert Stacy and his pals in anti-Kimberlin crusade need to clean up their houses before they even have the gall to offer helpful advice to the likes of Seth Allen.

You saying that is approximately the equivalent of a horse stall mucker, having worked 8 hours straight and thus reeking from head to toes, telling someone else that they need to wash their hands because of a slight smudge.
Bob Belvedere
July 5th, 2012 @ 10:34 am

Good point.
Quartermaster
July 5th, 2012 @ 1:10 pm

Leftism is a mental issue. Progressivism is a form of insanity.
Hot Air Hires Mary Katharine Ham Too Late to Prevent My ‘SkirtGate’ Debacle : The Other McCain
July 12th, 2012 @ 6:33 pm

[…] you know, you get a Charles Johnson-type situation, with unpleasant consequences for everyone. Butt-hurt is not fatal, but is is both real and harmful.In early 2011, a blogger friend contacted me to say he’s […]