Blogger back from the dead?

 

Now what the hell was that?

Is the Facebook / Google smackdown getting underway, and if so, why didn't anyone tell me?  Geez.

Some stuff may have to be rebuilt, and some stuff may have been lost.  In particular, a thoughtful and inspiring comment from Margarita del Norte, which said very succinctly what I'd been thinking for a few days, but better than I could have put it.  Because of the recent ... unpleasantness, I couldn't publish it, and now it's gone from Blogger.  Please honour me by sending it again, dear lady of the north.

(If it helps, I've still got it in my gmail, but it's only authentic if you submit it as a comment.  Reproducing it from there and appending it on my own would just look cheap. Email me if you need to.)

Keeping the faith, keeping up the fight

One of my favourite bloggers, a guy whose work I've followed for several years, had a sobering post this week. You can read it here.

Well, whaddayagonnado, as Tony Soprano might say. Morons, racists, assholes, and charlatans. (And Rob Ford, for that matter, but more on that in a minute.) They'll always have big money and big influence behind them because they serve certain interests and help advance certain agendas.

So how to explain their current ascendancy? I don't have a comprehensive explanation, and I doubt I could fashion one without going into a lengthy deconstruction of how capitalism and imperialism need to control and distract the proletariat, yada yada yada. But I wanted to reach out to him because I've also felt the same kind of discouragement and futility on occasion.

Auberon Waugh once wrote that

There are countless horrible things happening all over the world and horrible people prospering, but we must never allow them to disturb our equanimity or deflect us from our sacred duty to sabotage and annoy them whenever possible.

Dude, they haven't won, OK? They may have more money and more job security and more of an audience, and they may be getting their way for the moment, but they haven't won, and you know why? Because people like you are still there and still mocking them. I've been reading your stuff for several years now, and I still forward it to my friends. I almost pissed myself laughing at your toon setting up Ann Coulter as a rabid dog. I still laugh at it, in fact. Even now, when I get to the final panel with the dad sadly handing the kid the shotgun, I can't help but embellish it by pantomiming the pump action. Your stuff keeps me going, and inspires other people.

They won't win unless guys like you give up. Don't give up.