Lies, Damn Lies, and Scumbag Politicians

[Undertoad]

Exactly; this is the first troll Presidential campaign.

I don't read any of the stories - I only read headlines - but from this perspective, the people are being trolled, and they are losing.

We know the troll - we are familiar with how this goes. We have been trolled for 30 years, some of us; sometimes we have lost, and we have learned from it. But our aunts and uncles only got on Facebook in 2012, and most of them haven't figured out this dynamic.

The classic troll: say something provocative and get as much reaction from it as you can; now you've disrupted everything, you are the topic, which was the goal all along.

This guy's a pro and has been chumming the water for years and years. But at some point there's a feeding frenzy, and the fish generate their own chum. So now he doesn't even have to say anything. Posts will be written about what he said earlier. Or who supports him and who doesn't. Or pure speculation.

Did you spend any time thinking - seriously considering - whether or not he acted as his own spokesman 25 years ago? Did you consider the implications of the story? Did you wonder whether it would have legs? At lunch with J today, and she got a notification on her phone for it. The NY fuckin' Times had it as "breaking news".

Breaking news? They sent an alert for this?

The traditional online response is, YHBT. YHL. HAND.

You Have been Trolled. You Have Lost. Have A Nice Day.