My day on Twitter with David Appletree
However, I do think it’s necessary to point out a few choice tweets that I received during the whole affair, which to me represent the righteous, holier-than-thou attitude that these right-wingers tend to bring to this issue. In no particular order:
@sarahleah770: @renaissanceboy it isn’t me – it is Torah. And respect for the Sages and Rabonim. And acceptance that there is nothing other than Hashem.
@JIDF: @renaissanceboy no, you don’t, or else you’d comprehend the fact that i speak the truth and don’t take that label lightly.
@sarahleah770: @renaissanceboy we don’t differ on anything. u r a jew? i am a jew! torah non negotiable.
Look, I have no quarrel with people with significantly more conservative religious and/or political opinions than me. In fact, I tend to learn from them, as I do from anyone who has a different opinion. Hence, I seek out respectful discussions because I find that I always walk away knowing more than I did before I started. David Appletree and Sarah Leah clearly don’t have that M.O. Fine by me, but it does need to be said that they also don’t contribute anything to the discussion by refusing to engage anyone except on “you are one of us and therefore infallible” or “you are a terrorist-empathizing, anti-semitic, radical-islamist-rationalizing, Israel-hating uneducated liar” terms.
It’s certainly attractive to boil down complex problems into simple “us-and-them” soundbites, and Twitter is an ideal platform for doing so. The problem of oversimplifications in politics is certainly not a new one, but it’s taken on a different face with the rise of social networking.
The result of today’s altercation was that JIDF blocked me on Twitter, and then continued to trash me. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the mechanics of Twitter, if someone blocks you, it means that you don’t see when they “mention” you (put your username in one of their tweets). By doing this, David has demonstrated that he cares more about making cheap strawman attacks behind my back than discussing real issues (in case anyone didn’t know that already).
@jidf: i’m concerned about my grandmother suffering w/ cancer, chemo, diabetes & @renaissanceboy harasses me about labeling terror supporters
David, if you’re reading this, I’m honestly and truly sorry to hear of her sickness. I also have a grandmother with a degenerative disease, and I feel your pain. It’s not something I’d wish on anyone. Period.
But this?
@jidf: @renaissanceboy what part of “go away” do you not understand? i know children with more common sense and morality than you.
@jidf: the fact that @jewschool_com lets a child like @renaissanceboy blog on it is further indication what a anti-Israel joke the site is.
Mr. Appletree, before you go accusing people of resorting to childish and ignorant tactics to give the semblance of winning an argument, take a look in the mirror.
Can you give a bit more background on what the JIDF is?
Jonathan, no need for any further introduction than “typical internet troll squad.” Which means any and all insecurity and masculinity issues apply.
Plus a healthy dose of religious purism and intolerance.
You act surprised. He’s been doing this to me for over a year.
Typical of the other nonsense on this site, you seem to have purposely left out an entire context of the situation. You tweeted to me in a condescending “holier than thou” tone first today, and told me it was somehow wrong of me to label Islamic terrorist sympathizers as such.
I simply don’t have time for such idiocy so I say what I can to make you go away. Get over it. Or sue me.
Do you realize how lame it is to pick dumb fights with fellow Jews on Twitter and then blog about them. I mean, I realize that this site’s traffic is on the serious decline and the general POV’s expressed here are irrelevant and outdated in this day and age, but don’t you extreme leftists have any Islamic terrorists to defend today?
David, I started the conversation by noting a civil discussion that was going on about Israel, and commenting on how maybe you could learn from it. If the only people you can appeal to are those who already agree with you, you’re not much of an organization. Namecalling is no substitute for real solutions and honest debate.
Your entire goddamn joke of an organization is BASED on picking fights with people you disagree with. That’s the main thrust of the post. It’s like LUELinks calling /b/ a bunch of pathetic internet trolls.
I love this game: any time David Appletree says anything about someone on Jewschool being irrelevant, I get to saw two things:
– David Appletree believes Obama has terrorist ties.
– David Appletree doesn’t believe in a two-state solution and that transferring Arabs out of Israel is the solution.
And then he’s rightly placed so far off the political map that we can ignore anything else he might say.
Silly efforts to have dialogues are doomed. It’s about mobilizing the base, putting out negatives for the opposition, and GOTV.
Definitely NOT persuasion.
What is all this blah blah?