NLS vs. ODBA

Post has been somewhat light for me lately as I have been preparing for a new school year at work. While I have been putting together outlines, building powerpoint presentations, and attempting to sift through the madness that is book order backups, construction mayhem, new employees, and the 50th anniversary of the school, I have noticed the Virginia blog scene has lit up like a Christmas tree.

So what has been making all of this happen? Well, it seems that Ben Tribbett has taken issue with the Old Dominion Blog Alliance. A lot of this stems from how the ODBA had a site named for them and it was linked to NAMBLA. Now, I for one think NAMBLA has no right to exist under any circumstance, but that is beside the point.

The point here is that Ben is under the impression that the ODBA, which is overwhelmingly conservative, is much like NAMBLA in trying to protect their own views under the First Amendment. In his own view, Ben has stated “A majority of that group has either made outright racist or jew-baiting comments in just the last year- it is a sick, out of control group that deserves to be compared to other sick and out of control groups.”

What makes this comment rather ironic is how if a person were to read a number of the comments on his own blog, quite a number of insensitive, racist, and extremely bating type comments have been said. Needless to say, other blogs have fired shots at NLS and now we find ourselves in a good old fashioned pissing match.

In one corner, we have NLS. In the other, we have Virginia Virtucon. These are the two big time combatants. It got really bad when Joe Stanley was revealed as the person who link ODBA to NAMBLA. Now fingers point to Ben as a possible accomplice. I don’t know for sure if this is true or not, but I have to think some of the evidence does mount to one thinking that it is true.

Reason? NLS has admitted he can track IP Addresses on his comments section and is able to track down the location of where the comments come from. Personally, I think this falls pretty darn close to stalking, however; this does fall close into a gray area. If you track a person like that, then it is possible to help another person try to do something so blatantly horrible as linking a group with NAMBLA.

So what is the difference between the dribble that comes out of NLS and the dribble that comes out of blogs from ODBA? Answer: NOTHING. Everyone can say what they wish in this country. That is the beauty of the First Amendment. Can you go out into the middle of a public square and say anything that is racist, sexist, cruel, and evil? You can bet your bottom dollar on it. Is it a wise thing to do? No, because common sense says so.

As a writer on a blog, responsibility is needed for what you write. Think before it happens. If you are going to make claims, then back it up. More importantly, everyone is entitled to their opinion. The biggest thing I have found is that when a person make a poignant point that makes sense, those who in principal should disagree with the comment will look for ways to belittle it or just ignore it in general.

My final thoughts on this topic is rather simple: grow up! Grow up Ben. Grow up Virtucon. Grow up Joe Stanley. Grow up to everyone who is in the pissing match that is going on over the web. It was noted last year that blogs get a bad wrap because of the petty bickering which can occur on them. This proves it all the more. What is next? Is a comment on a blog going to lead to a death here in NOVA. Ask Mary Washington University about that. A student was killed because he post on MySpace his loyalty to the Republican party.

So in the end, to everyone, grow up and get a life that does not involve politics in any way, shape, or form. It isn’t that hard and who knows, maybe you will like it.