Online Fight Club, The Archie Slap, and Trolls

"You either cut 'em or slap 'em, but keep the receipts, because this ain't the mafia."

I’m famously combative in politics.

Notoriously so, in some circles. Just ask the people who won’t forgive me for ads I made half a lifetime ago.

For all that, I come from a talky, argumentative, smartass family. I love a good argument, a good political brawl, or a good engagement. I love Q&A at speeches more than delivering the speeches. In the best world, those interactions sharpen your ideas and delivery.

Social media is not the best world.

I was asked yesterday why I won’t fight with some of my most vocal and mendacious critics on Twitter.

First, it’s Twitter.

We no longer use Twitter as a social media platform because we like it, and I regret that. We use it because it still has the vestigial elements that once made it essential in news and politics. ( I can’t say this enough; get on Threads. It will instantly improve your online life.)

Next, it’s what they want. Wilson’s Rule of Social Media is almost as proven as ETTD: the power to ignore is the power to destroy. Apply it liberally.

You’ll never change their mind. They want the fight, not the argument.

Don’t mistake the Archie Slap (which I love delivering pour encourager les autres) with changing public opinion. It’s fun, but it’s just for your own satisfaction.

For all that, the question was well-intentioned, so I felt like it deserved a response.

Here are the kinds of people (some are a bit more obvious than others) I’d recommend you just block and roll on. You’ll note Donald Trump isn’t on this list; while I don’t use his low-end Truth Social, he’ll be active on Twitter against soon, and I, for one, can’t wait.