Drama Is Not Disagreement

Justin Vacula has done a new YouTube video, at the request of the slime pit. He calls it a “dramatic* reading” of a comment here at FreethoughtBlogs. Specifically, it is a comment posted at Butterflies and Wheels, on a post that mentions that Vacula is trying to raise enough money to attend Women in Secularism**. EEB, who comments here as well, is upset about the idea.

Vacula’s delivery in the video is more melodramatic than dramatic, and as he mentions in the notes on the video, there’s a long stretch where he can’t stop himself from laughing. Video tucked below the fold to make sure it doesn’t autoplay for anyone who doesn’t want to watch it.

As I mentioned, this video was done for members of the slime pit. They were delighted enough by EEB’s comment to be quite blatant about what they want.

Screen capture from the slime pit. Text quoted in the post.

Ptichguest: To EEB: Give up, give up, give up! Please, just give – up. I think the atheist/sceptic community would actually become stronger for it. If you’re thinking of giving it up, please do. Don’t worry. We can pick up the pieces.

rayshul: Absolutely! It wold be wonderful if you gave up! I’m so glad you’re considering it. 🙂

welch: GIVE UP! GIVE UP!GIVE UP!GIVE UP!

I’ve chatted with EEB. I’m pretty sure she’s not the quitting type. She’s been through more than these assholes, and she’s still enduring, even when she’s discouraged.

Them? Predatory slimebags who thought they found something easy they could claim credit for. A batch of the usual hate crew left comments on her blog overnight too, but she handled it with the amazing powers of censorship comment moderation.

Still, the next time someone asks you why there are so few women in the secular movement, tell them it’s because people like these are doing their damndest to make sure we leave.

————————————

* Oh, the irony. Who is doing ths for the drama?

** Do not let this stop you from attending. In the comments, Melody Hensley, who is organizing the conference assures us that she has everything in hand, whether or not Vacula attends. If you have specific concerns, however, she also provides contact information. So go register. It’s going to be a gathering of amazing people.

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Drama Is Not Disagreement
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43 thoughts on “Drama Is Not Disagreement

  1. 2

    Well, it’s interesting to see someone who wanted a leadership position in the SCA show over and over again why he not only wasn’t fit for that position, but his reaction to the outcry was to just get more vile.

  2. 3

    Thanks again for the petition to remove the Vaculating one from the SCA… Everything he has done since from refusing to apologise until everyone else apologises first, to orchestrating this harassment campaign against EEB for a heartfelt comment makes it obvious what an awful person he is. Leadership is a quality he is clearly totally lacking in, unless leading the playground bullies counts.

    EEB was asking what is the solution to the problem? Well they will never go away as they have nothing better to do than sneer at and obsess over others from their clubhouse. But this ratcheting up of vitriol and clear bullying will ensure they further marginalise themselves.

  3. 4

    Well, Justin, I’m baffled. Was there a point to this? Is this promoting secularism in any way?
    Apparently, it’s about elevating ones status in the slymepit clique. Sounds like a productive way to spend one’s time.

  4. 5

    All I can think of is that Vacula saw the writing on the wall (or more specifically the petition) and realized he wasn’t fooling anyone any more. So he’s finally let himself publicly become the shitheel we already knew he was. Seems a reasonable hypothesis, given that every single thing he’s done since resigning has underlined what a good thing it was that he resigned.

    As to the rest of the mildew, it’s nice to see they’re finally being blatant with their agenda: Silence women by any and all means possible.

  5. 7

    I’ll second those who commented before me. Vacula has done nothing remarkable to show he could be a better person. Instead, his sniping at women and other atheists has only increased since he resigned from the SCA. Recently he has been openly bragging about an attempt to attend the Women in Secularism conference where his presence will no doubt be intimidating for some given how in the past he has treated a few of the women who will be speaking there. Atheists, secularists, and skeptics do not need to put up with this kind of behavior, and they shouldn’t.

  6. 8

    ” every single thing he’s done since resigning”

    ohh, he’s that guy….I sorta remember who that was…might have to read up on that again…could explain a lot.

  7. 9

    Am I the only one here who thought of Negativland when reading all those orders to “Give up”?

    There’s a track from that band called “Christianity Is Stupid”. It samples a preacher who imagines a Communist take-over, where loudspeakers blare propaganda “From 5:00 in the morning till 10:00 at night”. One thing the loudspeakers repeat is “Give up!”

    But at least the reverend’s feared loudspeakers took a rest once in a while.

  8. 10

    He’s building an impressive online resume for future employers to examine. Doesn’t he realize that many HR departments google/fb check out prospective employees? He’s potentially trading a lot for this career of being an online hater, that’s for sure.

    Hobbies and extracurricular activities: Internet troll

    Thank you, next?

  9. 13

    Marcus Ranum wrote:

    He’s building an impressive online resume for future employers to examine. Doesn’t he realize that many HR departments google/fb check out prospective employees? He’s potentially trading a lot for this career of being an online hater, that’s for sure.

    With his capacity for rational thinking and rhetoric, combined with his low regard for people who aren’t him, he’d be a shoe-in as a spokeperson for the NRA right now.

  10. 14

    I registered for WIS just yesterday. I am looking forward to an awesome lineup of speakers and hope to meet some bloggers I have admired for a long time.

    Pity that Vacula might be there gathering further “ammunition” for his videos, but he’s only making his true colors more apparent every time he opens his mouth.

  11. 16

    Every word out of this vile, feculent douchenozzle’s mouth is proof positive that he’s a liability to the community and less interested in furthering the cause of skepticism than he is about pandering to a high-school clique of thicknecked jocks and chuckleheads.

    If I was the praying sort, I’d pray for the hastening of the day when he and his sniggering, pre-adolescent ilk are seen by all as the irrelevant thugs we see them as now and rejected wholesale by all who claim the descriptor “skeptic”.

  12. 19

    (tangent)

    Nicole Introvert, I probably can’t make it to WiS but I would LOVE to learn about clinic escort skills from any convention I’m at. Maybe there could be a workshop for interested folks?

  13. 20

    Perhaps its just me, but I’m getting a huge kick out of this. What better proof does any Atheist/Skeptic org need that this waste of skin is worthless, useless and a detriment to the actual community? What clearer proof is there who the bullies and harassers actually are? What neater proof is there to show how pedantic, unintelligent and shallow Vacula and his bigot masters are? What more proof would any fence-sitter need that these crybaby bigots and bullies are not worth keeping in the movement?

    Bring on the rifts, deep, wide and permanent. Anything that keeps that disgusting, repulsive, hideous bigot away from decent people is good.

  14. 23

    He already intends to interview people. It wouldn’t surprise me if he intends to edit and quotemine to create his vision of the perfect Evil Gynecological Empire.

  15. 24

    He doesn’t get to interview anyone who doesn’t agree to the interview. He also doesn’t get to pester anyone who’s told him to leave them alone. Anti-harassment policies are good that way.

  16. 25

    That’s what he’s got?

    Reduced to acting like a high school bully tormentor by making juvenile sport of a pseudonymous *commentor* on *youtube*, to the cheers of his ‘yeh yeh, Spike’ posse?

    Is he somehow attempting to chill even commentors on blogs he dislikes? Especially female-identified commentors? Is he somehow attempting to derail an entire convention working to focus on women into making it about him?

    Oh well, he haz freezepeach…until he doesn’t. For all anyone knows, he’s going to the con to show what a Nice Guy he is, being victimized by radfems. It is increasingly difficult to allow that he is going to the convention because of the subject matter and networking.

    The con should sell peach margeritas and smoothies as a fundraiser.

  17. 26

    Yes, Justin, Ptichguest and all, the atheist/skeptic movement would be so much stronger if people left it.

    Not.

    You see, for the most part FTBers, Skepchicks and A+ers ask you and your chums to leave them alone and go pursue your brand of skepticism and atheism elsewhere. You are not welcome at their party. By contrast, you desire that the FTBers, Skepchicks and A+ers either submit, or give up and leave for good.

    There is a difference between these things, and your brand of partisanship has the whiff of authoritarianism and absolutism about it. This reading of EEB’s mail was a particularly mean-spirited thing to do. Please leave us alone.

  18. 28

    I took a look at Justin’s fundraising post on SkepticInk. In the comments, he seems to be taking the high road, talking about how it’s beneficial to meet one’s adversaries face to face, in order to humanize the situation, etc. etc. All very noble, were it not for a) the ‘dramatic’ reading from the OP and b) the fact that as part of his fundraising strategy, he gave donors a ‘rent my t-shirt’ option, for which they would provide Justin with a t-shirt bearing a slogan of their choosing which he would wear for one day of the meeting. (All three rental days have been sold).

  19. 30

    I’m trying to figure out how to do this but I think in honor of Justin, I’d like to pick 2 deserving non-male members of the FTB community who are having trouble getting to the conference, and provide them plane tickets and some cash for transport from the airport.

    Because of the stalking, it’s understandably hard to get hold of some of the people who might be good to send. I’m not sure what to do; if any trusted intermediary wants to contact me, I’m very easy to find and I’d really appreciate it. Yes, I am serious.

  20. 31

    By “in honor of Justin” I mean “nyaa nyaa nyaaa, I’m going and you’re not”

    I don’t think going around punching people’s lights out is appropriate, so I’ve been trying to think of a way of saying “fuck you very hard, Justin!” and I think I may have hit on one.

  21. 32

    Marcus, if you want to drop me an email (there’s a contact button in the sidebar) and give me more information about what criteria you want to use to pick whom you fund, I can act as intermediary on this.

  22. 35

    (and, FWIW I’d love to be considered for ‘sponsorship’… I can swing the conference fee, accommodations, and time off work, but travel costs put WiSC outside of my budget.)

  23. 37

    The conversation upthread about creating a wall between Vacula and anybody who feels bothered by him reminded of the Open Source Women Back Each Other Up project for geekcons: their mission is to break through the Somebody Else’s Problem field whenever they see someone who looks uneasy/alarmed during an interaction – by walking up, checking that they are OK, and giving them a chance to leave on their own or be escorted away by the Back Each Other Up Project member if that is what they prefer.

    Whether there’s a formally coordinated method/scheme or not, a general willingness to break through the Somebody Else’s Problem field, especially in any area of the convention where a known provacateur is prowling, would seem to be a very good idea.

  24. 38

    Of course, nice big bright badges saying I DO NOT GIVE PERMISSION TO BE FILMED BY JUSTIN VACULA might also be very effective.

    Is I WILL NEVER HAVE A GOOD ENOUGH REASON TO TALK TO PAT ROBERTSON, FRED PHELPS, CHRISTOPHER MONCKTON OR JUSTIN VACULA going too far?

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