- Joined
- Feb 10, 2014
- Messages
- 5,278
- Name
- Dave
This is a piece I did for another board. The recent thread about whether talking about this year being Bradford's last chance or not reminded me of it, so I thought I would repost it here for giggles.
(TRR = Tangentially Rams Related)
-----
There are two kinds of people with negative opinions towards certain personnel employed by the Rams on Rams boards. We do have critics of various aspects of the team, and that's natural and healthy. A basher is board poison. A critic prompts interesting discussion. At the end of the day, the critic is still a Rams fan. The basher... well....
These are the ten telltale factors in telling a basher from a critic in my humble opinion. Now a lot of this will probably get a reaction of "Well, duh!" from a lot of people, but I feel that it's important to keep the distinction between basher and critic in mind. And perhaps if people start seeing themselves slip into the basher mentality, they can be saved from it.
1. It's personal. Deeply so. In the mind of a basher, their target is worthless and probably evil. And if you defend their target, so are you. Whenever you out-argue a basher, the personal insults are sure to come out. In the basher's mind, you deserve it for daring to defend this worthless person who is the cause of all the Rams' issues. Extreme bashers can even develop quirks such as referring to the target as a female (showing severe issues with women on the basher's part) or refusal to properly capitalize the target's name. Mind you, bashers tend to focus on a single target so it can be almost entertaining when you get bashers with different targets together and they each try to sweep the blame towards their personal target. Critics on the other hand can recognize positive qualities in who they are criticizing, and hope they are wrong at the end of the day.
2. All blame on the target, all credit elsewhere. Did the Rams lose? It must be all the target's fault. Did the Rams win? It must be completely in spite of the target. The idea that football is a team sport is rejected by the basher, as is the silly notion that the target could have done anything good outside of a fluke week. On the other hand, the critic can acknowledge that there are other issues with a team besides the person he is criticizing.
3. Attempts to polarize debate. The basher will do everything he can to make the debate into one where since the basher thinks the target is worthless, you arguing with the basher must mean you think the target is perfect. Since we're debating human beings, there's no such thing as someone who is perfect. Even our Hall of Famers had flaws in their game. But, it's hard to maintain your balanced perspective if you are debunking irrational claims from the basher, and the basher will take any criticism of their target as an agreement that they are right. The critic will conversely be able to acknowledge good things about the target as well (though some bashers will pay brief lip service then quickly move on.)
4. Joy in a Rams loss. Did the Rams just lose? Oh man, the basher is just foaming at the mouth to post now! He told you so! Why didn't any of you sheep believe him? You owe him an apology for how right he was. The joy is downright palpable! This one isn't necessarily cut and dried, because a critic will lash out in anger sometimes after a bad loss, especially at high profile targets like QBs and coaches. The real difference comes when the team wins. The critic will be right there happy about the win and admitting that for this week at least, he was wrong about the person he was criticizing. The basher will either go strangely quiet, or try to find a way to knock the target anyway despite the win.
5. Bashers refuse to recognize impossible situations. Critics and sane fans will recognize that some situations are beyond someone's control. No coach is going to win with horiffic injury situations or just plain untalented players. No QB is going to succeed without at least some blocking ability from their line, running ability from their running backs and talent from their wide receivers. Any attempts to have them point out just who would succeed under those conditions is going to be ignored. The only way these arguments will be acknowledged is by their distortion into straw men. The arguments mentioned in this paragraph will typically get distorted into saying that the coach needs absolutely no injuries or that the QB needs absolutely perfect play from the rest of the offense.
6. "Excuses!" This is by far the basher's favorite word. ANY argument that lack of success is anything but completely the target's fault is brushed off by this label. Why? Because calling something an excuse has an implication that it's not a valid excuse. And thus calling "excuse!" is far easier than actually refuting arguments. The critic might brush some arguments off as excuses but will explain why he thinks they're not valid, rather than treating the word as a magical "Get Out of Compelling Argument Free" card.
7. Implies shame in being a fan. In the mind of the basher, actually liking the target and being a fan of him is the worst possible thing you can be. So, expect insult rants about you wearing the target's jersey or having some other form of memorabilia of the target that makes it sound dirty and shameful to own such. The critic will realize that fans might have merchandise of many different players and that this is a complete non-issue.
8. Moves goalposts. If there's more than one way to look at a game or season, the basher will always choose the one that makes the target look bad. In one infamous example, during week 8 of the 2009 season, the Rams played the Detroit Lions. QB Marc Bulger's stats were terrible, but the Rams won. The bashers immediately claimed that the win was in spite of Bulger and he's terrible. In week 10, the next game after the bye week, the Rams played the eventual Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints and lost, but Bulger's stats were great. Without a hint of irony, the same bashers immediately claimed that it isn't about stats, it's about winning the game, and thus Bulger was terrible. Critics, of course, maintain one set of of standards as to whether a player played well or not.
9. Will never admit they are wrong. In a lot of ways, arguing with a basher is an exercise in futility. As previously stated, it's a very personal vendetta against the target with them (and may in fact have nothing to do with the reasons they state). So expect a lot of personal insults and ignored arguments when you logically trump them. Another favorite fallback of their's is "It's my opinion!" since everyone has a right to said opinions. There is, however, such a thing as an uninformed opinion. If I think Jeff Fisher is a space alien bent on world domination, "it's my opinion" isn't going to protect me much. A critic and a fan on the other hand will be all too happy to admit they are wrong.
10. Multiple threads. Remember, in the basher's opinion, his war against his target is the most important subject possible in Rams fandom. So expect multiple threads saying the same thing, attempts to derail other threads to being about his target, and multiple articles saying the exact same thing. The basher is happiest when every single thread on Page 1 of the forum is about his target. That whole thing about having a right to your opinion? That's only for the basher. The rest of you get no right to your opinion and no respite from the same played out war. The critic, of course, only makes new threads when necessary or presenting truly new information.
As a bonus, the difference between a fan of a particular person and an "apologist": There is no difference. This is just the typical basher attempt to flip an argument against you. "Homer" gets bandied about a lot too. Note that an apologist, by definition, means simply someone who defends something. Bashers like the word because it sounds vaguely dirty and they assume (wrongly) that it has something to do with apologizing.
Apply this ten prong test in your online Rams discussion. If someone matches with at least 5 of these criteria, they're likely not worth responding to.
And if you have any further tests to suggest, while not naming names of course, feel free to post.
(TRR = Tangentially Rams Related)
-----
There are two kinds of people with negative opinions towards certain personnel employed by the Rams on Rams boards. We do have critics of various aspects of the team, and that's natural and healthy. A basher is board poison. A critic prompts interesting discussion. At the end of the day, the critic is still a Rams fan. The basher... well....
These are the ten telltale factors in telling a basher from a critic in my humble opinion. Now a lot of this will probably get a reaction of "Well, duh!" from a lot of people, but I feel that it's important to keep the distinction between basher and critic in mind. And perhaps if people start seeing themselves slip into the basher mentality, they can be saved from it.
1. It's personal. Deeply so. In the mind of a basher, their target is worthless and probably evil. And if you defend their target, so are you. Whenever you out-argue a basher, the personal insults are sure to come out. In the basher's mind, you deserve it for daring to defend this worthless person who is the cause of all the Rams' issues. Extreme bashers can even develop quirks such as referring to the target as a female (showing severe issues with women on the basher's part) or refusal to properly capitalize the target's name. Mind you, bashers tend to focus on a single target so it can be almost entertaining when you get bashers with different targets together and they each try to sweep the blame towards their personal target. Critics on the other hand can recognize positive qualities in who they are criticizing, and hope they are wrong at the end of the day.
2. All blame on the target, all credit elsewhere. Did the Rams lose? It must be all the target's fault. Did the Rams win? It must be completely in spite of the target. The idea that football is a team sport is rejected by the basher, as is the silly notion that the target could have done anything good outside of a fluke week. On the other hand, the critic can acknowledge that there are other issues with a team besides the person he is criticizing.
3. Attempts to polarize debate. The basher will do everything he can to make the debate into one where since the basher thinks the target is worthless, you arguing with the basher must mean you think the target is perfect. Since we're debating human beings, there's no such thing as someone who is perfect. Even our Hall of Famers had flaws in their game. But, it's hard to maintain your balanced perspective if you are debunking irrational claims from the basher, and the basher will take any criticism of their target as an agreement that they are right. The critic will conversely be able to acknowledge good things about the target as well (though some bashers will pay brief lip service then quickly move on.)
4. Joy in a Rams loss. Did the Rams just lose? Oh man, the basher is just foaming at the mouth to post now! He told you so! Why didn't any of you sheep believe him? You owe him an apology for how right he was. The joy is downright palpable! This one isn't necessarily cut and dried, because a critic will lash out in anger sometimes after a bad loss, especially at high profile targets like QBs and coaches. The real difference comes when the team wins. The critic will be right there happy about the win and admitting that for this week at least, he was wrong about the person he was criticizing. The basher will either go strangely quiet, or try to find a way to knock the target anyway despite the win.
5. Bashers refuse to recognize impossible situations. Critics and sane fans will recognize that some situations are beyond someone's control. No coach is going to win with horiffic injury situations or just plain untalented players. No QB is going to succeed without at least some blocking ability from their line, running ability from their running backs and talent from their wide receivers. Any attempts to have them point out just who would succeed under those conditions is going to be ignored. The only way these arguments will be acknowledged is by their distortion into straw men. The arguments mentioned in this paragraph will typically get distorted into saying that the coach needs absolutely no injuries or that the QB needs absolutely perfect play from the rest of the offense.
6. "Excuses!" This is by far the basher's favorite word. ANY argument that lack of success is anything but completely the target's fault is brushed off by this label. Why? Because calling something an excuse has an implication that it's not a valid excuse. And thus calling "excuse!" is far easier than actually refuting arguments. The critic might brush some arguments off as excuses but will explain why he thinks they're not valid, rather than treating the word as a magical "Get Out of Compelling Argument Free" card.
7. Implies shame in being a fan. In the mind of the basher, actually liking the target and being a fan of him is the worst possible thing you can be. So, expect insult rants about you wearing the target's jersey or having some other form of memorabilia of the target that makes it sound dirty and shameful to own such. The critic will realize that fans might have merchandise of many different players and that this is a complete non-issue.
8. Moves goalposts. If there's more than one way to look at a game or season, the basher will always choose the one that makes the target look bad. In one infamous example, during week 8 of the 2009 season, the Rams played the Detroit Lions. QB Marc Bulger's stats were terrible, but the Rams won. The bashers immediately claimed that the win was in spite of Bulger and he's terrible. In week 10, the next game after the bye week, the Rams played the eventual Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints and lost, but Bulger's stats were great. Without a hint of irony, the same bashers immediately claimed that it isn't about stats, it's about winning the game, and thus Bulger was terrible. Critics, of course, maintain one set of of standards as to whether a player played well or not.
9. Will never admit they are wrong. In a lot of ways, arguing with a basher is an exercise in futility. As previously stated, it's a very personal vendetta against the target with them (and may in fact have nothing to do with the reasons they state). So expect a lot of personal insults and ignored arguments when you logically trump them. Another favorite fallback of their's is "It's my opinion!" since everyone has a right to said opinions. There is, however, such a thing as an uninformed opinion. If I think Jeff Fisher is a space alien bent on world domination, "it's my opinion" isn't going to protect me much. A critic and a fan on the other hand will be all too happy to admit they are wrong.
10. Multiple threads. Remember, in the basher's opinion, his war against his target is the most important subject possible in Rams fandom. So expect multiple threads saying the same thing, attempts to derail other threads to being about his target, and multiple articles saying the exact same thing. The basher is happiest when every single thread on Page 1 of the forum is about his target. That whole thing about having a right to your opinion? That's only for the basher. The rest of you get no right to your opinion and no respite from the same played out war. The critic, of course, only makes new threads when necessary or presenting truly new information.
As a bonus, the difference between a fan of a particular person and an "apologist": There is no difference. This is just the typical basher attempt to flip an argument against you. "Homer" gets bandied about a lot too. Note that an apologist, by definition, means simply someone who defends something. Bashers like the word because it sounds vaguely dirty and they assume (wrongly) that it has something to do with apologizing.
Apply this ten prong test in your online Rams discussion. If someone matches with at least 5 of these criteria, they're likely not worth responding to.
And if you have any further tests to suggest, while not naming names of course, feel free to post.
