Contents show]

In the beginning... Edit

As Jews in Germany circa 1936 might have created “a climate where Jews — who otherwise wouldn’t — end up feeling unwelcome and unsafe.” As the Southern Poverty Law Center creates a climate where people who are the object of systematic vocal hatred end up feeling unwelcome and unsafe. That’s not to compare TAM with Nazi Germany or racist pockets of the US, of course, but then Rebecca didn’t name TAM in the item DJ quoted, either; she (or rather USA Today, indirectly quoting her) said “the freethought community.”

... Except it isn't. Or something. You need to read it for yourself, as it's truly mind boggling -

The whole thing is [sic], no point adding individual [sic] annotation. Incomprehensible to the point where Mike Godwin would be dumbstruck. So Jews created a climate of fear for Jews in Nazi Germany where Jews weren't welcome? And SPLC is a KKK front? Or what? We're not sure even Ophelia knows...

We'll be brave enough to have a stab at a guess at what Ophelia actually meant - perhaps she was trying to say that noxious pundits such as those at Fox News were implying SPLC creates these climates. But by reading the words, that point is entirely lost. Inability to translate what you think into what you write or communicate is a pretty good definition of incoherence.

At least the main point, that TAM is probably run by Nazis, manages to convey itself pretty clearly.

Original article link -

http://freethoughtblogs.com/butterfliesandwheels/2012/06/rebecca-explains/

And due to continuous reality revisionism on FFTB, here is a backup pastehtml copy (wiki blocks these links as spam, just add pastehtmldotcom to the front to complete the link) -

/view/c0onwgprh.html

Denialism Edit

Unsurprisingly, in responding to this little hyperbolic faux pas, Ophelia has landed us fairly and squarely in Barney Frank territory - "[Ophelia] on what planet do you spend most of your time?"

Ophelia denies having made the comparison, claims complete innocence and blames those "stupid ERV people". This post is date stamped June 15, 2012 at 12:49 pm -

http://freethoughtblogs.com/butterfliesandwheels/2012/06/i-did-not-compare-tam-to-nazi-germany/

I sent Travis Roy a message on Facebook. (He’s not a friend, but you can send messages to people who aren’t friends. That’s convenient sometimes.) He’s the guy who announced on that “Great Penis Debate” that I compared TAM to Nazi Germany, which is not true. I asked him where he got that piece of misinformation.

The only place I’ve seen it via Google is on a stupid wiki set up by ERV people (and places they’ve dropped it lately, such as Ask an Atheist). I’m curious about how much success they’re having in spreading malicious falsehoods.

Maybe for my TAM talk I’ll just say “I did not compare TAM to Nazi Germany” as many times as I can in the time allotted.

This is amusing on two counts. First, her comparison was initially captured, highlighted and criticised by Orac - it being sufficiently outrageous to rouse even him from his lair - and not anyone from ERV (or the "slimepit" as she refers to it usually). Second, and more importantly, Ophelia herself confesses to doing so and tries to squirm her way out of it 12 days earlier, specifically citing Orac. This post is date stamped June 3, 2012 at 12:09 pm -

http://freethoughtblogs.com/butterfliesandwheels/2012/06/degodwinization/

However – he does have a point. It wasn’t a good example for the point I wanted to make [...] So, ok. Orac had a point. I still think he was rude and a bit thuggish about it, but he had a point.

Due to the continuous reality revisionism at FFTB, the second article faces a fair probabiity of being purged. Therefore, a copy has been archived for posterity. It is not possible to directly link it (wikia autopurges pastehtml links), but you can view by appending /view/c1mun2nib.html to pastehtmldotcom.

To claim with a straight face that "The only place I’ve seen it via Google" is just an outright lie. The deceptions that Ophelia weaves are close to impossible for anyone to follow, so it should come as no surprise that she repeatedly trips over her own shoelaces. It must be a terrible place to be.

Conspiracy Edit

Another addition to the "you can't make this shit up" files. According to Greg Laden, Orac was sent by D.J. Grothe specifically to harrass Ophelia Benson to prevent her from attending TAM. Seriously -

http://freethoughtblogs.com/butterfliesandwheels/2012/06/i-did-not-compare-tam-to-nazi-germany/#comment-196306

Greg Laden says:June 16, 2012 at 8:05 am Orac, tell us. Did you or did you not come back here at the behest of DJ Grothe (or others linked to him) with the intention of harassing Ophelia further, in order to make her feel more uncomfortable about speaking at TAM this year, with the ultimate goal of causing her to decide to not attend TAM, thus making sure that no one at TAM hears what she might have to say about this larger situation? Because that is what it looks like.

Yes or no.

This is some kind of afterthought to Laden's main message in the preceding comment -

http://freethoughtblogs.com/butterfliesandwheels/2012/06/i-did-not-compare-tam-to-nazi-germany/#comment-196304

Orac, you fucking arrogant shit.

Which is far more in line with freefromthoughtblogs acceptable posting policy.

Denialism AND Conspiracy Edit

Oceania was at war with Eastasia: Oceania had always been at war with Eastasia. (1984 Chapter 2)

Oceania was at war with Eurasia: Oceania had always been at war with Eurasia. (1984 Chapter 3)

-- George Orwell predicts freefromthoughtblogs

Somewhere along the line in this psychedelic mess, one of the excuses offered by Ophelia Benson was a brand new FfTBism - parallel logic. Must be the Zionist conspiracy applying the blowtorch for her extremely repugnant trivialisation of comparing actual genocide to chipped fingernails. Of course this parallel logic absurdity was immediately seen for what it was: absurdity - which entailed a whole new subthread of decepetive manoeuvring on Benson's part that not only claimed that Benson had never stated anything so ridiculous, but that the whole thing was a concoction and a conspiracy by the evildoers at ERV -

http://freethoughtblogs.com/butterfliesandwheels/2012/07/other-way-around/

He’s been burned badly by it. I have the lying liars who used to hang out at ERV running around claiming that I believe there’s something called “parallel logic” when that’s their invention

Unfortunately, some lies are too big for even Benson to maintain. Numerous folks pointed her to links to her own commenantary assisted by screencaps lest she inadvertently deleted them. So even revisionism ended up being revised. And yet again, the only conclusion to draw is that FfTB and reality aren't on speaking terms, never were and never will be -

http://freethoughtblogs.com/butterfliesandwheels/2012/07/other-way-around/

He’s been burned badly by it. I have the lying liars who used to hang out at ERV running around [claiming that I believe there’s something called “parallel logic” when that’s their invention - retracted, "lying liars" is not]** pitching fits about it – and he’s been burned by it. No he hasn’t. I have, he hasn’t. And Paula Kirby actually made the real life gratuitous use of argumentum ad Nazi-um, when I didn’t – but he nailed me and left her alone.

He’s a jerk.

*Shortly before TAM and during the spreading fuss over DJ Grothe’s blame-the-women move.

**Corrected. I’d tried to find where I said anything about parallel logic and failed, but ever-attentive “Scented Nectar” rushed to point out exactly where I said it. She’s a scholar in the subject.

Note how painful such a simple retraction is to Benson - it simply is not possible to do something so humble just out of common decency. She soothes her pain by sticking a few more pins into her Orac, Paula Kirby, D.J. Grothe and Scented Nectar voodoo dolls. What a cathartic experience.

Related: Parallel Logic, Comment tampering and other revisionism