Making Instapundit look like Indymedia

Chris, Adam Yoshida is eighteen years old.

He lives in Canada, and he’s been a Usenet troll since junior high school. His parents bought him broadband last year, and he started himself a blog.

Josh Marshall and others have been giving him air time for some insane reason, but to see him cited here is really dismaying. If you’re taking him seriously, you shouldn’t be. If you aren’t, then you’re dumpster-diving.

First Russell Arben Fox and the Invisible Adjunct arguing with Rich Puchalsky. Now this.

Doesn’t anybody check groups.google.com any more?

Doug M.

I note that Doug Muir name-dropped me here in an apparent attempt to export an argument from another blog. That’s really tacky, is as the implied equivalence of my views and Yoshida’s.

Adam Yoshida is a Canadian gung-ho USan patriot teenager from British Columbia. He started trolling sci.space.*, soc.history.what-if, and the sci.military hierarchy back in 1996 – roundabouts the age of eleven or so. Imbibed a great deal of right-wing loonery, spewed off-the-wall political rants – the kid is a class A-1 old-style usenet kook.

Doug Muir and I know the lad quite well.

Matt Mcq — you are suffering from a condition known here as ‘Social Democratic Myopic Disorder’. European cultures have this deep deformation such that people who talk in public are expected to be able to give evidence and reasons if they want to be taken seriously by anyone. This is, of course, deeply undemocratic and dangerous, and probably related somehow to the existence of the BBC. Forunately, here in the land of the free we have a more democratic outlook and anyone can be taken seriously as long as they either shout loud enough or have enough money. Reason and evidence not required.
I blame the 60’s. (as usual).

Hmm, never heard of him before, and I read way too many blogs.

“Hmm, never heard of him before, and I read way too many blogs.”

Maybe you read the wrong blogs. I have heard of him, and I read mostly left blogs, and of course, brilliant academic consortium blogs.

Goodness! I really can’t understand why people think this guy shouldn’t be read. He is so hilariously funny!

BTW, I never quite had the patience for usenet, but I used to be active on quite a few email discussion lists before the blogosphere emerged. And still am — in some of them, at least.

It’s interesting how you meet the same people strewn across this brave new world. It’s also an interesting exercise to try to figure out what sort of disc lists a person is likely to have been a part of. Or is part of.

For the record: I’m twenty (DOB 8/8/1983) and have had a broadband connection since at least 1999 (and possibly 1998: the obsessive among you who’ve read everything that I’ve ever written can tell because it would have been a few months before I started using an @Home address).

I began my blog in September, 2002- when I ran for School Board (and received about 3500 votes in a losing campaign). I then abandoned it for the better part of a year, before restarting it and almost immidiately receiving all sorts of links.

I typically don’t like to discuss my personal history, but try to correct incorrect biographical information.

As for the “Emperor Yoshida” Usenet posts: yes, that was I. Of course, if you have nothing better to do than track down nearly-decade old posts I made when not even yet a teenager (I’d have been twelve at the time), then you must truly be among the most boring people alive.

Of course I said stupid things when I was 12 (and 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, and 20), the whole point of the internet is that it enables you to say stupid things and transmit them widely.

Though, I might add, given what I know of both Doug and Carlos, I’d speculate that they themselves probably have reason to be thankful that no permanant record exists of everything they said when they were twelve.

Like, “That Martha Quinn is really pretty. I wish she’d answer my trivia questions”?

You know, Adi, not all of us were bellicose homophobic nutters wishing for the deaths of random strangers, when we were twelve.

And of those of us that were, most of us outgrew it.

I suppose I have to be obvious here. You haven’t.

And it seems likely that you never will. What a waste.

C.

I’d love to S*rdar Arg*c’s blog, if he has one.

Bugger. Love to see.

I was a libertarian when I was twenty. The Horror…

Anyone notice that some reasonable people get kinda cranky and bigoted when they get old too, say closing in on eighty?

My other favorite moment:

“The next time you see a person walking down a street with an anti-war button, even if they are minding their own business, call them a name. Start a screaming match with them. If a relative if yours opposes the war, refuse to speak to them, except in support for the war. If a bookstore displays anti-war books in a prominent position, refuse to shop there and explain to the owners exactly why….

Make those who oppose the war pay a price for their treasonous beliefs. If they own a little market, picket it. They might have a free speech right to oppose the war, but you have a free speech right to oppose them. I want them to lose their businesses, lose their jobs, go bankrupt, and lose their homes. Given their great efforts against America, that is the least deserved by everyone who opposes the war. Stop thinking of people who oppose the war as your friends, family, and neighbours: start thinking of them as enemies of America who must be defeated if the Republic is to endure.”

“the whole point of the internet is that it enables you to say stupid things and transmit them widely”

Well, if that’s what Mr. Yoshida is trying to acheive, he’s surely acheived it . . .

“Social Democratic Myopic Disorder” ? I love that, Harry!

Since it seems to be a SHWI reunion, figured I’d stop lurking and say Hi.

–Bragg