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Ambushed by Internet

As I’ve grown older I’ve decided to spend less time with people or things that annoy me, and more time with those that provide joy. I’ve also found it rather energizing to express dissatisfaction rather than stewing about it.

All that is prelude to this: Yesterday, someone unsubscribed from my free newsletter, Balancing Act®, and felt constrained to send me six paragraphs on his psychological analysis of me: I’m evil, inconsiderate, mock others, spoiled by money, responsible for Athlete’s Foot, you name it.

I wrote back simply to say that he sounds very angry—and I’ve written extensively that most such irrational anger is really self-anger transferred to external sources—and that it’s a good thing the other 7,500 subscribers don’t agree! Then I said, “Have a great life.”

Today, I receive notice that I’m featured on his blog, with a photo he took from my web site, and he printed my simple response as though it’s confirmation of his original vast, insightful, evaluation of me as a person. Then I realized: Once again, I had been ambushed by Internet!

This has happened before. One madman ran after me as I left a speech, having said that I had to rush to catch my plane, and wanted to debate the efficacy of blogs with me. (He was, guess what, a blog consultant!) When I told him I had no time, he pounced on me on his blog to explain that I wasn’t open to debate.

This comes when you get a bit more than the Warholian 15 minutes, which I’ve been fortunate enough to claim. The unsubscriber above actually bragged that he had irked the Million Dollar Consultant, and, of course, didn’t use the ®! These guys are like the paparazzi who scream insults hoping to get a salable photo for a low-life publication. How sad to claim your fame by denigrating those who have contributed more than merely taking pot shots at others after having ambushed them electronically.

Ah, well, I’d rather be on this end of the abuse, rather than at the bottom trying vainly to shoot down those on upper rungs. It’s hard to take accurate aim when you’re immersed in the mud.

Posted by Alan Weiss on March 3rd, 2008 filed in Alas Babylon |

One Response to “Ambushed by Internet”

steve Says:
June 12th, 2008 at 12:43 am
As long as you keep a good attitude about the rest of the world and don’t get sucked down into their pit of hell… Otherwise you’ll start to hate everybody and everything and then where will you be? In trouble!

I wouldn’t have read past the first paragraph of his analysis, and wouldn’t have responded to him at all. Ignore the bore. It’s not like you were paying him for his opinion of you.

As soon as you give the mother-in-law an inch, she wants the entire mile.