Dash and the warbloggers
For those of you who don't follow these things, the hawkish bloggers vastly outnumber the doves, in part because the doves are in hiding. Mainly because they're wimps, and can't handle an argument. Anil Dash is an exception.
Little Green Footballs is a weblog obsessively devoted to Middle East politics. It performs a valuable function in bringing some of the nastiness of modern Islam to light. But I've always felt a bit queasy in the comments area. Fine to hate Islamic fundamentalism, and to bemoan the bankruptcy of modern Arab societies, and fear the consequences of both. But the posters on LGF make generalizations about Arabs and Muslims that are nothing more than prejudice. In Anil Dash, somebody is finally taking them to task. He makes some serious points, but also hits a target with this riff on hackneyed warblogger language.
I would like you to know that idiotarian is not a word. Yes, I recognize that English is a living, evolving language, where additions are made by usage and not by mandate, but understand, neither are they made through sheer repetition. Fisk is not a transitive verb; It's a surname. It's no longer amusing to watch you make yourself sound silly.
One other thing: LGF writers, who seem remarkably unused to criticism, whine they're being tarred by the actions of a minority. Now they know how moderate Muslims feel. And these moderates are criticized, rightly, for their failure to condemn extremists within their community. The same charge could be levied at Charles Johnson and his LGF followers. Punditarians [Anil Dash]#
