Feed an ally, starve a troll

Been saying this for years. Of course nobody listens to me. But now that the Maddow said it on teevee maybe some of the hotshot opinion makers will pay attention:

“Trolling is a key part of the conservative-entertainment/media business model,” she said. “These guys say stuff all the time that they do not intend to be persuasive. They’re not trying to explain something, or bring people along to their way of thinking, they’re just doing something to attract attention, and hopefully condemnation and outrage from the mainstream, and particularly from liberals. They want to offend you. They seek to offend you. That is the point.”…

“Trolls have a purpose in our politics,” Maddow said. “They help niche, unpopular positions and people fund themselves and promote themselves as pseudo-political actors by tricking people who ought to know better into punching down at them.”

Via Anne Laurie who has the vid and more at the link.

Should be noted that neither Rachel or any of us have been totally successful in avoiding falling into that trap. But worth reviewing the rise and fall of some of the most successful right wing trolls, for instance Sarah Palin. When teh left jumped into outrage/mockery mode at her every utterance, the courtier press kept her in play. When we started ignoring her, she slowly drifted out of the news, because she stopped driving interweb traffic. This is the hidden key to disempowering the crackpots.