My blog acquired a pet troll this weekend.
Actually, I hesitate to call him/her a troll, because the arguments (in the various comments) are reasonably well thought out and articulate. However, there's a certain redundancy and tone that lead me towards the troll label for this person.
My natural inclination is to respond in kind, and fortunately I have friends who have been filling in for me on that count. But, I hate to encourage this particular pet to keep leaving his/her droppings all over my blog.
So, philosophically, how do you handle such comments? Here is one example:
You have several facts wrong in your rant. Of course first you show your bias going in with "wingnuts, a self-professed "Roman Catholic," " showing you have some contempt for Catholics who actually attend church and believe church teaching. You infer that the Pope, by not going to the hospital, was choosing to die in some way that was apart from Church teaching. The Pope was informed that there was no hope because of the ongoing health issues and now with septic shock. He chose to stay at home because the hospital offered nothing that could save his life and he could have food and water at home as needed. He thus died naturally. Terry Schiavo was living with no aid of any type except for food, water, and air, all of which I believe you needed over the last few days. Millions of people with handicaps live this way every day using feeding tubes. Vast difference between these two sitautions. In your rant, you say "Terri died, for all intents and purposes, 15 years ago" which is not true. Even her husband did not say this. His interest in her went left after he got the money from a lawsuit and met someone else, lived with her and fathered two children. In most circles we call this bigamy under common law marriage. Easy solution, divorce your wife and move on allowing her parents and siblings to care for her. You say God took her 15 years ago and I will suggest to you that if God wants something, he is fully able to complete it. Man, despite many on the left belief that they should rule over God, did not keep her alive. There were no life support systems in place. Just food, water, and air.
Ignore it? Respond? Engage in mature debate or go straight for the ad hominem attacks? (I'm kidding on that last one ...) This being my first real pet troll, I want to make sure to take really, really good care of it ... or not.