The imaginary BJP trolls

Yesterday I came across a post written by someone called AbyHydros. It was quite a mediocre piece but was instantly hailed as scholarly research by many of the Congress supporters, as is true of any piece which attacks the so-called "trolls" on right of centre. Shashi Tharoor even called it a "brilliant analysis". 

The ecstasy of average Leftlib trolls was not at all surprising because of most of them just pretend to be liberals anyway when, in fact, they rabidly hate anyone who opposes their worldview. But, all that in another post. Coming from Shashi Tharoor, this praise for such a pedestrian piece was surprising. I seriously wonder whether he even read the article.

To be honest, the article did have some relevant points. But, I don't think that a person has to be an astute & keen observer of politics or social media, or any topic actually, to be able to tell which politician they support. However, my problem is not the inference drawn by AbyHydros or actually many before him but the logic that they have used. Some conclusions in the post are mere hypotheses propounded by the author which have not yet withstood the test of statistical analysis. I expected Shashi Tharoor to be aware of such criteria if not the author himself.

The post starts by saying that right-wing groups mobilize & organise better than others. Now, I don't know how much experience AbyHydros has in studying right-wing organisations & religious extremism. But, this is a hypothesis which needs to be statistically supported. As long as it does not have it, it is just his opinion, the credibility of which depends on his credentials. And I have some serious doubts about them. 

Next, AbyHydros talks about political parties defending communal riots. It is no secret that he is alluding to BJP. Now, there is no record of any BJP leader having said that, to the best of my knowledge. AbyHydros cites a particular blogpost to bolster his claim. This post, in turn, quotes from a study by Raheel Dhattiwala and Michael Biggs, two scholars of the department of sociology, University of Oxford. However, what is interesting is that nowhere in the post is it mentioned that BJP defended the riots. It just cites the study to show how BJP could have benefited from them. 

AbyHydros then tells how the campaign strategy of BJP started using social media to counter MSM's bias against them. He has a problem with anonymous handles on Twitter. Now, this is from a guy who has given his name as Aby Hydros. Now, as per my knowledge, this is not a name in most parts of the world which are considered to be civilised. However, I am not going to resort to personal attacks. The other problem is that these so-called anonymous handles are promoting NaMo for the PM position in 2014. Now, is this a crime in itself? I don't think so. NaMo satisfies all the constitutional criteria for PM & hence can be promoted by his supporters. If you have a problem with it, promote your own candidate or be quiet. Don't treat this as a crime against humanity.

AbyHydros also has a problem with the supporters of the "party with majority"  being called "anti-nationals". It may be a strong word but a true liberal should accommodate the other person's right to say what he wants & understand his reasonf or saying it. Congress-led UPA has been embroiled in a lot of scams. Are scams patriotic? I am within my rights to say that the Government does not care about the nation. Also, if "anti-national" does not describe the Government who has made a mockery of the concept of Indian nationality, I don't know what will.

AbyHydros tries to paint a picture of Congress supporters as people who are fighting hard against some kind of a dictatorial regime & are cowering in fear against vicious attacks. This is the same tactic that is used by Sagarika Ghose for minorities. It is true that eminent journalists & common people are abused. But, that was also done by Congress supporters when something was said about PM. The following image proves that.

Congress trolls

I don't support or advocate use of abusive language. But, painting it as some sort of "attack" causing some sort of a grievous injury, which could prove to be fatal too, is downright stupid & childish. Have you ever asked Dr.Swamy how it feels to be called a "low IQ troll" when he teaches at Harvard? AbyHydros & many others whose names are mentioned in the post make it out as if people are being lynched, which is quite amusing. I have never seen Dr.Swamy whine about the "attacks" on him.  If someone is abusing you, Twitter gives you an option to block that person. I admit it is troublesome. But, then if you don't want *all* opinions, go off Twitter. Whatever is said on Twitter is said off it as well. The only difference is that it does not reach the  media divas. I had read somewhere it is not the people whom we control but we can control our response to them.

Also, what is wrong in writing blogposts about what I feel is wrong about the media, politics etc. Abyhydros should make it clear whether he has a problem with dissent or abusive language. I think,like all so-called liberals, it is the former. Leftlibbers are very sensitive to anything said to them. I am afraid, in a few days, even "Excuse Me" from a right-winger will be termed as abuse.

Hijacked trends is another of AbyHydros' personal grievance. Trending something to spread awareness is a marketing strategy which used quite effectively by brands. It is not a crime if it is used by a political party. However, I am not sure whether anyone is paid to actually trend things. As far as I know, it is just a group of disparate elements who have come together on a common platform where they can voice their opinions. In my opinion, such allegations of paid twitter accounts is just a result of Leftist paranoia working overtime. On the contrary, Congress supporters are well-organised bunch under ringleader Sanjay Jha, who you can see actively participating in trends while no BJP leader has been seen trending anything.

I am sure when he says "Attack political rivals, devalue them in public opinion by making them the brunt of ridicule trends" he specifically means Rahul Gandhi. Well, dude, that is just public opinion about him. Even the recent polls show that more people want Modi to be PM than Rahul Gandhi. Deal with it. Don't tell people to shut up. The very fact that he doesn't want it to trend means that he is trying to "suppress voices of dissent", an accusation he makes on right-wingers. Also, some of his fellow Leftlibs have said that leaders are open to criticism. I don't understand what he is cribbing about.

When AbyHydros says that BJP is making an attempt to create disillusionment among the youth, it meas he hasn't been out on the roads often. There is a lot of outrage in the country. It is not only on Twitter but also among auto-drivers & paanwalas who are not on Twitter. He may perhaps say that BJP is trying to fan it but, is it not what it needs to do to win an election? Or does he expect BJP to actually praise Congress? What would have Congress done in such a situation? The use of Gujarat riots is still made to an extent where people think no other riots ever took place in independent India. Every party exploits the other's weakness for political mileage. Work on those weaknesses first rather than cribbing why people are accusing your party.

The post has grown longer than I wanted to write. I fear I actually have dignified that post by writing this one. All the points, except the one of abusive language, mentioned by AbyHydros were simply whining. I remember AbyHydros spamming people with a message that he had a brilliant idea to "thrash Internet Hindus". And this is a person who is accusing people of threatening him. Talk of irony. Just like the thriving Modi-bashing cottage industry, there is also an online club of "humanist intellectuals"(read attention-seekers) who write blogposts on Modi which are, then, treated like gems in the Literature Hall of Fame. AbyHydros is the latest entrant to that club. Well, inadvertently, I have actually given him more than his share of attention. And for all those who thought his analysis was brilliant & he is the next intellectual on the Congress block, get well soon guys.