Sealions

[Roger Hayter]

Life imitates art:

We were told this below was allegorical

For those who don't like links the second link is a well-known cartoon about a person casually expressing a dislike of sealions being then harassed at every turn by a sealion demanding to know why, and demanding references to sealion misbehaviour. It has become an Internet meme representing a particular kind of dogmatic trolling. The first is a BBC report from a fishing village in Chile being terrorised by 300 sealions and shows an interview about the problem being gate crashed by a sealion pushing a gate open to join the interview. It is possible, of course, that the BBC interview event was contrived, but if so well done!

[Pancho]

It is funny, but it is just using a joke as a way to drown out opinions that people don't like. They want to be able to say stuff, that they can't justify, and not fear being challenged. So they invent an etiquette that prevents being challenged. It becomes rude to ask why. The current intolerance to freedom of speech is very reminiscent of Victorian values, inhibited, prudish, but most of all hypocritical.

We both know a person who is accused of this behaviour, and whilst he isn't the sharpest tool in the box, he is hardly a problem.