Another one of THOSE threads

“Why?

Why does this have to be done?

Well, that's the whole point of this thread ... why it has to be done.

Today there has been an admission by somebody that he PURPOSEFULLY provokes me. Something that has always been denied. I'm "paranoid" they say.

There is a thread with threats of violence, basically death threats ... although purposefully left vague.

I know there have been emails generated by a certain individual to a large group of TTers to campaign against me on here - literally "regardless" of anything I may or may not say. Just a campaign to have a campaign.

There are a certain (fairly) small group of individuals who very often make indirect references to all of these goings on. They know who they are, and many of you do as well.

There are a small handful of people who often "act" as if they've had enough of the bickering on this website. The truth is, none of those people talk to the instigators. One of them even recently practically applauded a main instigator for working their magic.

Guys, we all get it. You get it. I get it. We all know what's going on. There are a certain large group of trailtalkers who REALLY want all of it to stop. They're the silent majority. I applaud them.

There is decent amount of trailtalkers who know (and one said as much today) - that if you instigators would just stop playing your little game, then we wouldn't have this mess.

We all know this to be true.

For those of you who are "offended" or "automatically provoked" by the very display of the username S-A-R-G-E, ... get over it. Grow up. It's a username.

The fact is you people want a target. You're bullying. If you haven't noticed, since I've dropped the "retaliate in kind" persona in November of 2005, I've only asked for this to stop, or have pointed out when it was happening. I'm not "bullied". I can take it. I have taken it. I will take it. It's meaningless. You've created a whipping boy out of a username. Not very inventive.

Let me tell you. If you had a group of people doing this to you 5, 10 times a day, every day, eventually you would gain some 'paranoid' tendencies. You would have some level of difficulty distinguishing between those that are just joking around, and those that aren't. Quite frankly, if you're like me, you can't tell all of the trailtalkers apart, although the majority of regulars are no problem.

I don't need to hear the normal preaching responses to this. "Sarge, if you'd just put those people on ignore, it would stop." That's BS, I know for a fact because I've done it. "Sarge, why don't you just leave?" Because I'm right. Because I have no desire. Because I truly would like to meet some of you. Because I should not be the one to leave when you have people starting negative campaigns and death threats. I find it amazing that some of you close to those people wouldn't call them out on it. That type of thing alone is why I said I'd like to meet "some" of you. There are plenty who just don't have the character they think or pretend they have. "Sarge, you bring this upon yourself." BS. I used to retaliate to everything. YEARS AGO people. Get over it. I don't need your analysis as to how things I did 2 years ago (RESPONSES to very blatant attacks) have created the "person" I am now. BS. YOU have created that person. I am who I am, NOT who YOU say I am. That will never change. No matter how many times you say I'm a mean, white male who hates anything non-Republican (of which I'm not), it will NEVER make it so. You can't will those kinds of things. You can IMAGINE those kinds of things. That's about it. Some people WOULD be defined by you. A self-fulfilling prophecy would take affect. It won't happen with me. I'll just simply continue to recognize the bullying, point it out, ask it to stop, and continue to be who I am. If you want to create a monster, you're using the wrong clay. That is PRECISELY why this goes on. Some of you feel frustrated, ... you've been unsuccessful, yet you're persistent. I'm helping you here by saying "Give it up. Move on."

Yeah, we've all heard the suggestions. I like this place for the most part. I like MOST of you. There are a certain group of people on here who have re-written who Sarge is. They've created whole stories about "Sarge". They've projected characteristics, personalities, faults, biases, all kinds of things onto the username "Sarge". Well, the way I look at it, that's not my problem. I take some of the responsibility for my actions in the early days when I THOUGHT the best solution was "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em." I've said probably a dozen times on here I was wrong about that. Fine. Move on people. I seriously pray that God offers you more Grace than you offer others. I have GREAT reservations on believing the often self-touted mantra on here that trailtalkers are GREAT people. Yeah, when somebody dies you jump through hoops. That's great. But the truly good people don't wait for tragedy to be good people. They don't need an excuse.

For those of you who really think I'm truly messed up in the head ... If you think that way, where is your compassion? If I am crazy or sick or nuts like you claim, then how do you treat mentally ill people? I think the truth is you really don't believe that, and that you would never treat mentally ill people like you do (not referring to everybody here obviously), but you actually are just provoking me. You're calling names.

Yeah yeah ... we get it ... Sarge is paranoid. He's crazy. He's a bad person ... He should just disappear ... I hate him ... he's ruined my life ...

Get real people. Either put me on ignore and call out the true perpetrators on this site, or give it a rest already.

It's old.

Really old.

(Now for more that shouldn't need to be said ...)

If this stuff wasn't happening, I wouldn't be making this insane post. Contrary to popular folklore, I am not out trying to gain attention. I am quite the opposite personality. I hate cutting the grass, not because I dislike the chore ... I love the simplicity of it ... but because I don't like the attention from the neighbors that the whirring of the loud motor brings. I post "about myself" because I'm asking for these kinds of posts ABOUT me to STOP.

Yah! It's fun to get Sarge riled up. Yeah yeah, .. we get it. It's old. If you are one of the people doing this - I'm here to tell you that you are NOT creative. You are NOT funny. You may be entertaining yourself, but it's not a very impressive view of your brain stimulation terminus. Expand your horizons. Please, for all of our sakes.

This isn't directed at everybody. It's directed at a few select individuals. They know who they are. Most of the regulars who may be reading this know who they are. It doesn't need to be said.

Flame on.”

“I feel so bad about hijacking sarge's thread. Here I'll bump it to the top... just for him.”

“I suppose I'm the ONLY one who notices the passive-aggressiveness in the "reverend's" post.

riiiight - all in my head.

There IS a reality, rev. You ought to check it out someday.”

“Is passive agressive worse than agressive?”

“Only in the sense that it's trying to hide the true nature of the conflict, so it becomes dishonesty + aggressiveness.”

“All the people complaining about me ... not using ignore ... they ARE doing a lot of crying, huh Zombie? I keep asking for the crying to stop. You don't like it either, SC?”

“now now sarge, I just posted a picture. You are putting words in my mouth and projecting what you want it to say, even if that is not what it is intented to say. ;)”

“No doubt you have been provoked. The question begging to be asked is who gives a #&%!$?”

“Jeeze do you guys have lives? Christ, I been working all weekend. BUT I am planning a great trip in a few weeks.

So as you guys get a personally bent out of shape and names on a thread.....Sorry but thats all we are. I will be planning a really cool trip where I will put some miles in, sleep in the cold...and have a BLAST!”

“where ya going xl? :)”

“why would the username "sarge" be offensive?”

“Goin hiking...you know, backpack, tent...sleep in the cold....oh does anyone have a good beef stroganoff recipie...you know some dehydrated ingredient I can mix up to make a good stroganoff over a stove?”

“there is some not bad noodle mix stuff available in the sotes up this way. not that that helps you much down there.”

“Yeah I am guessing a noodle mix and throw in some ground beef. The last one I went on in the cold I did a Chicken Whatchagot Stew....it Twas, KILLER!”

“Lipton Sides makes a mean stroganoff that I use. Cooks fast and as usual on the trail it is fantastic.”

“Lipton sides is what I am thinking of”

“I like those Lipton sides, very tasty and easy to do....”

“How much salt is in them?

Seems like everything pre-made is too salty these days.
last edited: 1/06/08 6:15:20 PM”

“not too bad Sarge, tastes right to me...”

“800-900mg Na”

“I personally like the Mountain House freeze dried ones.”

“HMM...I enjoy taking the dehydrated stuff and throwing it together with a nice something or other....the kids never see a PACKAGE....makes em start to think about using their skills.”

“ya XL400236 - Stroganoff is really easy to make on a trip - how many people are you making it for? (that will determine which of the recipes I give you)

sorry for the hijack Sarge”

“i like those chicken terriaki w/rice meals by mtn house, but i add two of those snack cups of pineapple to it.”

“Stroganoff is really easy to make on a trip - how many people are you making it for?

You can even buy powdered sour cream.

Clicky”

“Alpine Aire sells powdered sour cream and you can also buy it from WaltonFeed.com.”

“Judas Phucking Priest, some of you people are ridiculous! I mean seriously, what the hell is wrong with you? You put someone on ignore, then spend thread after thread talking about that person in a thinly veiled manner like he (or we) won�t be able to figure it out. WTF??
Are you that weak? I don�t think so. I think there�s intent. I think there�s a desire to be one of the cool kids. If you truly wanted to ignore someone, YOU WOULD DO IT! All this nonsense says more about YOU than it does about him.
And this constant desire and effort to have someone banned because they�re a meanie:. LMFAO! Give me a break. When he�s here you talk about him. When he�s not here you talk about him. I�m willing to bet many of you talk about him in your daily lives OUTSIDE of trailtalk. Sad. What about the people who don�t want him banned? What about the TTer who, for some inexplicable (to you) reason, seems to communicate with him without a problem? That vote doesn�t count, huh? What about your friends who behave like asses on here? Should they be banned too because a few people don�t like them? Probably not because your friend posts sheeyot about him too, right? Sorry grade-schoolers, you can�t pick and chose.

Buck�s post still rings true every freaking day here:

��There are quite a few people here who are obsessed with Sarge. Completely obsessed. It's quite apparent. I mean, if I don't like cauliflower, I don't spend my day, each and every day, talking about how much I dislike cauliflower. If I'm always saying over and over and over and over how much I dislike cauliflower, well, then I'm still thinking about cauliflower, aren't I? Funny how that works. This has gone beyond a mere distaste for Sarge, it's an obsession. Nearly every thread brings an out-of-the-blue reference to Sarge, new threads started out-of-the-blue, old threads dug up and rehashed. It's a serious obsession. I've never seen the likes of it on any of the many forums I frequent. You guys can be discussing cooking recipes or flying kites or polka dancing with no sign of Sarge around and then, voila, you start talking about him. I don't say this in defense of Sarge, I say it as an observation. Truly, many of you are obsessed with the man. You think of him a lot, and I do mean a LOT. This forum is permeated with you thinking of Sarge. It's a wee bit odd. Newcomers here will think Sarge is reincarted Elvis or something. If I don't like something, I don't fixate and dwell upon it 24/7. But that's just me.�

Buck
3:41:05 PM
12/21/05”

“ban nonconformist. he sucks”

“noncom, thats my problem with the Sarge username. Its the reaction it gets from everyone else. I have no problem with sarge, I don't see his endless defenses of his honor anymore, but I do see the results of it in the total meltdown of threads. Even if it were true that poor innocent sarge had no part in the meltdowns it would still come down to either banning half the board or banning one person. This forum was much better when it was just the one.”

“wow - is this sarge fellow that bad? sorry I've not been here much so I really don't know and no one has answered my question about what it is with the username that is offensive

just an outsider view here but can't you just click the "ignore this user" feature if you don't want to read someone's comments? wouldn't that be easier than all the bickering?”

“WildChild, most TTers are adolescent when it comes to emotional maturity. That's why they can't really ignore Sarge and the "ignore this user" feature is useless.”

“wild, I have him on ignore yet I can still see most of his posts because people quote them in their replies to him. I would actually like sarge's posts if it weren't for his desperate need to defend every perceived slight against him like he was the last man at the Alamo. And the only possible outcome for him in any debate is for you to agree that you are a stupid #&%!$ and he is right once again. (but even if you do that he will still argue with you if you have left any part of your crime unrepented). Imagine Don Quixote tilting at windmills that tilt back. Now imagine trying to enjoy backpacking through a beautiful area but surrounded by angry windmills and Sarge Quiote tilting at each other everywhere you go.

Thats TT with the username sarge unbanned.”

“I would actually like sarge's posts if it weren't for his desperate need to defend every perceived slight against him like he was the last man at the Alamo.

You mean like that one?

And the only possible outcome for him in any debate is for you to agree that you are a stupid #&%!$ and he is right once again. (but even if you do that he will still argue with you if you have left any part of your crime unrepented).

Or how about that one?

Imagine Don Quixote tilting at windmills that tilt back. Now imagine trying to enjoy backpacking through a beautiful area but surrounded by angry windmills and Sarge Quiote tilting at each other everywhere you go.

Perhaps that's what you're talking about?


Perhaps those "perceived" slights are "actual" slights, and they come three to a post at times ... all day long.

Like many have tried to tell you hyways ... IGNORE IT! YOU are the problem.
last edited: 1/07/08 7:54:11 AM”

“wow - you guys need to get out on a trail or something”

“We're getting there sweetie, that's what weekends are for, meanwhile this is what we do during the week, and even on ignore, this guy upsets the balance.”

“meanwhile this is what we do during the week, and even on ignore, this guy upsets the balance.

Why give Sarge that kind of power? I give sarge the same significants as the Crazy Shopping Cart Guy I see downtown. I see him. I hear his rantings and ramblings. But I sure as hell don't stop and join in his insane conversations.”

“Nigal, but aren't you are bit mezmerized by both? Good analogy by the way.”

“Why give Sarge that kind of power? I give sarge the same significants as the Crazy Shopping Cart Guy I see downtown. I see him. I hear his rantings and ramblings. But I sure as hell don't stop and join in his insane conversations.

Except, for right now. But hey, just this once ... This one time of unprovoked name calling in acceptable since you claim you don't do it.

Plus, ... the other day too. So, just twice, ...

You see, as he points out, he's above the people who do that sort of thing. He knows better.
last edited: 1/08/08 3:51:52 AM”

“Is it really unprovoked?”

“okay this is for Sarge and everyone else... don't answer these questions... why is this so important? why waste time arguing? can't you all just agree to disagree? Would you treat each other like this if you were hanging out in my living room? One thing people need to really remember is that there are real people behind these words and to treat each other like guests in your home.”

“wildchild, you do know that many people on this forum know each other and hike together quite often. If you played the 6 degrees of Kevin Bacon game here it probably would take less than 3 for everyone here to get to someone else who has hiked with a TTer. example, I an east coaster have hiked with other east coasters and some more western folks. those folks have hiked with someone further west, and then those peeps have hiked with west coasters.

We know there are real people on the other end of this internet connection. here is a thread where people post who they have met, many have met more than 100 tters, some have met more than 200 http://www.thebackpacker.com/trailtalk/thread/8817,-1,50.php
last edited: 1/08/08 5:02:51 AM”

“WildChild - you just said what I've been saying. "Just stop." ... So, now I guess you can include yourself in that question.”

“�Is it really unprovoked?�
bacpac

Yes. It really is.”

“wildchild... one of the unique qualities about the internet, for good or for bad is that it is NOT your living room. It is not my living room. That's just the way it is. In history of the world, there has never been a time when everyone to agreed to disagree.

To be very honest, there are not real live people behind some of these screen names. This forun has more trolls in it than any place else I can remember seeing. But remember I lead a sheltered life. A troll was outed a little while ago when the site changed hands. It got ugly. I really felt bad for the individual who was outed. That was the last time I saw a troll be identified to the real person except by themselves.”

“UM CALLING ALL THREAD DEGENERATION UNITS...ACTION NOW!!!

We have perfectly well tenderized this deceased horse.

Lets move on to #&%!$ing about something else.”

“I guess I do have to include myself Sarge - I was merely trying to diffuse the situation - I do know that many people here know each other and I've seen this type of mutual lack of respect happen on other forums - I do think that people here and elsewhere forget that there are real people and real feelings involved. It doesn't matter if people have met before or not - it seems to me that you once you put a monitor, keyboard and internet connection in the equation and the respect levels drop dramatically with some people - which is why I used the "guests in your home" anaology.

So in essence what I am trying to say in my over-friendly way - is can't you all just make up, group hug and get on with things?

Oh and technically this is my office - the living room is a few feet away. I was using the wording metaphorically - as in we should treat each other better!!

And now I will shut-up... lol
last edited: 1/08/08 5:10:39 AM”

“To be very honest, there are not real live people behind some of these screen names. This forun has more trolls in it than any place else I can remember seeing. ”
ramblinrev
8:05:12 AM
1/08/08

Thats why this forum is so much better than others, if you haven't hiked with anyone then you are a troll. If you have then you are a person. person's get treated like you would treat someone in real life, trolls get treated like you would treat someone on an internet message board. BTW, I have seen arguments break out in peoples homes when too many non-likeminded people are together. It happens in real life just like on line.
last edited: 1/08/08 5:13:38 AM”