Bum fights? (Yawn) Nothing new to Usenet

[WILLIAM PALMER]

atching a tv newscast about the notorious "Bum Fights"
production, it is hard not to get angry at the greedheads who
pay social unfortunates to fight one another and to perform
cruel, dangerous stunts for the amusement of the mindless
cretins who will buy the video.

Yet, as I think of it, we have been having "bum fights"
in Usenet for quite a while. I refer of course to the
disruptive activities of the louts and the boors who fill up
our Usenet groups with their meaningless quarrels and
disputes, carried on, disgustingly, not by clever repartee
and reasoned argument, but by hurling the vilest possible
four-letter epithets.

Even so, while the analogy between the "Bum Fights"
video and the newsgroup bum-fights engaged in by empty-
headed social misfits like Alan Hope, Dr. Zen, Fundoc,
Flagg, Frank S., Jeroen van Kessel, David Kendrick,
Menjy, ICEKNIFE, Gaiawar and others is well worth
pondering, it is not exact. Here are the basic differences

The video "Bum Fights" exploits social unfortunates
for the benefit of the money-grubbing heels who
produce the cruel spectacles for the amusement
of a debased audience.

In Usenet, the bum fights are carried on by a
different breed of social unfortunate, a variety
that deserves contempt rather than pity. It is
a curious species made up of individuals who
have many advantages of education, employment,
etc., but who--apparently out of bad character
and sheer perverseness--choose to spend their
time polluting newsgroups for their own idle
amusement. Further, their crudely bellicose
messages have the potential of debasing anyone
unfortunate enough to read them.

My tv news station just reported that the producers
of the Video bum fights have been arrested. I'm
delighted to hear that. However, out of respect for free
speech principles, we can't literally arrest our own "bum
fighters," but we can certainly put a dent in their pestiferous
activities by refusing to read them or follow them up.
LET'S GIVE THESE LOUSY BUMS THE BOOT!

Twinkles, the alt.genius.dwarf

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