Posting:

Due to the current troll infestation we will be requiring you to sign in to leave a comment. Also, please note that we will be very nice in the regular posts, but we will not be gentle in the Sunday Blaspheme posts. You will be expected to back up any ideas with facts.

I am always happy to answer any questions I can:)

New Rule! Staff reserves the right to cuss you out and post your correspondence if you send us annoying emails.

Best!

Brett

Sunday, August 1, 2010

A Response to Our Argumentative Commenter, Matt, All in One Place for Your Convenience

Dearest Matt-

Here are responses to your recent comments here (Matt's statements below are in blue italics):

Matt sez:
Jess - As a race we have tribal natures, cliques even, so yes if someone you are trying to have any sort of relationship with has only art in common, that relationship is going nowhere.
Jess sez:
Your reading comprehension seems to be poor. I will simply repeat what I assume you were commenting on:

I have friends and relatives that I love very much, that believe the wackiest shit that drives me up the freaking wall. Does that mean I don't love them any more? Does that mean I avoid them completely? No. It means I act like an adult and instead of going "boohoohoo, you hurt my feeeelings cuz you differ/are vocal about your religous/political/dog-related/diet/younameit practices or beliefs," I just ignore the stuff that bothers me and concentrate on the things we both enjoy and have in common.

Matt sez:
I do have to say that curiosity got the best of me and I had to see if you even read my note about the religious issue.
Jess sez:
We read all of the comments. We only delete spam or truly abusive comments.

Matt sez:
I have no problem watching/being dealt 'blasphemous' jokes or similar content.
Jess sez:
That's nice, but it's not true. See below.

Matt sez:

My problem is the amount of it.
Jess sez:
So then you do have a problem with the anti-religious content. What's the cut-off? One post out of ten? One out of twenty? Out of fifty? Where, oh where, are the rules for these things? Perhaps we should consult Miss Manners. Or Dear Abby.

Matt sez:
Like I said before, I quit reading comics when I realized I was paying $40 bucks a week for them and they started resurrecting long dead heroes. Your blog had nothing to do with ending that. I only wanted to point out you had been my favorite artist throughout my reading years. Compliment like that should be worth something.
Jess sez:
No fan really wants to hear this, but except in certain cases, it's quite true: compliments are, in reality, worth nothing. They are nice to hear, but they rarely mean anything on a lasting level unless they are coming from a respected peer, or for some situations non-fan related, a loved one. That's not really very nice, but it's true. My parents think everything I do is just wonderful. I like to hear their compliments, it's very nice, but it doesn't make a lasting emotional impression.

Matt sez:
I can give two shits about keeping up on a blog. I liked your humanoid artwork and came back to check what's happening. It was the amount of anti-religion posts that was getting to me.
Jess sez:
I am on a very active canine breeding mailing list, and some of the breeding practices of the other breeders just drive me up the wall. Repeated posts about male dogs with no libido. Bitches with low progesterone, thyroid issues, allergies, poor-mothering instinct. Puppies that have to be helped along at every turn. I want to scream, "What the hell are you doing? Why would you do that? What is breeding dogs that are completely incapable of mating, whelping or caring for pups on their own going to do for the breed, or even your own lines? Don't you understand that fecundity and libido and mothering instinct can be hereditary?" I don't write that, though. Those screwed up dogs are loved and cared for by their people, and hey, if they want to breed those dogs who am I to tell them they're idiots?

Atheism and religious idiocy are interests of Brett's. He likes to post about them. Who are you to tell him that he posts about it too often?

Matt sez:

If you had to check a blog and scan through weeks of posts and we'll say every 7th post was something not to your taste, you might start to think there's an issue.
Jess sez:
No one has to check a blog. Holding a gun to a reader's head to get more hits went out of style years ago. I read a number of blogs. I scan through weeks of posts on topics I'm not interested in, usually training for some kind of sporting event like agility. Or rants about over-population and irresponsible breeders, those are real fun and some of the anti-breeding people are pretty virulent. Or articles about species or issues that aren't interesting to me. Some blogs I might read one post out of twenty or thirty. Boy, those people must have some kind of issue, writing a lot of posts about something they ::gasp:: care about.

Matt sez:
Believe in no God. That's your perogative. But I think you'd get just as annoyed if we held a conversation, and I name dropped Jesus every seventh sentence.
Jess sez:
If you think we're having a conversation here, you're sadly mistaken. The give and take of a natural conversation is not even close to the same thing as discourse on a blog or message board. There is no real give and take on a blog unless the writer makes it so, and yes, you will see some exchange of opinions on some of our posts. Steve, frequent commenter, friend, and believer in god, initiates a lot of discussion. When I speak to people in real life who have an interest in something I have no interest in, I steer the conversation away from those topics towards something we both like. Unless, of course, we feel like an argument. You, as a reader, cannot steer, have no right to steer, and no right tell Brett that he posts too much on any one topic, because this isn't a conversation, and it isn't your blog.

Matt sez:
I'm not crying at your lack of respect, just concerned.
Jess sez:
Concern troll is concerned. How sweet. Is it because you think we're going to hell?

Matt sez:
Thank the monkeys or primordial ooze.
Jess sez:
Why? What would the point be? I'm not descended from monkeys and ooze has no capability of appreciating thanks.
Brett - If anti-religion posts have been here the whole time, then that's my error.
Jess sez:
Yes, it is. Since you are in error, maybe you should stop digging the hole even deeper. You might even feel the need to apologize for your initial comment where you quite deliberately tried to make Brett feel badly.
I possibly only clicked art-related posts.
Jess sez:
And is there a particular reason you cannot do that now? Clicker on your mouse broken?

Matt sez:
I purchased some of the Marvel stuff you did, probably all of it, as I am a Marvel slut. Outside of that no, I didn't as I'm white trash. Sorry you're jaded enough to only be about the money. O_o Just ignore it?
Jess sez:
And where did this come from? Yes, money is important, because we do what we do as our sole means of income. Comic books feed us and support our hobbies. That is neither here not there and has nothing to do with being jaded and everything to do with making a living and having a life outside of work.

Matt sez:
Tables turn: I'm an artist but I support dog fighting. Make random posts about "cool dog fighting videos". Needless to say, you'd be turned off to ME for liking that stuff. I don't, but it's easy to say that when it's something as laughable as religion.
Jess sez:
Garbage. And a very poor argument, as well. Dog fighting is not the equivalent of being anti-religious. Dog fighting results in death and injury and pain and fear and it is illegal in all fifty states. Atheism and anti-religiousness are neither illegal (not yet, anyways), nor do they do physical harm. We are not responsible if your faith or your self-esteem is so weak that our mere written words can cause you mental harm.

Matt sez:
And yes, you say you weren't the best artist but there was something. You just needed to mold it. I suppose with enough training, I could be anything? I have an equilibrium issue, but by all that's holy I show Tony Hawk what for with some practice. Doubtful. OMG I could probably be a rocket scientist in my off time with some education! We're all created differently. Created. My mother's womb did not make me to factory settings. If so, move over bitch, I'm gonna gun for your job, with a little practice.
Jess sez:
There are no factory settings in reproducing by sexual means. The offspring inherits genes from each parent, and each offspring inherits a different set of genes. That is why all brothers and sisters are not exactly alike, and all pups or kittens in a litter are not the same. Asexual reproduction is different, btw, although I think they've learned that even parthenogenesis does not produce perfect clones in some species.

I won't get into the created thing, there is no valid evidence for creation by an entity of any kind.

Humans, like any animal, are the product of their genes, and propensity for certain tasks is hereditary to some extent. Brett's grandfather was a painter, both his mother and father can draw and his sister and brother both draw. My sister and brother can both draw, and my biological father did photography. My sister also has a strong interest in and affinity for animals, like me. Suspicious, eh?

Are there people who want to do something that they have no propensity for? Yes. I met a few of them in art school, people who could never go beyond a certain level no matter how hard they practiced. Fortunately, art is not particularly dangerous, so these people didn't hurt themselves other than wasting their time. I'm sure we've all met people are just terrible at something: driving, child-rearing, cooking, and not through lack of practice.

There are also people who have unknown skills, simply because they haven't really tried. True story: my first year of college I had to take Basic Drawing. This was a class that was acceptable as an elective for graduation credit for other majors so we had a lot of non-art majors there. We were using a book called "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain" as a textbook, and it had exercises that would teach you to consciously access and use the right side of your brain. I switch easily from left to right, (except for mathematics), so this was of no interest to me until I saw it work. There was a woman who was a chemistry student, and her drawings were terrible. Her skill set had stopped somewhere when she was nine or so years old, very childlike work, all symbolism, no real ability to see when drawing from life, which is basically all we did in that class. After a couple of weeks of doing these exercises, she was good. She had real talent and easily caught up to the actual art majors in class. Did all the non-art majors catch up? No. She was the only that had real aptitude. She didn't give up on her chemistry major, though. Nor did she thank god for her new talent, as I recall.

Annnnd, I've digressed something awful. Sorry.

Matt, you should have let your initial, oh, so very dramatic comment stand and simply toddled off to do whatever it is that you like to do on the internet. Then we could have slept the sleep of the sickening, content in the knowledge that we'd driven a fan away from comics entirely! Such power!

Matt's original comment:
Haven't been to your blog in a while, thought I'd check up on the sweet artistry. The AMOUNT of anti-religion is too heavy for this fan. Believe what you want, but such commitment to negativity is sickening. Are you plagued by religious zealots or what? The skill you were given to breathe life into a drawing should be enough to thank God. Oh well. Thanks for taking away my last interest in comic book artistry.
Jess sez:
Be warned: you DO NOT come on OUR blog and make a comment clearly intended to insult and hurt, and think you're going to get off easy. In this tiny little unimportant universe, WE ARE GOD. You pull that shit here, expect to be smited.

Regards,
Jess

P.S. You are lucky that I decided to make this post, Matt, instead of letting Brett do it. He's far more blatantly insulting than I am, and he meanders even more than I do.

10 comments:

steve said...

Hey Matt if you are still reading please feel free to stick around. The Booths are some of the nicest pagans you will ever meet, and I mean that. They are opinionated, but not stupid. As a fellow believer I can tell you my faith has been strengthened by counting them as close friends for something like a decade now. Brett and Jess have very inquisitive minds and have sent me searching down some wild rabbit trails researching science or the state of current humanistic thought.

I think the friction only comes when we expect the result of arguments to be agreement rather than understanding. I wish the Booths agreed with me, but all I can do is plead my case and hope at the end of the day they understand where I'm coming from.

You can't get angry at the blind for constantly acting like a blind person. You can't get upset at a non-believer constantly acting like a non-believer.

I have more genuine faith conversations with Brett than many of my "religious" friends who just smile and act like everything is good. I get tired of church people who are always "fine."

So stick around enjoy the best art and allow the anti-religious comments to spur you in your own relationship with Christ. He'll use it if you let him, he does for me.

Steve

M.O.R said...

I come here for the artwork, not the religious debate, and some discussion about dogs.

If I ever did discuss something to do with mythology, or legends, it was something to do with Mythology, Legends or folklore. Be it vampires or werewolves.
Folklore, legends and mythology are something I am passionate about, and they occur very often in literature, whether it is Star Wars or Waiting for Godot.

But, personally, while I am theist, its a tiny part of me. I don't force it on anyone. I do crave knowledge, however. Ignorance may be bliss, but knowledge is power. And to remain ignorant is to be powerless.

Evolution happened, end of. The big bang happened. End of. Homosexuality is not a sin, and neither the bible or the Torah, or the Koran, or any of the Abrahamic faiths actually condemn homosexuality. They do not. They condemn and denounce rape. People mistranslate and misinterpret these religious texts, and what happens? A minority are chased down, attacked and killed because someone read it wrong, passed the message onwards and then we are left with messages of hate. The world was not made in 7 days either, because someone, again, mistranslated and misinterpreted the bible and now we have creationists. The Aramaic word for 'day', at least as written in the Aramaic version of the bible can mean day, week, month, year, decade, century, or millenia. People make a mistake, and we get this problem. Hell, Christmas aint even the real birth day of Jesus Christ. He was born in April. Again, someone makes a mistake.

M.O.R said...

I might add that that is why I left religion behind me. Too much hate, all of it because of a misinterpretation and mistake.

Then we have a situation where Raztinger, the current pope, then Cardinal, spoke out in the 80's at the height of the AIDS/ HIV crisis, and told his followers, the priests, the monks, the nuns, and essentially anyone who was Catholic, such as Doctors, not to help those suffering or dying of AIDS because 'They were being punished by God'. Hell No! If Jesus were alive and well in the 80's, he would have ben first to help the sick and the dying. They are the lepers of our modern day, yet this guy tells people to not help them. To shun them and throw them into the pits. Jerk.

Thankfull, many of his followers, be they Dr's, nuns priests or monks, disobeyed his orders, and helped comfort those who were sick. They are heroes, in my book. Anyone who offers comfort to the sick, no matter their faith or none, are the noblest people in the world. I have also been around animals that have provided comfort.

Yet the Catholic Church would deny the basic rights to the ill, yet provided sanctuary to the most sinister of predators. There are a whole host of expetives I want to use to describe them, but there aint enough space on the internet to allow me to do so.

We also have Mother Theresa denying the sick and the dying painkillers, and mophine and other vital medicines. Why? Suffering is the way to heaven, dontchaknow?
And she is up for Sainthood.

BreannaRose said...

Brett is GOD here! Matt you better get before he smites you! I never post but this got me very upset. I buy everything by BB but that dosn't mean Im going to come on BB's corner of the internet and talk smack! keep ur religious BS to your self Matt! The Idea of god was created to keep stupid people stupid and keep them in line! does this ring a bell? ie you! your A typical christian dick head its ALL about you and your feelings, right? get your own blog! BB I LOVE all the anti religious stuff but truthfully my opinion dosnt really matter. U R god here BB do what you do!

MadPowerBomber said...

Wow.

Adam said...

just...awsome...awsome...anyway it just amazes me the narrow minded viwes of the "religulous". Do I belive in God yes..Do I force it down others throats no, yet because I don't go to church i've been called a heathen.(which i should point out is a term for "non-christian" not as most think "non-belivers") And then you have those that think the internet was made just for them and thier views.Haters. And lastly to make a comment on dog fighting to a dog breeder shows a you have no compassion for your fellow man, very christian.

Matt said...

I'm sorry, you can't actually hear my voice when I write to you and how messages come across. I'm sorry you took my original post as an attack, as it truly was only meant as a concern. If it bothered you enough to write a blog about it 3 weeks later, so be it. Stew on a comment and let it tear you up. I believe there's a conflict in you for your soul. Jesus loves you and he's not condemning. You can be free.

I just can't fathom how one simple comment caused such a ripple on your blog. Does thou protest too much? Idk. I'm not gonna debate something on teh internetz. Get out and talk to a knowledgeable, ground in faith person. Later.

Brett said...

Thanks for the kind words everyone, but I guess Matt just doesn't seem to get it. He just apologizes, kind of, and then smacks you in the face. Nice guy, I hope the girls stay far away.

Matt,

Are you that fucking stupid? Three weeks ago we slapped you down and then 3 days you popped back up, with even more stupid nonsense so we decided to slap you down again, in public. Perhaps you might see how truly pointless you posts were, but alas, you didn't.

No conflict, just us having fun with you, stop projecting.

Steve is far more knowledgeable than most, he has yet to make a solid argument for his religion. But that doesn't mean that I haven't asked him questions about it. Still, I'm not convinced.

I was hoping that maybe you might see and understand about actual repression but once again you'd rather try to play it off like you ment well while trying to back slap us. Sorry you're not nearly smart enough to pull that off.

As I said before don't let the door hit you on the way out!

Bestest,

Brett

Marcus said...

Guys like this give anyone of strong faith a bad name, I don't post often (I actually think this is my second one in all) but I do when I learn about this kind of sheer ignorance. He seems to wrap his deeds in the belief that if he shuts his eyes, covers his ears, and yells load enough the world will be as he wills it. That is not the case, free will is the greatest gift God supposedly gave man second to life itself, taking it from another is considered a mortal sin even by many Christians. Few realize that when they act like Matt they are acting contray to the belief, I am a Catholic personally and have many friend who are many faiths, beliefs, and schools of thoughts. I am fine with how they live their lives because I understand its their choice, i.e. free will, to do so and to impede that would be wrong on a level that goes across so many lines. Do I get heckled when a priest does something wrong, yup, do I take it personal, nope, I heckly my friends on wearing funny dresses and wearing beanies to temple, I tell the athiests to have a nice day X-mas every year. Do I stop them, do they stop me, nope, why, cause what Matt did was wrong and even if you don't have a faith or a belief no one likes being screamed at they are wrong by a selfish bigot.

To Jess and Brett, for every ignorant fool their is someone seeking knowledge, don't let this one annoy you to much. After all if the Hindu's and Bhuddist have it right he is likely to come back as a monkey.

Marcus

P.S. I love my dogs and they are the size of ponies, if I meet this guy face to face I just have made him a chew toy. Not very forgiving but, heck, they are my boys, no one talks bad about my boys.

Derek Ruiz said...

I hate you Brett Booth.

I have a funny story to tell you when you call me later lol.