Secessionist Night Riders Redux, Blogstyle

This blog averages a comment every week or so.   Not very much considering the traffic but then it isn't that kind of blog.   That changed with the post below when it received a burst of comments a few weekends ago.

Blogs serve a multitude of purposes and I'm sure there's more than one opinion about the purpose of this blog that disagrees with what I said it would be about in my very first post:

"While I don't think that what I'll be saying in future posts as the long dead Thomas Rowley will necessarily "set the hills on fire," there may be some heat as I shed light on the topic of secession, where it may possibly take us and about just who may be actually guiding the secession discussion."

That said, it's generally been my practice to be responsive to comments.   If someone has taken the time to read a post and then wants to comment, I feel, as a matter of courtesy, that a response is due.   Spam is always deleted and there has only been one commenter who I've felt was so deceptive, evasive and non-responsive that he had to be banned.   I've even exchanged emails with neo-Nazi trash.   I will not, however, give individual responses to what appears to me to be an organized comment barrage that occurred a few weekends ago.

It's clear from the chatter among secessionists across the country that the Second Vermont Republic meltdown earlier this year has led to a morale problem among supporters of national dissolution.   This blog is generally being solely credited by some of these secessionists as having exposed the large racist component of the national leadership of the secessionist movement.   If only that were so.   Many of the facts presented here have long been available to the media from a variety of credible sources, as well as having been much better examined on other blogs and websites.

There's been recurring speculation among secessionists about who writes this blog.   Some of it's funny; some is of the "tin-foil-hat-wa-a-a-y-paranoid" genre; some is just plain dumb.   So, for the record, I have no association with the Democrats (funny how it's never been suggested that there's a Republican/neocon/conservative connection, despite my never having expressed a political opinion like, say, being for or against Bush) nor am I an apparatchik or employed by any other political group or organization such as the SPLC, although I'd be the first to say I've admired their work for years and am humbled by the confusion; I am not a covert government agent.

Sometimes a Vermonter is just a Vermonter, folks.

Now, about those comments.   It's been clear from what I've read elsewhere that the revelation that Naylor and Sale had both participated in being interviewed by the host of a hate radio program has struck an uncomfortable cord among second tier secessionist leaders.   Most of these people are pretty much on the outside looking in, while Naylor, Sale and League of the South President, Michael Hill call all of the shots at the (ironically) national level, and they're not liking where all of this controversy is taking them and their "movement."   Some of these people have, apparently acting on their speculations about this blog, have now crossed the line and have posted these sorts of comments:

"Gee, Mark Potok (SPLC Editor & Intelligence Project Director - TR) himself is from Vermont. How's the fundrai$ing going Mark? Manufacturing fear -- out in the open or anonymously -- is a great way to raise money, isn't it?"

And

"Perhaps the ranter was responding to your indiscriminate listing of people who are not known to be haters or have one or two minor faux pas in the past, so minor that only Mark Potok or his ilk would even know about it... The revolution IS coming against an increasingly facist state and all Mark and his friends whining about it can't stop it. 2010-2012 are going to be TOO Exciting."

And

"If Mark Potok's family still lives in vermont he's probably paranoid that some 8th generation Green Mountain man will come after them if he doesn't find a less SPLC way of dealing with real issues and real problems. Think about it Mark."

And

"You do NOT have to BE Mark Potok of SPLC to copy a bunch of stuff from his web pages. (However a zabasearch.com does show what seems to be one couple named POTOK in Vermont.)"

And

"Candy said...
Yes, Mark, think about treating people better. I mean having Green Mountain men doing Gandhian starvation fasts outside your home or SLPC office, in Vt or the South, where ever it might be, could actually trigger your CONSCIENCE. Of course, the Patriot Act has almost outlawed that traditional Indian form of personal witness.

The issue is not right wing racists who MIGHT secede and stop paying taxes, but the right wing anti-muslim/arab racists NOW in the white house armed with nukes and looking to first strike china and russia - right after they nuke iran and pakistan!"

Well Candy, you and the rest of the present day secessionists might want to consider this: if you don't want comparisons made to the intimidation tactics that are eerily similar to those of an earlier group founded by yesterday's failed secessionists, try not launching a comment barrage laced with specific, menacing references to a man and any member of his family that you think that you might be able to locate here in Vermont.

Oh, and y'all probably meant Green Mountain boys, not Green Mountain men, putzes.