Some time ago, I had a problem with a persistent troll and a fan of his waxing lyrical on their climate change denial nonsense on my space. It proved to be irritating.
As I’m a fan of free speech, I had to do something about this parasite that, like Seymour’s plant, seemed to grow more troubling the more effort I put in; so I quarantined them. I’ve since retired that effort too as it was needless energy expenditure on my behalf.
And then the anti-fluoride trolls moved in.
Last week, I had a couple comments by such individuals awaiting approval and I just couldn’t do so. It was the same dishonest nonsense that I’ve seen time and time again.
I’ve built the anti-fluoride arguments above to make it simple not only for honest websurfers to reply to the flimsy arguments provided by the anti-fluoride movement, but also to provide a platform on which the anti-fluoride advocates can stand upon to “raise their game” should they be able to.
I did not waste this effort simply to have the same dishonest arguments graffiti subsequent posts in complete ignorance to the rebuttals I have already created.
Every single anti-fluoride advocate that has written on NewAnthro has bombastically pronounced me some variant of a “moron” and then cherry-picked their favourite “proof”. If I take the bait and play word warfare, they are only too happy to dance that dance, however if I go to the effort of providing compelling counter-arguments, rather than critiquing this reply, amazingly they go silent.
I am in contact with other communicators and I know for a fact that many of these individuals later resurface elsewhere to comment with what is pretty much a copy-and-paste equivalent to their comments here. They practice avoidance of evidence against their position with amazing tenacity.
Even Merilyn Haines dropped a stink bomb – which led to my greater efforts on the subject – only to fall mute when I’ve illustrated each of her arguments to be misleading, incorrect and cherry picked (for instance).
Rather than attempt to fault my efforts, they have simply ignored them. The anti-fluoride advocates are stuck on the insistent belief that they are right and hold no capacity to move the conversation forward and admit to fault that is so easily evident when one takes their claims seriously.
My second video on the subject made the point that they ought to be thanking me for quality controlling their arguments; if fluoridation is a problem, then I could do nothing to deny the fact – the evidence would be compelling. All I have done is remove the bad arguments that in turn weaken their position… Of course, nothing of their argument remains, hence the bile, dishonesty and ignorance I find waiting for approval.
Enough has to be enough.
The anti-fluoride advocates have shown nothing by contempt for my efforts and thus are not welcome to my comment treads.
This is not an attack on free speech as NewAnthro is all about progressing human activity based on the best quality data available; something in contradiction to their goals. Wordpress allows them to build their own soap box elsewhere to pursue that goal.
They are a fringe movement given too much weight in public discourse – amazingly expecting equal weighing for degrees in lab technology and no study history against health advocacy supported by health professionals with expertise in the field of dental and public health.
I can only afford them fair weighting.
As it stands, that means I can give them nothing. In reply to my efforts, they are vacuous and academically, they are just inert in response to the actual question; the safety and effectiveness of fluoridation at 0.7 ppm in public water.
newanthropocene.wordpress.com 
Wise move.
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I’m sad to learn that you’ve suffered troll attacks on WP. To tell the truth, I’ve been expecting that kind of thing on my blog too because some of my topic choices there are controversial. I’ve been flamed elsewhere on WP and on other blogs. So I know how frustrating and painful it is. But the occasional rude comments on my own WP blog have been swiftly silenced by responses such as ‘We’re not going to agree,’ and ‘It’s always good to learn.’ I do wonder whether your strategies against trolls are the best possible strategies. Are you a bit too polite and laissez-faire?
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I have been polite for most of my time blogging, but increasingly I’ve changed my tone towards these anti-fluoriude crackpots and now I’m simply over them… something that is probably evident in my description of them above.
They get what they deserve; they’re selective ignorance and irreverence is returned.
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Hi Tim you will never convince these people , this crusade becomes part of their being almost their reason for being ,so after what maybe many years of pursuing this cause to be confronted with facts that take it away would require a whole realignment of who they are and what they stand for .
To accept the truth could mean years of their life have been wasted so the mind the ego will find any way to ignore inconvenient truths , maybe even subconsciously , so as to maintain core of self belief in themselves .
I see to many non-scientists who think correlation equals causation which I think is what the twitter quoter is doing.
If their arguments are not scientifically sound kick them off .
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