Funniest/Most Insightful Comments Of The Week At Techdirt

from the plenty-to-talk-about dept

Sun, May 14th 2017 12:00pm — Leigh Beadon

This week, both our winning comments on the insightful side came in response to the FBI's new "study" of the so-called Ferguson Effect, in which police become afraid to do their job when faced with supposedly undue criticism and scrutiny. A better definition comes from Uriel-238 in the first place winning comment:

When I think Ferguson Effect I think of the lines of officers which I got to see in real time from cameras on the ground during the unrest in Ferguson, Missouri. To the last guy, and contrary to every firearms safety regimen I've known, they had their rifles and shotguns trained on the (unarmed) public, and I was turning blue in fear that someone was going to accidentally discharge his weapon and set off a massacre.

Later on, they'd climb in/on their bearcat mine-proof transports and go to town raining tear gas cannisters all over the neighborhood for no discernable tactical reason, except to show they can piss anywhere they want. Rebel yelling was involved.

For me, the Ferguson Effect is when I looked at all this and asked myself what the fuck happened to the police to turn them into this?

In second place, we've got That Anonymous Coward, who reacted with well-deserved fervor to the idea that this is all just because political and media narratives have "made it socially acceptable to challenge and discredit the actions of law enforcement":

Stood on a hood and emptied a weapon into innocent people - No Charges.
Peppersprayed unarmed detained women, later claiming magic ninjas had appeared threatening him & then vanished as he sprayed - No Charges.
Handcuffed suspect in a patrol car managed to bend the laws of physics producing a gun from another dimension & bending his arms to shoot himself in the head - No Charges.
Rolled up on a child with a toy weapon & shot him dead before issuing any commands - No Charges.
Asked for drivers ID after driver informed them he was permitted to carry a weapon, shot driver as he reached for his ID - No Charges.
Shot a suspect, left him on the ground bleeding while comforting the shooter & not rendering aid or calling for aid - No Charges.
Stole from a pot dispensary & cried rights violation because they missed 1 of the cameras which caught them abusing citizens & theft - Still waiting for charges.

Often when they dare to bring charges, there is no justice. If an officer is punished, the Union demands arbitration and FORCES the force to take back an officer who was found guilty of breaking the law... with back pay.

Police are being trained to be terrified of citizens, that black citizens especially, have secret powers ala Dragon Ball Z where they can power themselves up & need to be shot before their power gets over 9000.

They claim everything is a plot to get them, that its just a narrative to discredit them... yet they often turn a blind eye to their brother officers breaking the law because their code requires them to protect the image over citizens.

Pulled over many women & demanded sexual favors - Only charged after he picked the wrong black woman who wasn't a hooker to abuse.
Molested children - Only charged when they went to an outside agency.
Trafficked in CP - Only busted when an outside agency catches them.
Locked someone in a room and left them to die - No charges.
Boiled a human being ALIVE for shitting on the floor - No Charges.
Cut off a prisoners water for over a week resulting in death - they MIGHT charge them.
Dash & Bodycam videos disappearing or the machinery not working or being activated - No Charges.
Cams being disabled on purpose - No Charges or repairs.

Perhaps if they stopped acting like a gang more interested in playing the victim while raping, robbing, murdering & covering those events up people might have a different view of them.

They are not above the law, but you wouldn't know it from how things play out. Prosecutors warned to not bring charges or the gang will tank other cases. Prior bad acts locked from view of Juries, who might suspend the cop halo effect to know the officer testifying has been busted multiple times for lying on the stand.

But yes, there is no basis in reality for why people film police actions as offical recordings often vanish. There isn't a bodycount of citizens (notice they didn;t have those numbers to put in the report because they ignored the rules about finally reporting them) to go next to the officers because we matter less.

When the LE mentality is US vs THEM, why are they shocked that THEM are very worried at any interaction with them because they know US can kill, lie, destroy evidence, and walk with a repurposed military ribbon?

For editor's choice on the insightful side, we've got a pair of comments on our post about the reporter who was arrested for asking questions of some Trump administration officials. Many people claimed that his insistent approach went beyond the rights of the press, and Roger Strong had a good response:

Nonsense. Media scrums are a standard part of reporting on government. It was a public building, not a private residence. Otherwise:

"How would you like it, sir," if government officials only answered to the public at press conferences where they could personally pick who got to ask a question, favoring those with little or no credibility who will ask softball questions?

Granted, it seems you'd like exactly that.

One commenter went even further, and decided that the reporter's actions must have been even more egregious than what people who were actually there have reported, because "I find it hard to believe any eyewitnesses, because I'm assuming they're on the media side of this war." PaulT was not exactly impressed:

A war between the government and a free press? I know partisanship is getting ridiculous, but they've managed to convince you that the fourth estate is an enemy combatant now?

Interesting that you assume that people who were actually there cannot be believed, so you have to believe the testimony of people who weren't...

Over on the funny side, the first place winner is an anonymous commenter who noticed the same line that many other people quickly latched onto in Trump's letter firing James Comey:

"While I greatly appreciate you informing me, on three separate occasions, that I am not under investigation"

What a HyperNormal thing to say.

In second place, we've got a comment from Stephen T. Stone on our post about Cloudflare fighting back against patent trolls, though I admit I had to Google the reference, myself:

Important lesson: Do not taunt Happy Fun Cloud.

For editor's choice on the funny side, we start out with a comment from Danny B that took the form of a telephony script:

You have reached Comcast technical support.

Please press 1 if you are calling about your slower internet speeds since the new FCC chairman was appointed.

Please press 2 if you are calling about your higher prices since the new FCC chairman was appointed.

Please press 0 if you would like to be routed to a call center in a third world country.

Your call is important to us. Comcast wishes to apologize for any convenience you may have experienced.

And finally, we've got one more nod to Roger Strong for a solid knock-knock joke:

Knock, knock
Who's there?
Massachusetts State Police!
Don't be silly - the Massachusetts State Police doesn't knock.

That's all for this week, folks!

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42 Comments

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Anonymous Coward, 14 May 2017 @ 2:00pm

"so-called Ferguson Effect, in which police become afraid to do their job when faced with supposedly undue criticism and scrutiny."

the key here being... "undue criticism and scrutiny."

The criticism and scrutiny is in reality... LONG OVERDUE!
The truth of this matter has been long forgotten. Are the actions of an overbearing and tyrannical police force in societies best interest?

When you decide that it's okay for the police to be ignorant of the laws they enforce while simultaneously holding that "ignorance is no excuse" for the common man, then you have also decided that you no longer serve the people and instead serve something else.
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Anonymous Coward, 14 May 2017 @ 4:02pm

Ferguson story of course skipped the looting rioting firebombs brning buildings and gun shots all over the place.

Its easy to ignore.
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Anonymous Coward, 14 May 2017 @ 4:51pm

"When the LE mentality is US vs THEM"

Maybe its cause I'm a DnD nerd... but I legitimately read that the first time as 'When the Lawful Evil mentality...'
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Eldakka (profile), 14 May 2017 @ 6:16pm

Re:
Which were a result of the police activities.
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Anonymous Coward, 14 May 2017 @ 6:34pm

Re:
My_Name_Here just hates it when due process is enforced.
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Anonymous Coward, 14 May 2017 @ 8:41pm

Re:
I think the funniest comment of the week was Michael Masnick saying "everybody knows" what the definition of a patent troll is. Wow. Talk about digging your own defamatory grave. That's really funny. And it will be a good laugh for a long time to come.
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Anonymous Coward, 14 May 2017 @ 8:59pm

Re: Re:
On the other hand, when Wendy Cockcroft pointed out a public complaint about her threatening to use Internet Defamation (just like TechDirt practices) to settle a business dispute about her cartoons, I got a pretty good chuckle out of that, too. It never before occurred to me that there was public third-party written documentation that the TechDirt gang (including Wendy) employ the threat of exactly the kind of damage they are accused of by the Email inventor. Funny it came right from her, no? Especially right at this time, when the issue is in front of a judge. Borders on hilarious.
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Anonymous Coward, 14 May 2017 @ 9:28pm

This is my submission to insightful comment for the week:

Dear Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV,

I ask, anonymously, that you allow the case against TechDirt and Michael Masnick to continue. I am anonymous because I am scared for my personal and professional reputation should my identity be revealed. I am not alone in this fear. Please consider this public complaint against Wendy Cockcroft, a central figure in the TechDirt group.

http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/wendy-cockcroft-interservecom-helpdesk-manchester-united-k ingdom-techdirtcom-httpon-t-internetblogspotcouk/nationwide/wendy-cockcroft-interservecom-helpdesk-m anchester-united-kingdom-techdirtcom-on-t-1280195

I have no connection with Mr. Diaz, but I feel the same fear that he does, which is why I stay anonymous.

The entities that frequent this site the most are foul mouthed, personally insulting, and painful to engage. This is their purpose and their trade. When they conduct their Internet Defamation campaign against someone, it is very difficult to defend. Michael Masnick first pointed this out in the term "Streisand effect", and now he uses it to peddle defamation in the name of journalism.

If I am right, and Mr. Diaz is right, it would be a large waste of resources to dismiss this case now, and then revisit these issues when another is filed. If there is any reasonable and legal way to allow this case to continue, so that full discovery may settle these issues, I PRAY you might allow that to happen.

Amen
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Anonymous Coward, 14 May 2017 @ 11:21pm

Re:
Here is the direct link to Mr. Diaz's report: http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/wendy-cockcroft-web-design-wendy-cockcroft-interservecom/interne t/wendy-cockcroft-web-design-wendy-cockcroft-interservecom-wendy-cockcroft-manchester-u-1280160

Ms Cockcroft suddenly became very angry and threatened to ruin my business before it started. She said that she was in with a very influential group of people on a technical blog who would write about me and many other people would comment. She said this would mean that my reputation would be ruined and it would remain at the tip of Google. Wendy Cockcroft refused to refund my money, refused to re-do the work and threatened to destroy my business and personal reputation before it even started. I am so worried that she will carry out her threats.
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Roger Strong (profile), 14 May 2017 @ 11:25pm

Re:
Well. Thank goodness that your posting as an Anonymous Coward has nothing, no sir, nothing at all, to do with having no moral courage whatsoever.

No moral courage to let your delusional claims be associated with your actual name.

No moral courage to acknowledge the hypocrisy in attacking Masnick by doing... exactly what you claim HE'S doing.

No moral courage to acknowledge to acknowledge that when Masnick criticizes someone - like for falsely claiming to have invented email - he does it using his real name. Accepting the risk and consequences. While you attack as an Anonymous Coward.
"Passionate hatred can give meaning and purpose to an empty life."
- Eric Hoffer
You don't have the moral courage to thank him for that either.
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Anonymous Coward, 14 May 2017 @ 11:36pm

Well, maybe you are right, I don't have the moral courage to take on this foul mouthed low character disgusting group of thugs all by myself. But, I do have help! Two other people have gone on public record to spell out what TechDirt is really all about. And don't forget Charles Harder! He's got enough moral courage to make up for my lack. And the Email Inventor guy, he has the courage to run for Senate! Wow, that's courageous, in this political environment. Good for him. That should be enough moral courage to deal with your kind, don't you agree?
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Cowardly Lion, 15 May 2017 @ 12:19am

Re:
Wow. Apparently you have beef with this site and people who post comments on it. Gee whiz. Somewhere, the worlds smallest violin is playing, just for you. As a casual non-American, non-partisan reader here I might have a tad more interest and sympathy in whatever befell you if you weren't snorting the taint of dolts like Charles Harder and your "Email Inventor guy".
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Daydream, 15 May 2017 @ 12:29am

Re:

Maybe its cause I'm a DnD nerd... but I legitimately read that the first time as 'When the Lawful Evil mentality...'

You're not alone there, d00d. But Lawful Evil describes American LEOs anyway, right?
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Anonymous Coward, 15 May 2017 @ 12:34am

Re:
The only gunshots that hit a target were the ones that triggered the event.

As to any looting etc. that will often occur in a situation like that, as a few criminals take advantage of the police being occupied with staring down law abiding citizens, so stop taring the protesters with the same brush as the criminals that took advantage of the situation.
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Anonymous Coward, 15 May 2017 @ 12:55am

Re: Re:
Tarring? Is that racist?
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Anonymous Coward, 15 May 2017 @ 1:13am

Re: Re:
Well, I wouldn't bash Charles Harder. Can you imagine the level of his personal courage? What would have happened if he lost his case, and had to apologize both to POTUS and his wife (even more powerful) for LOSING. But he took it on, and he WON. Wow. You might be a casual non-American, but Charles Harder is (to some of us) an American hero and a titan in area of personal risk taking and public achievement. Not like you, not like me, and not like Mike. A titan.
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Anonymous Coward, 15 May 2017 @ 6:18am

Re: Re:
Almost. They're having increasing difficulty in maintaing the "lawful" part.
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Anonymous Coward, 15 May 2017 @ 6:58am

Re: Re: Re:
You should go into the film industry. Because you've mastered the art of projection.
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Anonymous Coward, 15 May 2017 @ 7:00am

Re: Re: Re:
Oh, Halimton... we know who you are, we just don't care.
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Anonymous Coward, 15 May 2017 @ 7:03am

Re: Re:
Hmm... so you're saying the police themselves firebombed shops? That they paid people to do so? Perhaps told people they'd look the other way?

The anger of the public was a result of the police activities. The looting and firebombing is at best a result of the anger, and more likely "because we can get away with it while the police are distracted."
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Wendy Cockcroft, 15 May 2017 @ 7:30am

Re: Re: Re:
On the other hand, when Wendy Cockcroft pointed out a public complaint about her threatening to use Internet Defamation (just like TechDirt practices) to settle a business dispute about her cartoons, I got a pretty good chuckle out of that, too.

Eh? No... nothing on the same planet as that happened, troll. I use my own name here because I'm not a damn coward. TD doesn't "practice" internet defamation, it reports on news items. If that displeases you, too bad. Behave in a manner befitting the way you wish to be described by others. I'm a bit snarky but that's as far as I go and my reputation is just fine, despite the efforts of trolls like yourself.

It never before occurred to me that there was public third-party written documentation that the TechDirt gang (including Wendy) employ the threat of exactly the kind of damage they are accused of by the Email inventor. Funny it came right from her, no? Especially right at this time, when the issue is in front of a judge. Borders on hilarious.

Perhaps you'd like to point us to verifiable evidence of your claims, which include the "fact" that Shiva Ayyadurai is the "inventor of email." I'm still waiting for that list of other adopters of EMAIL besides his college when he was fourteen. I'll be waiting for a while, won't I? That being the case, it's not my fault Shiva looks bad, it's his own. He could have just jerked his thumb at his four degrees; that's four more than I have and is very impressive by any measure.
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Wendy Cockcroft, 15 May 2017 @ 7:35am

Re: Re:
Why has this matter not been referred to the police? And why have I not made good on the threat in retaliation?

Perhaps this is because there is no substance to your allegations; nobody was threatened in this way by myself or anyone here. Prove it or shut up and go away.
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Anonymous Coward, 15 May 2017 @ 7:53am

Re: Re: Re: Re:
Wendy, how about the fact that on the same day (1/16/16), you said "Yeah I took cash from Diaz" on Twitter, and "I've never heard of this man before" on Ripoffreport. And, I have to laugh at your use of the word "troll", you completely reinforce my point. Mr. Diaz is a troll, I am a troll, who else is a troll, Wendy?
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Anonymous Coward, 15 May 2017 @ 8:02am

Re: Re: Re: Re:
Spoken like a true idiot member of this Internet Defamation gang.
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Anonymous Coward, 15 May 2017 @ 8:14am

Re: Re: Re:
Assuming this case against Michael Masnick/TechDirt (or the next case) goes forward into "discovery", I am pretty sure you will get your wish. That is, you will be asked questions, and Mr. Diaz will be asked questions, and then the truth will come out, in the form of a judge or jury determining the facts of the case. And then, should it turn out that Mr. Diaz is believed, likely it will be referred to the police. Maybe by Mr. Diaz himself, since he will have a public written record to back up his word, and I bet he still wants his money back.
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Anonymous Coward, 15 May 2017 @ 8:36am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
See you in court then.
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Anonymous Coward, 15 May 2017 @ 8:53am

One thing that is going to be really interesting, when this matter does finally get to court, is to discover how many of the posters are "posers", and not real people (or even different people) at all, but shills for TechDirt in one form or another. I see I am often accused of being a "bot", likely because TechDirt employs bots to give the appearance of different posters. I don't know that for sure, but I strongly suspect it, and we'll all find out in the future. Also, I would just say it looks bad when you post "we know who you are" - it just reinforces my point about a Internet Defamation Gang. You sound like a gang.
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Anonymous Coward, 15 May 2017 @ 9:00am

Re:
Honestly, out of what I think of you, a bot is not one of them.

To suggest you are a bot is to grant you a greater modicum of cognitive ability than you have displayed on many occasions.
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Anonymous Coward, 15 May 2017 @ 9:14am

OK, I've got to admit, that's pretty funny. Having a bot respond to my comment about bots. Funny comment of the week.
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Anonymous Coward, 15 May 2017 @ 9:41am

Re:
Were your parents named Cephissus and nymph Liriope.
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Roger Strong (profile), 15 May 2017 @ 10:03am

Re:
Can I get a "Techdirt Bot" T-Shirt?
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Anonymous Coward, 15 May 2017 @ 10:44am

Re:
By the way hamilton, your fake British writing is godawful.
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Stephen T. Stone (profile), 15 May 2017 @ 1:23pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
Surely there is a better name for us than that.

Hmm…how about “The Techdirt Shovellers”? …wait, no, that could be used a whole different way. Phrasing!

How about “The Masnick-ifcents”? …nah, too clumsy.

Could “Mike and the Mechanics” work? …wait, shit, I’m being told that I need to leave that reference back in the 1980s.

Damn. Naming a commenter community is much harder than I thought it would be.
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Anonymous Coward, 15 May 2017 @ 2:59pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
Masnots.

Techduhs

Leighs male lovers.

Plenty of good choices.
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Anonymous Coward, 15 May 2017 @ 5:51pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
Still hung up over Leigh "masquerading" as you, huh My_Name_Here? Save it. Nobody does the flavor of "idiot" quite like you do.
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Mat (profile), 15 May 2017 @ 6:16pm

Re: Re:
Do they come in X-Large? Because I'd seriously consider getting one.
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Anonymous Coward, 15 May 2017 @ 9:16pm

Re: Re:
Spoken as own a truly fake writer could express. I assume most of the posts here are fake writing written under fake identities. And, I assume you are already familiar with that. So, you see your own reflection in my writing. Rather narcissistic, don't you think? If you are referring to my dropping a "the", my apologies for my poor proofreading, I do not make a big investment. But, fake sees fake, doesn't it? Even if fake is not there, you see it anyway, because you are so familiar with fake identities, fake accents, fake IP addresses, fake everything.
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Wendy Cockcroft, 16 May 2017 @ 2:28am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
People who believe unverifiable claims without question and repeat them as gospel.
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Wendy Cockcroft, 16 May 2017 @ 2:30am

Re: Re: Re: Re:
LOL! I can't wait. In the meantime you can report your concerns in confidence to Crimestoppers here: https://crimestoppers-uk.org/give-information/give-information-online/
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CyberKender, 17 May 2017 @ 1:36pm

Re: Re: Re:
So, what you're saying is that if I sleep with your significant other and poison your dog, and you get pissed off enough to punch me in the face, you will accept that you're going to jail for assault and battery and my actions are in no way a mitigating circumstance, eh?
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Uriel-238 (profile), 17 May 2017 @ 8:37pm

looting rioting firebombs
Actually, there wasn't any shooting. There was a gun confiscated.

I'm sorry, there wasn't shooting by any of the civilians. The police were happy to put rubber bullets into people, and we got to see close up photos of what rubber bullets look like (hint: they're not rubber)

And yes, there was some looting, because that's what we learned in Katrina, that black people loot while white people forage for supplies. They took milk from the McDonalds to treat people blinded by tear gas. And the franchise owner was glad to provide it.

(That's the same McDonalds that was seized by the police as a staging area two days ago, where two journalists were arrested for taking too long to move. That's all recorded too. The state of Missouri is still pressing charges in one case.)

And yes, there were violent groups, including white supremacists and panthers from St. Louis. The community members were diligent about keeping resistance passive.

Of course, the massive riot force imported in by the State of Missouri were less considerate, and many of the locals were hospitalized.

So, no, regarding your looting rioting firebombs claim, even the imported extremists couldn't do the damage the State of Missouri authorities did.
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Anonymous Coward, 21 May 2017 @ 3:46am

Re:
Just in case classical mythology goes over your head and you're too scared to use TEH GOOGEL to look it up, he's calling you a narcissist.
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