Spare Ammo

[reblogged from 38 Caliber Reviews]

I have an anti-Semite shelf at GR, I keep it for those few loathsome souls that deserve it. To get your books shelved there you either have to proclaim your hatred for all those Jewish or you can just do what author Lloyd Lofthouse just did.

"You might even want to attempt a Goodreads Giveaway, but be warned, there are trolls who are members of Goodreads dedicated to trashing books that—they never read—with rotten reviews and 1-star ratings, and that even happens on Amazon. Trolls are mean, sneaky, mentally ill people addicted to anonymously hurting others, and standing up to them just motivates the trolls to be meaner. Consider these trolls to be the Ebola virus of the internet. If you question why there are such people on the earth, think about Hitler, Stalin, Osama Bin Laden and Saddam Hussein." -Lloyd Lofthouse, Thank you for asking me to review your book, but …

That's right, Lloyd just compared getting "bullied" on GR and Amazon to being murdered by the Nazis. Because while Lloyd sits comfortably at home, one of two,  with his talented wife and family free from the discrimination of being made to wear a yellow star  when in public, free to shop anywhere and anytime, free to travel, free to attend any religious institution he chooses, free from hunger, free from overwhelming fear of disappearing at the hands of a brutal regime and ending up tortured, starved and gassed, Lloyd feels that getting critical reviews and uncomplimentary descriptions of his posts and actions (like calling a local school system to report a teacher who was disagreeing with him) is just like being Jewish under Hitler. Because that is what he is saying even though I am sure he will disagree and cry "bully".

You know what's worse in a way than Hitler, Stalin, bin Laden, and Hussein? People like Lloyd. People like Lloyd who minimize evil and make it about their disgruntlement.  About their one star reviews. About being called bloviating. People like Lloyd who sit in their comfortable homes and dismiss the 6,000,000 as nothing but a convenient comparison.