The technical term for people like Michael Brutsch, aka Violentacrez, is “troll,” unfair though that may seem to hideous stinky cave-dwelling beings who eat billy goats.
For years, known only as Violentacrez, he created nasty – and popular – online interest areas, or subreddits, on Reddit.com. Subreddits such as Pics of Dead Kids, Rapebait, Jewmerica, Chokeabitch, or Jailbait.
Recently his identity was revealed by Adrian Chen, in The Gawker.
He was fired from his programming job. Reddit took down his subreddits, (although they expressed indignation at his outing, and announced they would not accept links from Gawker).
Oh hai.
He was interviewed at length on CNN, a peculiar conversation in which he displayed a gold-plated award he’d received from Reddit, spoke of the “Violentacrez mystique,” and said that “sadly for me” he enjoys enraging people. “Apparently I have a gift for pushing buttons.” He also said he’d made mistakes. That Reddit had encouraged him and “I shouldn’t have been a part of that.”
Asked whether he was apologizing, Brutsch said “I am to some degree apologizing for what I did.” He immediately went on to say his audience “of college kids” loved it! They were supportive of his gallows humor! (No, gallows humor describes jokes made by a person facing a bad situation, such as being about to be hung – not mean jokes made by onlookers.) ) He said he was out of a job, has a sick wife, and will lose his house.
He’s now looking for work in the Adult Content Industry and has posted his resume on Reddit, where scorn is being heaped on his out-of-date programming skills.
The princess is to some degree unlikely to recommend hiring the trolls.
Brutsch has long called himself the “creepy uncle of Reddit.” He seems to be pleased with who he is. He’s not done gloating over his popularity.
The part of his interview I need to talk about is “I am to some degree apologizing…” Oh please. Are you trying to push our buttons? “To some degree.” Could be a big degree, could be a tiny degree. It’s so vague it means nothing. I assume he’s not really sorry, except for himself, for being fired.
But it makes me think up other completely vague apologies:
“I’m more or less apologizing.”
“It’s not that I’m not sorry.”
“I’m somewhere on the spectrum of sorry.”
“There’s a certain amount of regret in here somewhere.”
“I’d like to say something on the lines of an apology.”
There must be even vaguer, even less quantifiable ways not to apologize, while still using the words “apologize” or “sorry.” This is a call for suggestions– what do you say to sort of seem as if you’re sort of apologizing? But not.
I take up your challenge to find an even vaguer way to apologize! How about: “I’m uncomfortable being the kind of person who people think is the kind of person who would do something that causes him personal strife by causing emotional discomfort to others, and for that perception I’m truly sorry.”
(That would work for most non-apology apologies! Including Mitt Romney’s response to that story about holding down the gay kid and cutting his hair. He could have used it instead of what he did say: “I don’t remember that incident…but as to pranks that were played back then, I don’t remember them all, but again, high school days, if I did stupid things, why I’m afraid I got to say sorry for it.”)
“I’m sorry that this happened.” I think I have actually used that one.
You could say I was sorry. (Then again, maybe not.)
I understand you think what I said was offensive though it wasn’t. However since you ~feel~ that way I’m sorry.
Some might say my words and action warrant an apology, and I can’t say that I disagree. (I can’t say that I agree, either.)
“I’m sorry you felt offended when I called you a blankety-blank.”
“I’m so sorry you chose to take offense to that.”
“If these shadows have offended, think but this and all is mended: that you have but slumbered here, while these visions did appear, and this weak and idle theme no more [something] than a dream.” Screw YOU, Puck. and you TOO, Will.
“I’m sorry you’re upset, but… (anything. Anything said here is going to be bad.)
M. Coyote offers the following:
I certainly did not intend to offend anyone, and did not realize
that such innocent remarks could be so misread. It is, indeed, my fault, in
that, not reacting that way myself, I was socially inept. Had I been
more alert, I should have realized that my remarks that was
“as arrogant as a Queen killer bee on speed” and “failing the exam for
blackboard cleaner,” could be seen, not as a light, even artless,
jest, but as an actual attack. I had been somewhat taken aback, I am
afraid, by his vicious little stab, that I “might, perhaps, not be
entirely in the right on that subject,” [Taxation,] and have spoken a
bit quickly. I apologize, of course, if any one was accidentally
offended by their mis-understanding of my remarks.
My contribution.
Gosh, I didn’t realize you would get so mad. You don’t need to get so snippy. I’m sorry already. Back off!
All dreadfully great. If this wasn’t just to some degree a contest, it would be a 7-way tie (Marjorie is ineligible) and all would receive one of our as-yet-nonexistent Tshirts.