Kim du Toit blows up

If like me you’re a reader of Kim Du Toit’s blog, you might have been following the whole shebang that came in the wake of his post on some kid stealing someone’s wi-fi bandwidth (stealing bandwidth is “not cool”).

There was a blogger site set up for people to discuss the relative morality of the situation, etc; which resulted in some people that don’t like Kim airing their feelings publicly. That resulted in today’s post in which Kim basically lets said wankers have it with both barrels.

While I know that there are other really interesting things going on in the 2nd Amendment world, such as the DC Circuit Court’s decision on the 2nd Amendment which I’ll leave to the lawyers; I’m particularly interested in this thing with Kim.

A little history is necessary from me, first. Kim du Toit’s blog was the very, very, very first gun blog that I ever read. His website literally opened the door into the gun blogging world for me inasmuch as I realized that there was a huge community of gun bloggers out there. Because of that, his website (along with a few others) served as my primary inspiration to start writing this blog.

I don’t always agree with Kim; nor his wife. Sometimes I think they’re a little too conservative, but that’s the wonderful thing about opinions – everyone has one. This brings me to the larger issue, which is that of trolling, and “internet fuckwads”. My all time favorite comic Penny Arcade published a comic back in ’04 which basically explains a lot of the actions of internet trolls. (Some naughty words).

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This is essentially what happened with the name calling, and while I understand Kim’s reaction, I also don’t. Trolls and assholes are part of the internet – if I had a dime for every person that was a complete prick to me online I’d be able to retire. It’s part of the greater problem I see of people not having any manners in this day. A lot of people (myself included a few times) use the Shield of Anonymity that the web provides as a launching platform for all sorts of vitriol and abuse.

Of course I think that polite discourse should be the order of the day, and in my everyday interactions with people, I expect it. I don’t expect it on the web because it’s not the standard. By far, the gunblogging community carries itself head and shoulders above the majority of the web that I’ve encountered when it comes to courtesy and polite conduct online.

While it’s Kim’s website to do as he pleases, I wish that his reaction wasn’t quite as harsh. I really enjoy a lot of his posts, and the ability to make the occasional comment was something I enjoyed as well. I am sad to see that being removed.

I do wish Kim and his family the best of luck with all; the soul baring nature of the post makes it definitely worth a read, as always.