George stopped by to call our Saab 99/900 story “absolute junk.” He goes on to say that it is just “some ramblings of automotive trivia, half truths, whole false hoods, babblings, drools, drool puddles. But I suppose one has to make a living.”
What’s ironic about George’s comment is that he offers nothing to back up his argument — what you see above is his entire missive.
Let’s stop and think about that for a moment. Instead of typing in a sentence filled with empty insults, he could have said something — anything — that could have provided a wee bit of insight into the substance of his complaints.
For example, if there are falsehoods in the story, why not list a few? I strive to be accurate, so if a fact he presents checks out I would fix it in the story.
Instead, George illustrates what Tristan Harris means when he says that social media can result in “human downgrading.” Instead of cultivating healthy dialogue, comments can all too often heighten polarization (Johnson, 2019).
That’s why Indie Auto moderates its comments. That doesn’t keep readers from disagreeing with an article or other commentators. Instead, it means that we strive to “fight fair” (go here for our comment guidelines).
On other thing. GN suggests that the content of the story was colored by the need to make a living. If the primary goal of Indie Auto were to rake in the big bucks, then it would run advertising. Instead, I only post satirical ads. Indie Auto is totally reader supported.
So if you don’t like our droolings, then check out our “Bibliography of Links.” There’s a big world out there. Or if you think that Indie Auto makes a valuable contribution to American automobile history, please consider making a donation (go here for further information).
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RE:SOURCES
- Johnson, Eric; 2019. “Tristan Harris says tech is ‘downgrading’ humanity — but we can fix it.” Vox. Posted May 6.
Well. What can be said. This fellow managed to push me to another donation of big bucks so Steve can enjoy another tropical vacay on my dime!
I’m uncertain what has invaded our collective psyche that we are so caught up in this cycle of always being right, correct, certain…there aren’t enough words to describe this sort of “criticism” if it can be called that.
Untwist your panties, George. It’s a big world out there and it’s not revolving around you.
Thank you for the donation, Jim. I recently needed to replace Indie Auto’s computer, which necessitates some software as well. The costs of keeping this website online go beyond subscribing to a hosting service . . . even if one wants the writing to be free.
I’m still trying to parse the “False hoods”, in the SAAB article. Did they put fake hood scoops on their cars at one time or another? I see the SAAB has seen better days. Perhaps the drool puddle was some fluid leak? I’ll let myself out quietly.