Responses

I was hoping, really hoping to get a good disagreement from the commenter on SPM Responds (Part 6). I crave disagreement, because it gives me a chance to see if what I believe holds up against criticism. Unfortunately, all I got was some big talk and a crack about my glasses. For the record, y’all, I LIKE my glasses. Yeah, they look like bug eyes, but they work. So fuck you if you don’t respect the glasses.

Anyway, I want to take a minute to dissect this argument, weak though it may be, show you how it’s put together, and how it could be answered.

40oztat said...

S.p.m is a bonafide child molester and that's the facts..its the reason he pays texas syndicate for protection and is also in "protective custody"...the real story is said by filero and it was all real...south park molester ( whom ain't even from southpark) is the real "fake" all the real dudes who know...know!

Let’s take a look at this in pieces:

1.      S.p.m is a bonafide child molester and that's the facts

Stating something as a fact does not, in fact, make it a fact. A fact is a truth known by actual experience or observation. He is trying to establish Coy’s guilt using the same method as the D.A.’s office: “Because I say so.” Knowing what I do about the Harris County D.A.’s office under Chuck Rosenthal I’m willing to allow 40oztat quite a bit more credibility; but it’s still not enough for me to concede this ‘fact’. He accepts it as truth, because that’s what the court told him, and he wants me to accept it, too.

So let’s ask this question: why is it a fact? Is it because Coy was convicted? We know that a conviction in Texas isn’t proof of anything; we can point to George Rodriguez, Timothy Cole, Dale Duke, etc etc. Is it because the cops said so? The D.A.? The little girl who was being pumped full of a powerful hallucinogenic medication? Ask for answerable specifics.

2.      Pays for protection, ain’t from southpark, he’s a fake and all the real dudes know it.

The rest of this is all filler; maybe 40oztat does the books for the Texas Syndicate, and can offer some proof, but I’m guessing not. He claims that SPM is not from South Park. He supports these claims with the assertion that if you don’t believe him, you aren’t a ‘real dude.’ This is like Rolando Rodriguez saying that since he’s a father, and he doesn’t support the ‘Free SPM’ movement, no other father should either.

For what it's worth I make no claims to fatherhood, realness, or being a dude. I’m interested in the justice of the trial, the credibility of the state’s proof, and not the approval of random internet badasses.

40oztat said...

Leave yo address so I can talk to you face to face internet shit talker..I know the families who have been affected by this piece of shit so fuck you and wikipidia see me on the streets homie...HTX Records/S.P.C bitch!!!

1.      Internet shit talker

It’s an easy accusation to make; he could just as easily have called me a dumbass, or a fag. He’s trying to establish my moral inferiority so that instead of arguing the facts, I will start to argue my credibility.

Am I an internet shit talker? Well, I’ve talked a little bit of shit about the HPD, Chuck Rosenthal, the D.A.’s under his command, and the Texas Criminal Justice System. I support the shit I talk with documents outlining their failures and misbehavior. 40oztat, do you really want to defend these people? Is that really the side of the argument you want to find yourself on?

2.      I know the families who have been affected by this piece of shit so fuck you

An attempt at personalization, establishing his rage as righteous and heart-felt. Maybe he knows families that were involved in the case, maybe he doesn’t; anyone could claim to have inside knowledge of the people involved. I don’t, but it would be a very simple way to prop up my arguments

I’d rather use the court documents I’ve gathered, and build my case on verifiable evidence instead of making claims I can’t back up.

3.      fuck you and wikipidia

Seriously? What did Wikipedia ever do to you?

4.      see me on the streets homie...HTX Records/S.P.C bitch!!!

An implied threat. This has nothing to do with the veracity of my case, it’s all emotional. Like a kamikaze pilot, in lieu of convincing facts, he’s willing to use his body (or mine) to make his point. Admirable conviction but it’s not going to help me further my case, so I decline.

40oztat said...

I lived in fifth ward fo a year so ima call my self the 5th ward beaner..fuckin lames y'all don't know shit cuzz y'all sit behind computers do real reserch and talk to tha folks who is out here livin and dying behind bullshit beef and real gangsta shit gettin drug charges and gang jackets google me 40oztat and find out who I be fuckin squares and to jthis FAG wit the glasses life is a trip we WILL run into one another then please do me a favor and beg to god to help you 40 out bitch!!!

Oh, there’s the fag comment. Again, this centers around my lack of street cred, rather than the reliability of the information I provide. I have never claimed to be cool; I don’t know shit about the streets. I am a certified bookworm, a word nerd. I have always been up front about that.

But again, my proclivities are not the focus here. I deal with court documents, statements from the prosecutors, the expert witnesses paid by the state, and I’m telling you that that what they did was fucked up. I don’t have to be in the streets to stand up and say that the system got it wrong.

This guy posted because he didn’t like what Carlos Coy said about Filero; I can understand that. I don’t like the shit I hear said about Coy. But instead of responding emotionally, irrationally, I’m trying to use what I know to change the situation.

Next time you’re faced with someone who sounds like this guy, take a deep breath and really consider their argument; pick it apart in your brain, and respond calmly. There is no way to establish who the realest dude in the room is, but we can absolutely lay down our case with care, systematically addressing each claim using the facts we have available.

Each battle is a small step in the right direction; whether we manage to convince the 40oztats of the world or not, we’re establishing our right to win the war.