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Scott's reward for interacting with this guy is that this guy will now not leave him alone.

The reactions of Scott, his fans, and Trust The Science people to Alexandros' posts leave me convinced that Ivermectin probably works against covid.

And it's pretty fun to watch the counterarguments collapse to "why are you still talking about it!"

I am more pro-ivermectin than the median or mean.

"why are you still talking about it!"

I can get why it seems that way if someone is only absorbing the pathos.

If I pulled up Alexandros's blog today and saw he was still talking about it, I would say "oh, okay" and move on.

But Alex keeps on trying to drag Scott back into the argument. I get that Alex found someone who is not was not treating him like a freak and that was a relief, just like it was for Ralph Wiggum when he got a pity valentine from Lisa Simpson. And now Alex stalks Scott and demands Scott pay attention to Alex's latest argument.

I did a control-F for "scott" on this blog and got sixty-three matches. It shows up over twice as many times as "ivermectin."

So it is not "why are you still talking about ivermectin" and more "why are you still talking about Scott!"

Seems mostly* par for the course given the impact his piece had.

*) ok maybe a bit on the spergy side, but come on, we're all autistic here

Alex deciding to keep on holding onto this issue is fine. Right or wrong, it is A-OK for him to keep going on it.

But Alex demanding Scott's attention -- whether or not Alex is right -- needs to be shut down.

Speaking from the minority position, the duty is on Alex to behave in a fashion that makes people want to engage with him, instead of him constantly giving off danger signs that say "DO NOT TOUCH".

I am sure some goof will say HA HA YOU ADMIT YOU DO NOT CARE ABOUT WHO IS RIGHT, THEREFORE I WIN, and

  1. you can never make sure you get the last word,

  2. damn straight, I care much more about not ending up some stalker's new hobby.

Other than the obsession with the subject, I don't see signs of demanding Scott's attention. Using his name isn't much of an argument. Substack is not Reddit or Twitter where you get pinged every time someone mentions you. If you come from the view that Alex isn't trying to get Scott's attention, the constant chorus of "why don't you leave him alone" ends up coming off as trying to shut down the conversation on the topic.

Speaking from the minority position, the duty is on Alex to behave in a fashion that makes people want to engage with him, instead of him constantly giving off danger signs that say "DO NOT TOUCH".

Nah. Obviously there needs to be a balance, otherwise you're giving one side a blank check to never address valid criticism from upstarts. Currently I'm of the view that it's fine for Alexandros to keep writing, and for Scott to not respond, but comparing his reaction to Alexandros to his reaction to Nathan Robinson gives me a whiplash (well, it would, if I didn't know one of them has a lot more clout than the other).

I just pulled up Alex's post-summary page, and of his recent articles 6 are clearly about Ivermectin (maybe the others are too but not obviously from the title or summary).

Five of the six of them mention Scott in the title or summary. What. The. Fuck.

Maybe Alex does not know he is acting like a fucking stalker. Maybe no one has told him.

otherwise you're giving one side a blank check to never address valid criticism

I truly and honestly think it is bad that this issue has gotten so little debate.

But it is not Scott's fault that there is so little debate here. Scott has done much more to make sure Alex has his voice heard than anyone else. And the reward is to get constant articles written about him. No wonder no one else wants to engage with this loser.

Alex is picking on Scott because he can pick on Scott. If Alex attacks CNN, no one cares, there is no chance of CNN admitting they are wrong or even acknowledging Alex's existence. But Scott gave Alex some attention once, and the only possible victory Alex has left is getting Scott to admit that he was somehow unfair to Alex.

(Scott has dozens of old articles with the basic complaint "feminists spend most of their energy attacking men who deign listen to women instead of men who abuse women" and this is basically just that all over again.)

It is bad that Alex is in that situation where he cannot get a fair debate partner. But he needs to stop attacking the one person who showed him a shred of dignity once. Do not be the guy who stalks the girl that said hi to him at a party. It is creepy and it sets up bad incentives for anyone to ever talk to you.

What. The. Fuck.

I already conceded his behavior is a bit on the spergy side, but you're making a mountain out of a molehill. Again, is Scott pinged every time his name is mentioned? Is he forced to read those headlines via some Clockwork Orangesque torture device?