Would-be Harley Troll Fails Miserably
A low-effort Reddit poster could use some advice on proper trolling, and we’re happy to help.
It’s easy for anyone to be a bad-ass behind a keyboard. The anonymity of the internet lets just about anybody get away with saying whatever stupid thought crosses their mind with no regard for consequences. Twitter is a great example — its original 140 character limit was seemingly tailor-made for the sort of stupid shower thoughts and half-baked pseudo-intellectualism that’s better kept to yourself after you dry off and get dressed.
Similarly, Reddit is no stranger to stupidity. It bills itself at the homepage of the Internet, and with that territory comes great content as well as its fair share of colossally stupid posts. This post on the r/Harley subreddit falls into the latter category.
Some troll decided it would be clever to hop into the r/Harley subreddit and make the same insults every Harley owner has heard a million times before:
“I personally hate Harleys for being loud, unmaneuverable, always broken and generally a public nuisance, and Harley riders for their fat stinky ass and WW2 natzy helmets.”
Sadly — or thankfully, depending on your outlook — the r/Harley mods were right on top of things, and deleted the post before the fun could really begin. Even though taking the high road was the right thing to do, but we can’t help but feel like they’re party poopers.
Still, we were able to copy and paste their response above. While the Reddit mods were not about to let a flame war happen in their little corner of the Internet, we’d like to welcome the poster of that piece to make some revisions based on our editorial notes below and try again.
As more than a few curious, stupid children have learned over the years, you don’t get to poke a beehive and then complain when you get stung. While the troll was more than likely just trying to get a rise out of Harley fans, their low-effort post was lacking in a few key areas:
- To troll effectively, a good grasp of the English language is key. “Always broken” reads better in that sentence as “unreliable.”
- To that end, using the singular “fat stinky ass” in regards to an entire group of Harley riders implies that, collectively, they make up one fat stinky ass, instead of several fat stinky asses. It’s a bit confusing. It’s hard to feel insulted when you’re left scratching your head wondering what in the name of dual overhead camshafts you just read.
- A comma in the above insult — “fat, stinky asses” — reads much better and also helps to convey your point accurately and coherently.
- Using the “Harleys are unreliable” meme hasn’t been witty, clever, or particularly accurate since the AMF days. Just because the new Sportsters are using that aesthetic doesn’t mean that the same tired jokes are funny or relevant again. Get some fresh material.
- Pointing out the obvious — in this case, that Harleys are typically loud and not built to handle like sportbikes — is poor-quality trolling. See #3.
- The “natzy” misspelling is far too obvious to be an effective trolling measure. Try harder.
We hope these pointers are helpful for the would-be troll in their future Internet endeavors, although we would personally advise that the poster might find a more productive hobby, like motorcycling, far more fulfilling. Furthermore, it’s hard to be upset and mean when you leave your mother’s basement, get some sun, and meet new people. No better way to do that than on the saddle of a motorcycle, although you ass tends to get pretty stinky after a day of riding, regardless of what brand you choose to swing your leg over.
Photos: Harley-Davidson
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