Instead of writing my second year review, I spent the whole day Cifing on ETA’s last bombing and Euskal Herria. It was the most pleasant Cif thread I’ve ever taken part into. I did most of the talking (blogging actually), which ranged from the mediaeval history of Spain to Basque linguistics and my own experience as a member of Ezker Batua (the Basque section of the Spanish United Left). Everybody commended my insight, my wisdom and my English. It was all very touching and brought a bit of sense to my langweiliges Leben here in Bielefeld. But it was Cif, and there’s always a cretin that has to spoil it. A guy started calling me names like pedantic rambling buffoon. It was late in the evening, when sadness sets in, and at the beginning it really pissed me off and got me down. I just wanted to tell him to fuck off, but I risked being moderated in a thread that I’d made mine without trolling and that had lifted my spirit. So I decided to act intelligently and fight back with a pinch of wit.
“What can I do?”, said I “I’m socially awkward and act in a very buffoonesque way in front of other people. Cif gives me the benefit of anonymity. It also gives me the chance to be pedantic and to write in English without the horrible constraints of academic deadlines. It’s called procrastination, of which I’m a certified trained professional. I like collecting useless pieces of information and sharing them with people. It’s my only claim to fame, and the only way I can interact. I know it makes inferior minds feel threatened by the intellectual superiority of my poor self, but I don’t do it with evil intentions.”
So, just in case it happens again, I will now apologize in advance for every time my vast knowledge and eloquence hurt anybody’s sophomoric sensibilities.