There is a class of people who are driven to tear down Covens and Pagan groups. Their usual approach is to make unfair and unreasonable attacks on those in leadership positions. I've called these people "trolls", making use of the very powerful and very old European image of forces which are destructive and chaotic - yet easily outwitted, if you know a little about their habits.

Previous installments of this series have given hints and techniques for identifying trolls, warning signs to watch for and ways to recognize the sort of person who is going to thrive on causing you trouble. As a brief reminder: Trolls can't help being trolls. They don't want to be destructive, exactly. They just can't help it. Like a hurricane or a plague, it's simply part of their nature. You won't change them, and you can't stop them. The best thing to do is to get out of the way. The best way to handle trolls is to recognize them, and to not associate with them; don't let them into your Coven, and if one manages to get in, kick the critter out as soon as you realize what you're dealing with.

This installment provides some hints on dealing with trolls in a variety of other contexts - online, in letter exchanges in a magazine, or in networking situations in a larger community: how do you handle a troll who isn't in your Coven? But first, it's important to recall why trolls need to be treated pretty strictly. The way you treat a troll would seem cruel if it were any other kind of person. But it's important to treat all things in Nature according to what they really are. That is the essence a Nature religion.

Are Trolls Really All That Dangerous?
Trolls often tend to have a very different view of reality from those around them. Pagans in general often work with the concept of personalized realities, and with the validity of one's own perceptions, even if those perceptions differ from so-called "objective" or " consensual" reality. What makes a troll a troll is not merely a difference in reality-perception. What makes a troll is if that difference leads to a dark and dangerous world in which the person constantly feels threatened and endangered. This is neither Good nor Bad (Witchcraft has no theological concept of a struggle of Good vs. Evil). It simply is, and others who have to deal with such people need to be aware of it.

A troll lives in a personal reality which is dangerous and threatening. The technical term for this is "psychosis". Trolls are psychotic. They can be very convincing liars, because they really believe the dark fantasies they tell. This kind of fearful psychosis leads to a deep-seated paranoia, a conviction that The World Is Out To Get Them. The funny thing about paranoia is that it's a self-fulfilling prophesy; there is some truth to it. People really don't like someone who's paranoid. A paranoiac acts in ways which other people find offensive. Paranoiacs frequently lash out at those around them, in an effort to Get Them before They Get Me. So yes, paranoiacs often find themselves being disliked and isolated, or find others responding negatively to the damage they cause. After a while, there really are lots of people out to get them. Trolls feel disliked because they often are.

A combination of paranoia and psychosis frequently leads people into an anything-goes attitude in order to defend themselves. The desired end - being defended - justifies any conceivable means, regardless of the safety of others, or of any social conventions. The technical term for a person like that - one for whom the rules of society are irrelevant - is a "sociopath". These traits - paranoia, psychosis, and sociopathy - make for someone very dangerous to be around, or even to engage in conversation.

Humans are social creatures. We all need contact with other humans. Not even a troll can live happily out on a lonely island somewhere. Since they have been isolated and disliked in the past, trolls are driven to pursue further human contact. But because of their paranoia, the only forms of contact which trolls are really comfortable with are various forms of deception, double-dealing, and conflict. Trolls need conflict the way the average person needs food or affection. With a healthy human, a good dose of personal acknowledgement and validation is necessary now and again - "Am I okay?" "Yes, you're okay, you're a good person, and I like you." For a troll, this acknowledgement and validation comes through conflict: "Am I powerful, and do I have an influence on the world around me?" "Yes indeed, for you have hurt me terribly."

These are all problems which your average Witch is not equipped to handle in someone else, and shouldn't try to. You won't change a troll. You won't turn one around. You won't argue one out of his or her paranoia or psychosis. You won't force one to conform to social restrictions or to rules of reasonable behavior. Being friendly and loving and helpful just makes you an easy mark. You will be lied to, and your own honesty and openness will provide the troll with information about you, information which will later be twisted and turned against you. The troll will use you to gain access and introductions to other people. These people will be the ones to whom the troll will tell ugly fantasies about you, and will also be the troll's next victims after you've been used up.

Trolls are dangerous. They are not creatures you want to have running around your house. Not because they're "evil", but just because of their internal drives, drives which neither you nor they have control over. Don't try. It's like inviting a family of sharks for dinner. Guess who is the dessert.

Trolls pick individuals as targets. Writer Kenneth Haugk calls such people "antagonists," and defines their role like this:

"Antagonists are individuals who, on the basis of nonsubstansive evidence, go out of their way to make insatiable demands, usually attacking the person or performance of others. These attacks are selfish in nature, tearing down rather than building up, and are frequently directed against those in a leadership capacity."

Trolls attack particular people who they see as community leaders. They become very good and very practiced at it. Their attacks can be devastating.

But unfortunately, trolls don't wear name-tags: "Hi! I'm Xelda, and I'm a troll!" Nor can they be recognized by distinguishing marks - hairy elbows or tusks or something like that. In fact, trolls are very, very good at disguise. They have to be, for self-preservation. If they were instantly and easily recognized, people would stay away from them, and they'd starve. Trolls can be amazingly likeable - when you first meet them. They can even keep this up for quite some time. What do you do?

A previous installment of this series gave a list of trollish traits and warning signs. But even to use those, it requires a fairly long period of observation. You don't want to make a false diagnosis, in either direction. You don't want to treat someone like a troll if they're not one, and you don't want to be open and trusting and helpful to someone who'll rip your guts out at first opportunity. Nor do you want to spend your life viewing everyone with suspicion, and looking for signs of trollhood behind every friendly smile. Is there a shortcut to recognizing trolls?

Yes there is, but it's seldom used to its potential.

Networking
Trolls tend to wander from place to place, looking for new food. One of the signs of a troll in a Pagan context is the person who can't seem to stay with a single Coven or other group for more than a year or so, maybe only a few months. Of course, this could be just someone who hasn't found the right group to work with yet, so all by itself, moving around may not be a sure sign. But if the person has always - or almost always - left on bad terms, if there's a wake of damage and pain left behind - well, then there's little doubt.

In most Pagan communities - particularly within the most tight-knit Traditions - people talk to each other. It is possible to check with previous groups, and find out what kind of impression a person has given. Listen to what you're told. Don't take it non-critically, but do pay attention. If HP or HPS "Abc" has more experience with Xelda than you do, maybe they know what they're talking about.

Form networks of people whose opinion you respect, whose judgment you trust, people whom you know to be level-headed and of reasonable intelligence. Discuss these issues, and discuss some of the experiences you've had in the past. Listen to their recommendations, and carefully consider any warnings they give. You might be tempted to think, "Well, even if Edna and Marvin had trouble with Xelda, I think I can do better." That's a mistake. Unless the troll has changed, you won't do better. Trolls are not healthy; they don't want to get healthy, and you can't make them healthy. The warnings passed along a reliable network really should be heeded.

But - as said, you don't want to make a false diagnosis. That's why it's so important for a network to be reliable. It's one thing to ignore unconfirmed rumor and vague noises - after all, the person who started the rumors might actually be a troll! But it's quite another thing to shrug off the warnings of people whose judgment and experience you trust, particularly people who have had direct contact with the person in question. And particularly if you can get confirmation from others.

But what if a troll has changed? Suppose the past four Covens all had bad experiences with Xelda, but she presents herself as being a Changed Person who has Done a Lot of Growth. Do you trust this self-assessment of positive change?

This is an easy one. Take a lesson from addiction recovery programs. If Xelda really has changed, that means she's recognized the damage she has caused in the past, and she's done all she could to repair past hurts. It's up to her to contact those previous four Covens, and then to apologize - with no excuses or shifting of responsibility onto others. And then it's up to her to work - hard - to make amends. If Xelda isn't willing to take these steps, then she hasn't changed. In fact, if she hasn't already taken these steps, before she even comes to you, then she hasn't changed. If Xelda has changed, then you would no longer be hearing warnings from past victims. You'd be hearing amazed tales of real transformation. If you're still hearing warnings, then Xelda hasn't grown much.

Should you warn others about the trolls you've dealt with? From my experience, people don't generally listen to warnings. Sometimes they do, but not very often. Witches take pride in being independent and capable, autonomous and resourceful, anxious to make their own judgments. So, don't go out of your way to publicize your experiences with particular trolls. It'll just make you look mean and ill-tempered.

There are also dangers in networking. It's possible for a person to be unfairly blackballed. But the possibility of that is drastically lessened if the people in the network are all seasoned to the issues involved. Get together whenever you can, work together closely and often. Unfair blackballing is done by people with a personal axe to grind, people who have a pattern of being unreasonable in other ways, too. The better you get to know someone - or a group of someones - the more you'll know how far to trust their judgment.

It's also possible for a network of Old Friends to be set up - Old Boys or Old Girls, or just Old Witches - with the purpose of creating in-groups and out-groups. This is why it's necessary to network with people you know and trust. If you find yourself within a network where political games and one-ups-manship are the rule, get out of it, and begin assembling your own network. If there is a network of reasonable people, then someone who's in it for power games will be found out after a while - and will be, appropriately, treated themselves as a species of troll.

Keep in close and frequent contact with the people in your network. Get to know them as well as you can. Start relying on them for support. Provide support to them. If any of them are targeted by a troll, they'll need reassurance and strength. The experience is incredibly draining. Be there for them. What they need, more than anything else, is grounding and a shoulder to cry on.

A network is a good idea anyway. How often have you heard about forming a strong "Pagan community"? Here's your chance to begin that process, and it's a very good justification for getting it started.

Trolls Online
There is a subspecies of troll which delights in causing trouble in online conversations, such as on the Internet, or in letters-to-the-editor arguments in magazines. They can disrupt conversations for months at a time, and cause otherwise reasonable discussions to degenerate into petty squabbles. The following thoughts about such trolls are based on years of observation and experience, and on quite a lot of experimentation to find what works and what doesn't. (Experimentation is relatively easy to do, and you can do it yourself, if you want. Find an internet discussion group and wait for a troll to surface - don't worry, it's unlikely you'll have to wait long, as they seem particularly common online. Once you see a troll go after someone, get involved, and try different ways of responding. Be aware, though, that trolls have a knack for making you feel belittled. If you're going to do this sort of experimenting, expect to get flamed pretty fiercely while you're doing it. If you've got a thin skin or high blood pressure, you might want to avoid this pastime.)

The Internet is a unique medium, which seems to collect a really incredible number of trolls. Probably, this is because it is really easy to lie about yourself online. You can pretend to be anything or anybody you want, and it is very difficult for anyone to really check. Trolls who have been found out in their real-world life will find cyberspace a very compelling place to be. Besides, on the Internet, you have a potential audience of thousands - maybe even millions - of people. However satisfying it may be to muck up a Coven, it is infinitely more exhilarating to humiliate someone before potential millions of onlookers.

Sometimes, a troll may be difficult to spot at first. Because it is easy to lie about yourself online, trolls will use this feature to present themselves as reasonable and charming. And trolls can be amazingly charming when the need exists. They'll engage their targets in conversation, gathering data which they can twist into attacks later. But once they're ready, they can be vicious. And they are very tenacious.

A troll will misinterpret and mis-state almost everything the target says. In the midst of a conversation, in which the troll is fiercely attacking someone, if reasonable questions are asked of the troll, or if good and effective responses are given to a troll's arguments, the troll will either take offense, or will ignore these things completely. And, in any case, will go on attacking his or her target in really nasty and belittling ways. Point out an inconsistency in a troll's statements, and ask for clarification; the troll will simply not respond at all, or will find something else to criticize in you. If you take offense at the troll's misstatements and name-calling, the troll will suddenly switch gears, complain about how nasty and mean you are, and do everything possible to present him- or herself as an innocent victim. Trolls love to claim victimhood.

Trolls will sometimes pick on irrelevant details of someone else's writing, and might criticize misspellings, improper grammar, a misused word - anything other than the actual topic, and any ruse to avoid actual points the other person might have made. Trolls will accuse others of being unreasonable, mean-spirited, intolerant - simple name-calling designed to belittle others and to distract the conversation away from their targets' valid arguments. Pagan trolls love to make accusations of One-True-Wayism. That's probably the most sure sign there is of an online troll.

So, how do you handle this? The goal of an online troll is to make you feel attacked and insulted. If you attack back, that's all to the good, as far as the troll is concerned. The troll wants to be the center of attention, and wants to cause damage while that's happening. Remember: trolls need conflict the way healthy people need food. Being attacked back tells the troll that the current strategy is working. Being the object of any kind of attention - even anger and negative attention - makes the troll feel validated and acknowledged. It's far better than being ignored. And if the troll can actually cause pain, that makes him or her feel powerful and successful.

How do you respond to this kind of attack? First and most importantly - realize that the troll really has no power to harm you. Troll attacks come out of the troll's feelings of helplessness and fear. What the troll wants is to inspire that helplessness and fear in you. But whether you let yourself feel those things is up to you, and is not in the power of the troll.

It is really, really difficult to respond in any uniformly reasonable way. The hints and advice below are good general principles, but you won't be able to follow them all the time. Don't expect perfection from yourself. Remember that you're only human. Sometimes, you're going to respond in anger or frustration. Sometimes, the troll's jabs and mis-statements are going to be so outrageous that you'll feel compelled to respond. Do so when you need to. Then do your best to get yourself centered again. (One technique which helps is to write a response, then wait a day before sending it to make sure it really is something you want to say. But few people have the self-control to do that consistently. I sure don't!)

When being attacked in public, it's easy to get defensive, and to worry about what other people will think. It's easy to respond with anger. But remember that what seems unreasonable and nonsensical to you will seem equally unreasonable and nonsensical to most other healthy people. The troll's irrational attacks - comparing a fellow Witch to an Inquisitor is a favorite one - will seem irrational and overblown to most everyone else, too. You needn't defend yourself against silliness like that. In fact, getting upset about such obvious irrationality will just make you look irrational yourself. Ignore the insults. If you care about what other people think, be aware that by rising above that kind of name-calling, you will look far more respectable and level-headed. It also makes the troll look silly, and that robs the troll of most of his or her power.

When a troll twists and mis-states things you've said - or misrepresents a position you hold and dearly believe in - should you respond? You have a decision to make there, depending on the nature of the forum. If you're in a place where most everyone is pretty experienced and knowledgeable, the best way to handle a troll is to ignore the nonsense completely. State your position clearly, and ignore the troll's mischaracterizations of it. The unfairness of the troll's twisted misstatements will be obvious to everyone, and will require no response. You really don't want to get drawn into a back-and-forth argument with a troll, who will do everything possible to undermine your self-confidence and self-respect. If a troll's misrepresentations do make a more rational person wonder about whatever the topic is, that person will provide a more rational question or discussion point. Respond to that instead of to the troll.

The situation may be different if you're in a forum with less experienced people also, people who might not be aware of all the issues and ramifications of whatever subject you're discussing, and who might, therefore, be misled by the troll's misrepresentations. In such a situation, you can respond - but keep your response calm and reasonable. Respond to the troll's actual debating points, not to the name-calling and the digs which are intended to provoke you. The more reasonable you sound, the less reasonable the troll will sound - and the less reasonable the troll's arguments will sound.

The troll wants you to get angry, and wants you to feel hurt and defensive. Deny that to the troll, and eventually, the troll will go away and find more promising targets. Remain polite, and ask polite questions, politely point out the troll's inconsistencies. The troll's inability to answer reasonable questions won't be lost on many thinking people, nor will the troll's tendency to answer politeness with insults, reason with hyperbole, calmness with violent misrepresentation. The troll will begin to look incredibly silly, without any help from you.

The difficulty with this approach is that trolls - especially online trolls - tend to collect followers and secondary trolls, the way sharks travel with remoras. When a troll is starting to look silly by contrast with someone reasonable, the remoras will jump in, and start complaining about how awful and mean the troll's target really is. You can tell the difference between these remoras and people who are genuinely defending someone who is being unfairly attacked. Remoras are nasty about it. Honest defenders of honest people tend to be strong in their defense, but usually don't resort to name-calling of their own. When the remoras show up, it's a good time to back off; you've won the day, because the attacks of the troll's minions let you know just how absurd and helpless the troll is beginning to look to everyone (otherwise, the remoras wouldn't be jumping to the troll's defense). Push the point much further, and you actually will begin to seem mean. Besides, anyone still following the conversation runs the risk of getting bored by the flaming.

And above all, maintain your sense of humor. A troll, after all, is only a troll. If you don't take the troll's insults seriously, few other people will, either.

Copyright (c) 2002 David Petterson
May be recirculated as long as this information is included