Grabbing the bull by the.......

Now it strikes me that the trait of ‘Grabbing the bull by the horns’ is an admirable one. And in fact several great technological advances have been made in the most part because of the tenacity of the inventor. Television, the jet engine, the steam turbine all seen as madcap inventions not worth the time but now are things we can’t live without. We wouldn’t have the magnificent bikes we ride today had someone not decided to fit an engine to a bicycle and see if it’d work.

Great battles have been won against the odds when a leader has faced a problem head on and stuck to his plan despite advice to the contrary. Waterloo, Trafalgar, and El Alamein. All battles fought and won despite being out numbered or outgunned because the commander of the day ‘Took the Bull by the horns’

However it’s evident that often ‘Grabbing the bull by the horns’ is confused by a lot of folk with a lesser known phrase ‘Grabbing the bull by the balls’.

Although it’s the lesser known of the two phrases it’s sadly the one most implemented.

Now believe me, ‘Grabbing the bull by the balls’ leads to nowhere but ridicule and misery. Sadly most that do grab the wrong end of the bull are the type that despite all sensible evidence to the contrary, believes that they alone are right.

I’m talking about people who having discovered you can’t fit a round peg into a square hole will persist in trying anyway just on the off chance a miracle will happen. Finally they may as a last resort demand the hole should have been round before they were given the job anyway.

I’m talking about folk who despite written proof their position is wrong persist on taking the moral high ground. People who despite being given information in an easily understood format will only accept the information if it coincides with the viewpoint they take or answer they are seeking.

I’m talking about people who despite ultimately realising the bull is well pissed off with his tackle being squeezed still hang on like their life depended upon it.

They know that it’s going to lead to shame and ignominy but cling fanatically to the balls hoping against hope that someone somewhere will jump in and save them from themselves.

The type that often post in a thread to carry out personal agendas or vendettas for some perceived slight or misconstrued comment. The type that bottles it when asked to step up and do a bit instead of whining all the time. The sort of person who despite all promises to the contrary will always let you down.

Who am I talking about?  Bloody keyboard warriors is who!

You know the type, pasty faced, and sweaty palmed “Pug form the Beano” look-alikes hunched over a keyboard in the small back room in their mum’s house. Totally nocturnal and allergic to work, been on the drip since he left school type of troglodyte that’s the apple of his mummy’s eye.

Who according to their online persona are better looking, stronger and more intelligent, better paid and more sexually active than anyone else in the chat room or forum. The type who claims they know celebrities and drive flash cars. The type that regularly rides like a dick but always ducks the plod as he has no equal on two, three or four wheels and should be racing but hasn’t the budget.

The type that flies relief supplies to the needy and consults for MI5. The archetypical stand in when 007 is having an off day.

These are the type that cause a lot of hassle in chat rooms and forums with their crappy attitude and negative waves all the time. The type that with their incessant whining and top trumping in every thread or topic totally ruin the spirit of the forum.

These folk are not urban myth, I’ve seen it happen to several forums and chat rooms in recent years and it has put me off visiting many of the once decent forums and chat rooms.