Connoisseurs of the local blogosphere are well aware of the minor dust-up between Stefan and an intemperate blogging waitress, who as Stefan notes has recanted her tale, that has since gained quite a following on liberal blogs.
Stefan has and can defend himself quite ably. But a couple things are really rubbing me raw in the midst of the predictable liberal outrage directed at him, both of which are conveniently contained in ECB's venomous coverage of the matter at the Slog (complete with the expected pleasant discourse in the comments).
One, horror of horrors, Stefan left a below average tip on the evening in question. Liberal bloggers and commenters are immediately leaping to the conclusion that a 10% tip = the tipper is an agent of Satan, or worse. Damn any mitigating circumstances.
Call me crazy, but my first presumption about any 10% tip is that it's likely that the service was sub-par. Here's the personal tipping scale of this conservative blogger, assuming the usual caveats that one doesn't blame the server for bad food or if they are obviously swamped:
25% = excellent service
20% = good service
15% = average service
10% = poor service
Flay me too if you want, liberals.
Second, the whole notion of accepting reporting from BlatherWatch is a joke. I don't read it regularly, but when I do and am familiar with the topic at hand I've found Michael Hood's postings to be roughly 50% fiction...or more (like the time he declared Stefan and I as one and the same person. I'm fairly certain our respective wives disagree). In short, that blog is laughably unserious; a fabricator of tales out of whole cloth. Linking to it in any sort of honest discussion is an automatic disqualification for any post purporting to be on a topic of any consequence.
Stefan has already spoken for himself on the rest of this now totally over-blown issue, but I can't let lie the knee-jerk reactionism on the two issues discussed above. I'd say more, but the only additional appropriate commentary involves long strings of profanity. Very long strings.
Posted by Eric Earling at August 27, 2007 07:40 PM | Email ThisClearly the Libs are in such a tizzy as they have lost this one. Everyone knows that when you lose, you shout louder! It is the Seattle liberal way.
Posted by: Fed Up on August 27, 2007 07:37 PMFor those with strong stomachs, here is an example of the sort of enlighteded commentary on this subject from the left:
" Your bratty crotchfruit, who no doubt will grow up to be as amoral and self-absorbed as you and your husband clearly are..."
You can read this kind of stuff every day at HA or any other leftist blog. Reasonable, well adjusted folks, aren't they?
They hate being stereotyped, or labeled, and yet they act exactly as we right wing cynics expect them to.
If they only knew how predictable they are.
I'll boil this down. Someone, we'll call her Dumb Twit, makes admitidly false statements about an individual and their family. Dumb Twit gets called out on the carpet because of it. The whistle blower is chastised.
WTF did Stefan do so wrong? I don't get the back lash. The anger and vile responses don't make sense to me...
Posted by: Chris on August 27, 2007 08:42 PMI'll tell you what Stefan did wrong. He dared stray from the expected mindset of the anointed Seattle left. Conservative thoughts are thought crimes.
Stefan is a class act. He refused to allow himself be defamed by a foolish waitress who posted an obviously fabricated lie in the heat of the moment. And then, when she sobered up, he accepted her apology and moved on.
The hate and hysteria will continue in the comment threads of the Puget Sound Left Leaning Blogosphere.
Posted by: Jeff B. on August 27, 2007 09:33 PM(1) Liberal attacks conservative for being, well, a person.
(2) Conservative defends honor of self, pointing out that attack was unfair and inaccurate.
(3) Liberals attack conservative for having the *gall* to try and defend himself.
(4) Upon realizing the absurdity of their pointless crusade to take out a conservative's honor for being, well, a person, they raise their voice and make even more vicious attacks.
It's the same anywhere you try to talk with these people. Their only attack is of the ad hominem sort, and they can't understand why that is a bad thing.
Posted by: Jonathan Gardner on August 27, 2007 09:34 PMBut this isn't about Stefan's kid, who may have been an angel that night, or his tip, which may have been appropriate. It's about his thin skin and disproportionate response to a silly piece on a minor blog.
Posted by: Bruce on August 27, 2007 09:38 PMThis strikes me as a little ironic. Heaven forbid they had actually employed a little corporal punishment (like in the good old days). The liberals would have had apoplectic conniptions and DSHS would have taken the child within a matter of hours, I'm sure.
Likewise, if he had given a 40% tip, I bet the principled single-mother victim waitress would have thrown it in his face and shouted "I don't need your filthy charity, you capitalist neo-con nazi fascist!" And the blogosphere would have rejoiced. :)
Bottom line: these people hate conservatives. It's a visceral, emotional thing.
Posted by: AD on August 27, 2007 09:39 PMLike most of your ideological companions, you didn't do your homework before you commented. If you take the time to read all the threads on all of the blogs, you will find out what actually happened, and what Stefan did in advance of everything that got posted to the web. But why bother with the facts when you can keep a world view that frames Stefan as "disproportionate."
Kudos to Stefan for not backing down to anonymous Lefty bloggers who escalated the issue in the first place.
And I find much of the service everywhere these days to be appalling. No one knows what good service is anymore. Good on Stefan that he tips based on merit. If the Progressives are allowed to have their way, in the long run, tips will be added to the bill automatically at 25% regardless of service. Because you know, these are the low rung food service workers in our society, and everyone should feel guilty and pay them more, simply because we happen to have chosen career paths that lead to higher paying jobs.
Would anyone want to eat there, knowing anything that they might do to cross the waitress (sending something back, special requests, etc) might be ridiculed the next day on the internet?
Employment is not a right. A 15% tip is not a right.
Posted by: AD on August 27, 2007 10:01 PMSeriously, did any of you clowns listen to him make a fucking fool of himself on the radio last night -- it was hi-larious.
BTW -- we all learned how to launch Ad Hominum attacks from you guys with your Rove playbooks, so I would expect more in the future...
Posted by: Mr. yuck on August 27, 2007 10:03 PMSeveral witnesses have confirmed to me that they once saw Stefan Sharkansky beat a homeless man to death with a tire iron. And if Stefan denies it, he and his wife are free to sue me for defamation.
I don't know about other people, but I remember the days the standard tipping was 10% in the 80s and early 90s. Somehow, standard tip got jacked up to 15% somewhere along the line.
As for me, 10% for poor service is still too generous.
Posted by: DopioLover on August 27, 2007 11:07 PMAttacking a man's wife and child with the kind of phrases she used are indeed fighting words.
The Shark asked for a retraction- instead she made a post about how he was "threatening" her.
Way I see it: She picked a fight- she lost.
End of Story.
Posted by: Cicero on August 27, 2007 11:37 PMSharkansky is in the wrong because he is (relatively) rich and powerful- while the waitress is a poor single mother- thus she is in the right.
Right and wrong are about relative power- not about violations of a static moral code.
Thus the (chauvinistic) comments about a man beating a girl- despite this being a verbal conflict and not a physical one.
I on the other hand look at it from the perspective of who started the fight. From that perspective- Sharkansky is the aggrieved party.
To me the waitress violated the moral code of not publicly slandering another persons family. Her relative weakness in power and influence can not justify such behavior.
Furthermore, to me a man who "overreacts" in the defense of his family is something that is understandable- even admirable.
To me it is simply a fulfillment of the moral duty of a father to defend his family. The fact that Sharkansky has more power to bring to bear than I myself would is not an issue.
I'm guessing you have yet to grow up because you are still acting like a 5-year-old. Instead of acting out in restaurants, you make a monkey of yourself here.
On second thought, given the intellectual level of your posts here, you probably still do act like a monkey in public.
VW
Posted by: VW on August 28, 2007 02:32 AMJustin is angling for an appointment in the Gregoire Administration by demonstrating his political/ideological skills!!
I think this will work, Justin!!
Posted by: Hank on August 28, 2007 06:42 AMI want to know if anyone defending this waitress is a parent. And if you are, I want somebody to publicly call you out as a child beater, and then see if you just turn the other cheek.
Posted by: Palouse on August 28, 2007 07:33 AMAnd I still don't understand why anyone thinks the employer should NOT be notified that his employee is driving away potential business and making the business look bad. Obviously these are people who have never run a customer service business.
Posted by: pudge on August 28, 2007 07:40 AMhttp://consumerist.com/consumer/bad-tippers/blogbath-erupts-between-seattle-republican-activist-stefan-sharkansky-and-waitress-294015.php
10% makes you a cheap charlie, and EVERYONE in the restaurant business know it. And misbehaving chilren and the parents who facilitate them are the BANE of every waitron and dining room manager outside of Chuck E Cheese's.
OK Justin, you are just an idiotic liberal propaganda spewing, mean spirited moron. Did you even read how Stefan POLITELY asked the tramp to remove the posts??? SEVERAL TIMES????
You liberals are whiny babies who can dish it out but cannot take it. It is about time someone hit back at liberal bullies who are always the turd in the punchbowl.
Posted by: pbj on August 28, 2007 09:26 AM"He had to go and dig up dirt on her 5 year old. That is the most coragious thing I have ever seen. I hope, no I pray to jeebus, that some day I will be as brave as shark and his wife. God bless them."
That is a lie. Please tell us all what "dirt" he dug up on her 5 year old.
I don't even think the woman has a 5 year old. The only 5 year old I heard mentioned was Stefan's. We do know, because the woman posted it on her blog, that she has a kid who threatens to blow up the school. Now if he is 5 years old and she is posting this information on a public blog, perhaps you ought to take up the issue with her.
Posted by: pbj on August 28, 2007 09:33 AMRevolting, and very revealing.
Folks, it is instructive to remember that when little lefty piss ants like Justin start laying in the "F*ck you", "Eat my F*ck" and other juvenile homilies, we have won. The little turd has simply run out of vocabulary trying to support that which is fabricated.
And that’s why I come here. I like hanging with winners.
It doesn't take a whole lot of research to discover that he leans just slightly to the left, and has even commented on SP on occasion.
I'm sure the guy doesn't have an agenda.
Posted by: Bill Cruchon on August 28, 2007 10:01 AMStefan must be a whiny liberal then. Not only did he go out of his way to find the woman's blog, post the juicy excerpts from it on SP, and proceed to make her life a living hell till she groveled before him and retracted her story. I mean c'mon only whiny liberals would do something like that.
I mean really, if he was truly a bold conservative stalwart like he claims to be he would have ignored her and moved on with his life since she would be of little concern to him or his political ideology.
And Stefan is part of the rich, vast right wing conspiracy, yada, yada.
None of these Nutroots efforts will get far, because they have not been able to reign in their loons. Anyone who can stumble in to a public library and find a keyboard can jump in and start swearing his way to the new Progressive majority.
Sounds like a real recipe for success.
Posted by: Jeff B. on August 28, 2007 10:14 AMSeem my comment to Bruce @13. You might to go read around and figure out the timeline of what actually happened before you allow yourself to fall under the usual right wing narrative trance.
Stefan gave the woman plenty of opportunity to retract her comments and leave him alone before he ever did a thing. It was only because she and her anonymous blogger buddy Mercifoolish kept up their rant, that anyone ever knew about the incident.
Posted by: Jeff B. on August 28, 2007 10:28 AMThat still dodges the question as to why he should have done anything. If he'd left it be, after all, or merely responded "I tip according to service received: I'm sorry if my preschool child was having a monster night, but sometimes young children are like that" doubtless the few people who would have heard of the incident would have forgotten it within days. But after Stefan Sharkansky: waitress slayer took up cudgels and smashed a hard-working single mother into the ground, forcing her to beg for mercy, for the "crime" of complaining about his cheapskate tipping habits and his badly-brought-up son...
It was only because she and her anonymous blogger buddy Mercifoolish kept up their rant, that anyone ever knew about the incident.
It was only because of the Shark's monstrous over-reaction that everyone is getting to know about the incident. Stefan Sharkansky's bad behavior towards a waitress is now on Google News: it's half of the top hits on Google: and it wouldn't have happened if he'd behaved like a gentleman when a waitress complained.
Posted by: Jesurgislac on August 28, 2007 10:41 AMSome people obviously think that the appropriate reaction to waitstaff who complain about your poor tipping habits and your poorly-brought-up child is to have a monstrous public temper tantrum and get yourself known all over the Internet as a bad tipper and a bad parent.
But most people don't.
Posted by: Jesurgislac on August 28, 2007 10:57 AMWho do you work for? I encourage you to post your difficult customer stories on a blog too. You'll get your name up in lights on Google News as well, and I am sure your employer will be proud. And you probably will take offence at any customer who disagrees with you posting on a blog about your interaction too.
But every low tip, and especially those from conservatives should be reported on a blog, and to the Ministry of Compensation, right?
Posted by: Jeff B. on August 28, 2007 11:14 AMTell you what Jesurgislac, why don't you go down to Rainer Ave find an inter-racial couple with children and lay a few of the waitresses comments on them and see how they react. We are waiting.
Posted by: Leftout on August 28, 2007 11:20 AMNo, anyone who reads these threads will think Stefan totally overreacted and should have just ignored the 'liberal' taunting from a rival blog. Stefan escalated the fight by exposing her on his blog, taking the fight off of the internet and into reality where he got the waitress removed from her job and then tried to get her removed from her second job. There is no glory in being an asshole in real life based on some trivial comments placed on a blog.
Make you feel like a big man to try and get a single mother of 2 fired from both of her jobs? Your ego knows no bounds does it? It's funny when I first read stephany's post I thought it was a bit much her suggesting you beating people, but seeing your completely disproportionate response and anger I think it's quite possible you might throw a fist now and again. Enjoy going to every restaurant in the seattle area and enjoy the special new ingredients in your meals.
Sharky you are one pathetic excuse for a human being....
Posted by: the worst on August 28, 2007 11:26 AMTell you what Leftout, why don't you take a second and think about being a single mother who just had her job taken from her (yes, she quit but under duress) and then hash the rest out. You can't do that though, can you? Your viewpoint is the only one. At least, the only "right" one, right?
Posted by: Leftin on August 28, 2007 11:28 AMTell you what Leftout, why don't you take a second and think about being a single mother who just had her job taken from her (yes, she quit but under duress) and then hash the rest out. You can't do that though, can you? Your viewpoint is the only one. At least, the only "right" one, right?
Posted by: Leftin on August 28, 2007 11:29 AMNothing like liberals trying to excuse their poor choices.
Posted by: Liberal_twit on August 28, 2007 11:41 AMIsn't it interesting that the left that prides itself on being "progressive" is so quick to jump to conclusions that serve their agenda?
It is always quite amusing to watch leftists demonstrate,(always anonymously), who they really are.
Posted by: Bill Cruchon on August 28, 2007 11:45 AM
About tipping: when I have bad service instead of not leaving a tip I give them the spare change in my pocket so they can think about what they did wrong as they pick up my pennies and nickels!
Nothing like idiots posting nonsense.
Posted by: Leftin on August 28, 2007 11:48 AMSee 71.
Posted by: Leftin on August 28, 2007 11:50 AMZero percent for poor service, and 20+ percent for great service are appropriate in my book.
Posted by: NW Denizen on August 28, 2007 12:09 PMI don't care if she was a single mom, orphan, on welfare, or supporting 10 kids. If you publicly call someone a child beater without proof, you deserve everything you get.
I would have printed the post and sent it to every employer I could find of hers in the hope that she was fired. And if her blog postings are any indication of her customer service, she's lucky she gets any tip at all.
Posted by: Palouse on August 28, 2007 12:19 PMIn response to 77: If you witness an employee stealing while at an establishment do you believe that not saying something would be acting like an adult? I am just curious.
These liberals are really pleasant people.
Posted by: Jeff B. on August 28, 2007 12:46 PMReal nice folks. Real well-adjusted. Forget a wall on the Mexican border, I want a wall surrounding Seattle, and no one gets out unless they take an oath denouncing Savage, Goldy, the Seattle City Council, etc.
Posted by: wutitiz on August 28, 2007 12:50 PMSo true. Just ask that South Carolina beauty contestant who will forever be the dumb blonde icon. Maybe she's stupid, maybe she isn't - but the impression has already been left.
Or, how about the Star War's Kid? I guess he and his family were really embarrassed when someone went online with a home video they had lifted.
Posted by: Peggy U on August 28, 2007 01:06 PMDid you not READ the comments in which Sharkansky repeatedly and respectfully requested that Steffany tell her friend to remove the defaming posts? I read them, and honestly, it did not seem like he went out of his way to "ruin" her life.
And for the record, she resigned from her job, or so she said, in a comment here @ SP. The comment was actually in a post that Shark removed because she finally apologized, and he removed his post like he promised he would.
Oh, and I just loved Anonymous @ 64. The President has a whole lot to do with tipping and defamation of customers on the internet, doesn't he? I love how some people use any excuse to throw in a "Bush sucks, so there" no matter what they're debating.
Precious.
Posted by: Cydney on August 28, 2007 02:45 PMOkay, so she complained about Stefan Sharkansky's behavior on a blog, and you say that people who do that should be fired because it's wrong.
Stefan Sharkansky complained about her behavior on a blog, so he should be fired, right? It's wrong. You're complaining about her behavior on a blog, so you should be fired, right? It's wrong. Bottom line: if you're going to take the high moral ground and claim no one should ever complain about how anyone else behaves in public, then, boy, are you condemning yourself and half the commenters on this blog who are coming out with all these "wrong" criticisms of this person...
Posted by: Jesurgislac on August 28, 2007 04:51 PMWhat has really started to piss me off about all of this is the expectation that there should be no consequence for her blatently wrong actions. You twits cry, scream and moan that Bush lied about the reasons for war. Ms. Bell lied and made completely false statements about Stefan and you don't attack her?? Your narrow mindedness is deafening.
What would you have done? Rehabilitate? At least now you all have the opportunity to support her through welfare...that is if you have jobs and pay into that...
Posted by: Chris on August 28, 2007 09:29 PMIf I had to hazard a guess, I would say there were other issues as well. And any more, it is dangerous to vent like this online. Employers, schools, and lenders often research their employees and applicants online.
Posted by: Peggy U on August 28, 2007 10:01 PMIf I had to hazard a guess, I would say there were other issues as well. And any more, it is dangerous to vent like this online. Employers, schools, and lenders often research their employees and applicants online.
Posted by: Peggy U on August 28, 2007 10:02 PMIf I want to focus on the news and serious reporting, I'll read Postman's or this blog and express myself on the local issues, like the vote for the RTID coming in November - if you think taxes are bad now and that thing passes - you ain't seen nothin' yet !
Posted by: KS on August 28, 2007 10:04 PM