If you read the comments on this blog ? or on other Outer Banks message boards ? then you know Crotalus.
Crotalus is, of course, his screen name. His e-mail is crotalus horridus, which is the scientific name of a species of rattlesnake.
He?s been posting for several years now on blogs and message boards.
He?s arrogant and condescending and fond of lecturing and getting into food fights with advocates of more reasonable beach access than is allowed under the consent decree or the National Park Service selected environmental alternative for off-road vehicle rulemaking on the Cape Hatteras National Seashore.
He likes to take me to task for the blogs I have written on such things as the 1,000-meter buffer for piping plovers. Check out that one for his smart-aleck retorts.
Another one to check out is my blog about the April Fools? Day attempt at humor, which wasn?t very funny.
Here is an exchange from that blog where Crotalus, known affectionately by some of his detractors as ?Cro,? takes on some of those who have disagreed with him in the comments:
cb,
I don?t need to ask him as his actions (and others) speaks volumes. Obviously all the doom and gloom for the area is false. I?ve never even seen a 4?4 rental vehicle at the Exxon station and I pass by there daily. From where does he rent them?
anon,
The libel of NPS employees:
bob you know darn well the nps are to busy making whoope in their pick ups to chech any place else?.
http://forum.reddrumtackle.com/showthrea..
That was in a thread in which the NPS staff was also accused of ignoring the rest of the seashore and targeting a local business by only monitoring one area. Pure fantasy.
Piping Mad is Goebbelsian propaganda at its finest.
There?s factually inaccurate statements, or unsupported rhetoric in almost ever segment.
Maybe tomorrow if I feel like watching that [stuff] again, I?ll enumerate all of them for you. Better yet, just go to connections and read it there.
You?re right. I refused to be bullied and a victim and attack back, escalating the attack when appropriate, or not.
Personally, I think that Crotalus is a distraction from the very important issues at hand, and I wish readers would stick to those issues and stop taking on Cro, which he apparently really loves.
The more folks attack him, the more obnoxious he gets. As he says, he escalates ?the attack when appropriate, or not.?
But, like it or not, some beach access advocates have become fixated on the snake, wondering who he is and why he talks down to and lectures people as he does so often.
Speculation abounds about the identity of Crotalus and his agenda.
I?ve thought some of the guesses were amusing or outlandish, while a few have made some sense.
I refer to Crotalus as a ?he? or ?him.? I think the snake is a male. He has dropped little hints along the way. Once he referred to having been in the military. He is obviously one of our neighbors on Hatteras Island, who is very familiar with the community and the beach. He is knowledgeable, to a degree, about bird biology and loves showing us that he is a scientist of sorts.
Some think he is a National Park Service staff member ? or very close to one to someone on the park staff.
I will admit to being as curious as some others are, but I?m not sure why.
I?m not really fond of the online custom of ?screen names.? I prefer dealing with people who are willing to put their name where their mouth is. But I try to work with the system, as best I can, and remove comments only when the attacks are too personal, in bad taste, or border on libel.
I could block Crotalus? internet address, but that smacks of censorship.
He ought to be able to have his views out there ? if he could stop there.
I think it would be best if some of his detractors would stop egging him on, which has become a hugely popular game of one-upmanship and trading insults.
We could ignore him and maybe he will go away ? like an annoying little gnat.
On the other hand, if some of the guesses are correct, and Crotalus is a Park Service employee, that is a whole different ballgame.
There are ethical and conflict-of-interest concerns about a park employee mouthing off the way he does to other members of the community and handing out his science lectures.
Also, on some days ? even many days ? when the dialogue is hot and heavy on the blogs, Crotalus is online all the time, 24/7. Is he using his employer?s time to send out his lectures and smart-aleck comments?
I can?t imagine that his bosses would be pleased with that scenario.
It?s likely that we will never know the identity of the person who calls himself Crotalus. He has no incentive to reveal himself, and if others know his identity, they sure aren?t talking.
However, we can stop making him the focus of so much of our attention and keep the comments and debates to the matters that challenge our economy and the islands? lifestyle and cultural heritage.
So what do you think, Cro?
