From: Lee Corbin (lcorbin@tsoft.com)
Date: Wed May 14 2003 - 22:06:59 MDT
Charles writes
> Thus those who refused to fit into the pacifist/militarist
> dichotomy left the discussion [of war related themes]. (So
> did most of the pacifists, as being out shouted isn't a
> pleasant experience
I'm having a hard time relating to what you are trying to
convey here. Of course, one cannot be literally out-shouted,
(the way that a speaker can at Berkeley). So let me try to
guess (just to save time).
I do notice that if I believe X and suddenly there are a
large number of posts claiming ~X, and the claims merely
repeat old arguments I've heard before, or betray a
revealing mindset (e.g. luddism), then it's uncomfortable
knowing which, if any, to respond to.
So what could be the reasons for this discomfort. I can
think of, given that I wish to spend only so much time and
effort writing posts
(a) failure to address all the points made may leave the
impression that I agree with those points
(b) those posts I single out may be written by people who
subsequently demand *particular* replies to them for
questions they have or further points they make
But beyond these two, I have been unable to come up with
anything. Why else would one feel "shouted down"?
> ...and if you don't really enjoy shouting back, it isn't
> worth the effort... nobody is listening to what you say
> anyway.)
Well, in the first place, I seldom characterize my *own*
posts as "shouting", but to each his own ;-)
In the second place, presumably others who feel just as I
do appreciate even more my speaking up. So this simply is
not logical.
> And it turned into a bunch of militarists arguing over
> details of why the whole thing was right and proper.
Up to this point, your remarks addressed a phenomenon.
But now perhaps even this new thread will probably revert
to exactly the kind of discussion that you feel you are
being shouted down in.
> Nobody had changed their opinion, but the loudest voices
> had clearly dominated the thread, and that proved that
> their views were correct.
Of course, you are being ironic here, but still, for some
reason I, although impressed by uniformity, nonetheless
often stubbornly persist in my own views anyway. When this
happens, of course, one has to re-examine one's views to
wonder just why one has an "unusual" view, but often
convincing explanations surface.
Lee
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