From: Olga Bourlin (fauxever@sprynet.com)
Date: Fri Jul 25 2003 - 00:33:26 MDT
From: "Damien Broderick" <damienb@unimelb.edu.au>
> At 05:04 PM 7/24/03 +0200, JDP <jacques@dtext.com> wrote:
>
> >You know, it's really like in a family. Someone says something, and
> >the mother says: "Don't say that!"
>
> >I am sure it was common in the ancestral tribe, too.
>
> >See how Damien recently reacted to a suggestion by Robert :-)
>
> I'm not anyone's mother. My capital letter bark at Robert when he raised
> nuclear genocide as a possible rational and *morally preferable* option
was
> the revolted reaction of a friend who, out of politeness, did not wish to
> say publicly what Eliezer said: `Are you autistic?'
There's a lot of philosophizing, esoteric dialogue and parading one's
intellectual assets on this list, but sometimes the forest of people behind
the minutiae trees gets lost. Anders, Damien, JeffDavis and Eliezer are
some of the strong winds (and you thought they called the winds Mariah) who
have enough integrity, strength and courage to blow the bark off the
minutiae trees, at times, to reveal what is really in the woods: "It's the
people, stupid."
> This is tricky, because I like Robert, he has been generous in his support
> of me, I've learned a lot from his published papers, and any apt analogy I
> might offer is bound to be offensive. But still, here's the analogy that
> springs to mind: you're all sitting around in the bar, various groups
> conversing or singing at various pitches of intimacy or boisterousness,
and
> someone known to the company comes in and starts spraying one wall, using
> liquid excrement, with words such as HOW ABOUT LYNCHING ALL
THE ---------?.
> Do freedom-loving folks smile, grimace, shrug, and turn back to their
> drinks? Do they invite him over, still reeking, and begin a reasoned
> discussion about how best to lynch all the -------, some judiciously
> raising the alternative position that perhaps it might be preferable, all
> costs and benefits taken into account, *not* to kill all the -------?
I salute Damien's courage to express (and in such a caring way) what needed
to be said. Many people seem to confuse respecting one's right to free
speech and to hold certain views with respecting (necessarily) those views.
If the Emperor has no clothes (and looks to be missing some other major
assets), we should not be afraid to say it. In fact, it's our duty ...
Olga
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