Fair and Reasoned Debate
I'm not ranting. Really, I'm not. However, I feel compelled to write about the need for fair and reasoned debate. And politeness. Can't leave that out.
You may be asking yourself what brought this on. Good question, mes amis. Here's the answer: I was visiting a friend's blog, and was about to comment on one of his posts. When I arrived at the comments for the post in question, I saw:
You are [a] censoring fool. [some deleted] Your site sucks. Was I too liberal? Was I too smart? Was I too indicting? Was I too profane? Was I too honest? Was I too disagreeable? [some more deleted] I'm never coming back to read your crap....after all it's only for those who wholeheartedly support what you say, right?
Now, I fully sympathize with Anonymous's anger at having a post deleted. That always hurts. However, just look at the comments - "Your site sucks. I'm never coming back to read your crap..." How infantile can you get? Why not just hold your breath until you turn blue? Do you think anyone in the blogosphere really cares, Anonymous?
What really invoked my ire is that the poster in question called attention to his own liberal status. I, too, am considered liberal. I'm piqued by the fact that, through his own juvenile behavior, Anonymous has tarred all liberals with his childish brush. He degenerated to name-calling and schoolyard taunts. How civilized does that make the rest of us (i.e., liberals) look? It only reinforces the conservatives' low opinions of us and validates some of the criticisms of our most vocal critics (Coulter, O'Reilly, and Malkin, oh my!).
And whatever happened to manners? I was taught that if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all. I do, occasionally, indulge in what Éligère refers to as a "coup de snark," but not when I expect someone to take what I say seriously. That is the nub, the gist, the rub of what I am saying: if you want people to take you seriously, you have to speak like a reasoned and intelligent adult. You don't call people names because you disagree with them. That doesn't support your position, it merely vents your spleen. It doesn't make you look intelligent - quite the opposite: it shows that you have nothing better to say. Make your snarky comments about things that don't matter - Paris Hilton, Oscar fashions, or the OC.
Until you broaden your vocabulary, spare us all from your immature diatribes.
You may be asking yourself what brought this on. Good question, mes amis. Here's the answer: I was visiting a friend's blog, and was about to comment on one of his posts. When I arrived at the comments for the post in question, I saw:
You are [a] censoring fool. [some deleted] Your site sucks. Was I too liberal? Was I too smart? Was I too indicting? Was I too profane? Was I too honest? Was I too disagreeable? [some more deleted] I'm never coming back to read your crap....after all it's only for those who wholeheartedly support what you say, right?
Now, I fully sympathize with Anonymous's anger at having a post deleted. That always hurts. However, just look at the comments - "Your site sucks. I'm never coming back to read your crap..." How infantile can you get? Why not just hold your breath until you turn blue? Do you think anyone in the blogosphere really cares, Anonymous?
What really invoked my ire is that the poster in question called attention to his own liberal status. I, too, am considered liberal. I'm piqued by the fact that, through his own juvenile behavior, Anonymous has tarred all liberals with his childish brush. He degenerated to name-calling and schoolyard taunts. How civilized does that make the rest of us (i.e., liberals) look? It only reinforces the conservatives' low opinions of us and validates some of the criticisms of our most vocal critics (Coulter, O'Reilly, and Malkin, oh my!).
And whatever happened to manners? I was taught that if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all. I do, occasionally, indulge in what Éligère refers to as a "coup de snark," but not when I expect someone to take what I say seriously. That is the nub, the gist, the rub of what I am saying: if you want people to take you seriously, you have to speak like a reasoned and intelligent adult. You don't call people names because you disagree with them. That doesn't support your position, it merely vents your spleen. It doesn't make you look intelligent - quite the opposite: it shows that you have nothing better to say. Make your snarky comments about things that don't matter - Paris Hilton, Oscar fashions, or the OC.
Until you broaden your vocabulary, spare us all from your immature diatribes.
posted by Peevish McSnark at
10:10 AM
4 Comments:
actually, bloggers who delete deserve some derision. if you're gonna do it, at the very least, it should only be to enforce pre-established ground rules. (i was once banned by a site that had such rules, but the banning violated the express terms of those rules. my main crime was disagreeing with the poster) deleting and banning is really just a sign that your own argument is weak.
but you're right that anon's response post was pretty stupid too. the best response to a deleted comment is a well-reasoned response.
and i am tickled by the fact that you're linking to my buddy eligere.
By
upyernoz, At
11:27 AM
While I don't know Eligere personally, I have greatly enjoyed her blog. She's on my blogroll, too.
By
Peevish McSnark, At
4:06 PM
dave, you're right. you did mention accidental deletions on your site. i actually saw that before but didn't think of it when i wrote the above comment. i'm sorry to imply you had done anything wrong
bronwen, i know you don't know E personally. we talked about you tuesday night at drinking liberally in philly (which, i might add, is not all that far away from you--we're there every tuesday)
by the way, i'm going to see your ex-crush this weekend
By
upyernoz, At
11:01 PM
I do hate when, in online political discussions, liberals start pointless and radicalist arguments that go nowhere and only serve to make us all look bad.
By
The Singing Butler, At
7:39 PM
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