1. This is why I don't take you seriously in the slightest.
An opening that is full of deprecation.
2. Everything is
black and white to you and there is no potential room for moderates.
By putting down Michael's judgement, you cast aspersions on his
opinion without examining it critically. Why do you think he sees
everything as black and white? You don't explain; you just cast the
stones.
3. Fine, you've got your cut and dried world view, please take it
somewhere where you don't run up against the very complicated and
greyscale actual world.
"You've got your cut and dried world view" - doesn't examine his
ideas; it simply puts him down as a person.
"Please take it somewhere where you don't run up against the very
complicated and greyscale actual world."
Come on, Judah - I did not read that as you rephrased it. To me, you
were saying "Take it off this list" - somewhere means anywhere but
here. As in you're saying, "Shut up!" to him. That is offensive!
4. One of my best friends in the world spent 2
years wandering from local town hall to local town hall in Afghanistan
trying to help convince people that they ought to grow something other
than opium poppies. And they did a surprisingly good job. And she, yes
"she", was dealt with by the men with big beards and a sometimes
hostile attitude. It is not a situation where everything is going to
be sweetness and light right away. But yes, there are moderate
elements and yes they balance religion with the needs of their people
and even with political reality. And you don't know shit for shit
Michael.
This part, though anecdotal, was actually where you started bringing
in any ideas other than "Michael, you're full of shit." And it would
have been much more effective without the last sentence, where you're
basically calling him an idiot who knows nothing.
5. She showed her eyes in public, she raised money for schools
for girls in Afghanistan. Is it a perfect system? Hell no. Far far
from it.
Okay.. so she did some good. She dealt with men who were hostile to
women. Does hostile with black beards mean Taliban? How that ties in
with the Taliban, I really don't know. And you haven't made that
clear, either.
6. But you? You know fuck all about the situation and are
spouting intolerant crap with no basis in reality. Give it a rest and
have a little respect for the people on the ground that are trying to
make a better future. Yes, with the moderates.
So here you end by again not dealing with any of Michael's ideas.
You're equating the Taliban with everyone in Afghanistan because your
friend actually did some good and was able to make some headway there.
Whether I agree with your argument or not, your final words cannot be
construed as anything but a personal attack on Michael. You are making
a comparison between your friend, who you feel is doing great work,
and Michael, who you feel is doing nothing but giving your friend
grief. "Give it a rest and have a little respect for the people on the
ground that are trying to make a better future. Yes, with the
moderates."
How can you not see that as a personal attack? There is nothing
constructive in the way you're saying this. Did you think there would
be any positive reaction to the words "You know fuck all about the
situation"?
LRS Scout did something similar to you by saying "See now I know you
don't know shit." That, too, was a personal attack. And every now and
then, we get so passionate about what we're saying that we speak from
the gut and these personal attacks slip in. But I honestly think that
they undermine our arguments. There's no need for them. And rather
than degrading the person we are attacking, they degrade us more.
Judith
On Mon, Mar 9, 2009 at 2:31 AM, Judah McAuley <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> Which part did you find disrespectful to the person instead of the
> opinion? I find his attacks on positions to be uniformly biased and I
> addressed them as such. But if I do not feel that I attacked him as a
> person. I'm happy to listen to your critiques.
>
> Judah
>
> On Sun, Mar 8, 2009 at 11:20 PM, Judith Dinowitz
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>> Judah,
>>
>> The problem isn't that you disagree. It's how you speak to Michael.
>> You speak with a great deal of disrespect and are personally attacking
>> him. You could have made your point, and much more effectively,
>> without cutting into him that way. For example, the way you just
>> expressed yourself was a lot better than your original post and a lot
>> less off-putting.
>>
>> Judith
>
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