Everything You Know Is Wrong

Let me tell you. Sometimes, discussing politics can be a very dicey business. At times during my tenure of discussing such issues on various boards, I've been called a "liberal boy", a "Kerry-loving" individual, a "liberal", a "leftist touting garbage to clueless users", a "malcontent" and a "disruptive person". And then, you have to deal with the posters who feel they have to tell you about how to "debate properly" as well as "how to frame one's questions".

It takes a lot of fortitude to face posters who feel they have to chide you at every turn of the way.

And then, there are the days in which you feel (after being confronted and bombarded by such insensitive people) that everything you know and have thought about pertaining to these issues are wrong. It is as if all the learning and the reading that you've have done do not mean a damn thing. It even goes down to the point that they seem to make their point across generating fear from others not to cross them while you end up being the "bad guy" for finally saying a thing or two about what you think about a given situation.

I'm sure I'm not the first person who has felt this way even after contentous debates. I'm certainly not the last. But, there are sometimes that you wish that these certain posters would just go to charm school instead of being nasty. But of course, they don't need any lessons in manner. They're abrasive and rude. That's exactly who they are and how they are without any change.

Hell. I may be terse in my writing, but mama didn't raise a wolf. Sometimes, politeness is a cultivated art instead of something that is at least a general wish that everyone has. When you deal with a slew of rude people who feel they need to bully others, it makes you think that everyone is like that--especially in the realm of politics.

It's like what I related in my communications special. There are people who feel they need to announce their credentials in every step of the way. They seem to forget that in politics as well as other subject areas, that a learning curve exists in which people exchange information to develop new insights. And then, I think that sometimes the posters who fall into this realm are just poor listeners with bad people skills. I wonder if this is something that just a part of the Internet because you discuss things with virtual strangers on a given basis. Or, do the people who treat others rudely any given day in a forum do this actually in real life. In fact, it is a scary thought if they do.

However, there is a basic explaination where this behavior comes from. Blame it on how political discourse is framed not only by politicians but the MSM. The politics that is practices in the public eye is one that is confrontational, and often mistaken for true debate. Name-calling and mud-slinging are more the name of the game while true discussion is evaded. From the talk show pundits to the anchors in the media, the only way one can make their points is to shout them. The sad thing about this style of discussing such subject matter is for the public to mimick their abrasive habits whenever they carry these discussions with other people. It is as if to say that no one listens to the points of the other. Instead, one has to be shouted down in order to "win" the argument and the day. And because there is a lack of people in the media who can calmly discuss these issues, there aren't any good examples out there of people who are gracious and polite while exchanging intellectual insights.

It's not to say that there aren't any smart people out there. There are. But unfortunately, they're probably scared off by people who practice this style of discussing politics. And unfortunately, the people who do discuss politics in this way have such an inflated view of themselves that they often think that they determine where the line is drawn.

The main point here is that the subject matter of discussing politics has to be redefined. It's not enough to disguise passionate debate for deliberate abuse while exchanging insights. However, there needs to be a sense of gentility brought back into such discussions in order to make sure that everyone's voice is heard and that these points reach a wider audience without it being silenced.

Now, I know that I am not immune from being part of the "shouting style" of debate. After all, when I started out discussing politics, the first times someone did this to me, I wilted and retreated back. But after a while, one grows jaded and hard after being called names and derided on a general basis. It shouldn't have to be this way. But when you do fight back against the rude posters who don't give a damn, it's usually you that gets into trouble with the moderators while they skate off, smelling like roses.

That's why there are two things I go by whenever I go about my posting duties: 1)Don't mistake kindness for weakness; 2)Be assertive even in the face of being bombarded by these jerks. Their character will eventually affect others.

But then again, it goes back to the statement I've made in one of my first entries here: kindness is a bitch to some people.