[lbo-talk] Civility, niceness, challenges and harassment

// ravi ravi at platosbeard.org
Mon Jul 4 16:37:46 PDT 2011


On Jul 4, 2011, at 5:49 PM, Dennis Claxton wrote:
> At 11:45 AM 7/4/2011, lbo83235 wrote:
>
>> I'd personally appreciate greater caution, particularly given the petty disrespectfulness of the message you mistakenly posted. Please try harder to keep that out of my face.
>
>
> "let's be civil and nice, but not to the point of obeying the rules of debate as defined by liberal blackmail (in which, discomfort caused by a challenge is seen as some vague form of harassment)."
>
> -- Dwayne Monroe, 11/19/08
>

So, where lies the point crossing which one is obeying the rules of debate as defined by liberal blackmail? Is it at the point where “discomfort caused by a challenge is seen as … harassment”? I understand that to mean something like this: someone says something, makes a claim of some sort. S/he is challenged to produce the evidence, or offer justification. And the claimant cries foul and harassment. Is that about right? If so, that seems a pretty fair idea.

But then there are all sorts of challenges. I would argue that (especially in the absence of formal procedures) “civil and nice” is how we distinguish the substantive and productive ones from mere bravado.

—ravi



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