Defensive writing is the straightforward consequence of increased exposure to assholes. While in real life assholes are marginalized, and mainstream discussions involve only reasonable people, Internet media enable assholes to masquerade as normal people (they hide behind an ordinary appearance, with little chance to know they will become irritating), increase their reach (they can pick on anyone, anywhere and at any time, rather than irritating a limited circle of acquaintances) and reduce social defenses against them (for instance, they can easily return with a pseudonym after being banned from a forum, which in itself is a much milder consequence for antisocial attitudes than, say, being beaten up or losing their job in real life).
The internet has made defensive writers of us all
171–180 of 186 posts
Re: The internet has made defensive writers of us all
#172Earlier quoted context omitted.
I also feel compelled to write about race issues. I don't write about them, though-- the issue is too poisoned to even approach if you aren't the correct race. I churn quietly instead.
There is no correct race, you just need to do your homework. Plenty of white people write about race. You just have to have a sound argument, based in actual study of race. If you're just going to regurgitate ancient stereotypes then yeah, people will criticize you. If you are unable to have a conversation about your views with a person of another race you probably haven't done enough homework yet. If you don't want…
The only response I've read that makes sense. I'm not anti-white people, I'm anti-"white supremacy" and institutional racism. I have plenty of white friends who know what the deal is, that's why I'm friends with them. For the rest, no amount of sophistication or refinement is going to mask your profound ignorance on the topic.
This is why there's a lot of avoidance of the topic. Frankly most people don't know what they are talking about. I frequent a forum that's filled with "PoC" and we have a lot of arguments in our ranks too.
Re: The internet has made defensive writers of us all
#173I feel compelled to write about race issues because I am a person of color. The issues directly impact my life. But I'm afraid because readers might be pissed off enough to get me fired. :/
And that sucks. We need you to share your experiences. We need to feel your struggles and understand them well enough to identify with them, and really internalize, "what if that were me?" When that happens, most of us respond with empathy and because we understand, support and activism to make it better and have one another's backs. Progress happens, and things get better. I believe in all of that deeply. I've paid…
Thanks for this. It is indeed very difficult for most people to identify with and internalize the struggles of those stuck in the margins of society. It takes concerted effort and is not something that comes easily to most people. That's why discussions are important.
Re: The internet has made defensive writers of us all
#174Earlier quoted context omitted.
And that sucks. We need you to share your experiences. We need to feel your struggles and understand them well enough to identify with them, and really internalize, "what if that were me?" When that happens, most of us respond with empathy and because we understand, support and activism to make it better and have one another's backs. Progress happens, and things get better. I believe in all of that deeply. I've paid…
Thanks for this. It is indeed very difficult for most people to identify with and internalize the struggles of those stuck in the margins of society. It takes concerted effort and is not something that comes easily to most people. That's why discussions are important.
Yeah. A lot of people don't want to either. Going there can often lead to questions about the self and character and other things... I went through that. Small town ignorance, married a wonderful woman who some how saw better in me, and a lot of introspection on car rides home to shake it.
Doing that hurts and it's scary, but it also rewards one with security and empathy needed to understand just how completely unacceptable bigotry, racism, etc... really are too.
The triggers for that so very often happen by another person, a target, sharing.
Re: The internet has made defensive writers of us all
#175Earlier quoted context omitted.
In what way are dogs smarter than (or equivalent to) babies? What value is there in such a statement: This dog is at least as smart as this baby? What does smart even mean?
Some dogs can be trained to herd sheep in a remarkably precise way, with just hand gestures and whistles to control them. There are plenty of people on this planet, born with mental defects, that would be incapable of learning to do this. Nevertheless, "People are smarter than dogs" is a usefully true statement, even whilst not being 100% correct. It certainly communicates the idea better than: "People, after having…
It seems like "smartness" is being defined as, "capable of being controlled by me, or someone like me"?
It just seems a bit selfish to me.
Re: The internet has made defensive writers of us all
#176Earlier quoted context omitted.
Is there a way to use comments as an editorial device? A wiki-like solution, combined with a MS-Word Track-changes features, where you can make changes, and leave comments and it all shows up on the same page? Like with the health care article example, the first 90% of that seems like pure fluff (when it isn't making a false or misleading or questionable statements), essentially padding added to a high-school report…
I have no idea if there is a way to use comments as an editorial device. Why do you think 90% seems like fluff? Based on comments on Metafilter where all I did was talk about DPC, I felt the background info was necessary. But I do hope to write a more professional version and I am in talks with a publication that may take it. So I am keenly interested in feedback. Thanks!
Here's a version that I commented on in Libre/Open Office (an *.odt file), but I assume you could probably open it in a modern version of MS-Office, and have the comments come through fine):
Re: The internet has made defensive writers of us all
#177So, about a week ago, I wrote a piece that I feel has a solid point and I posted it on Hacker News. It hit 39 karma and had 54 comments. Not impressive for Hacker News overall, but, hey, decent for my own personal blog's track record. The top voted comment on it is incredibly dismissive, completely dismissing my 6-ish years of college, more than 5 years working in insurance, etc. over one detail that wasn't thoroughl…
>You can't just turn the other cheek on everything.
On an unrelated note, here's a interesting note on "turning the other cheek"
Re: The internet has made defensive writers of us all
#178Earlier quoted context omitted.
Who's the mod on Twitter say? You will encounter people on there who actively choose to follow the opposite of that principle. That's what I mean by public.
Oh, I what you mean now. I too am afraid of the public Internet, and sincerely hope to never have to deal with it. For most of the time, even on Twitter the social network / filter bubble works, if you're not a celebrity. But I am afraid of saying anything non-PC there.
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Re: The internet has made defensive writers of us all
#179Earlier quoted context omitted.
Oh, I what you mean now. I too am afraid of the public Internet, and sincerely hope to never have to deal with it. For most of the time, even on Twitter the social network / filter bubble works, if you're not a celebrity. But I am afraid of saying anything non-PC there.
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I didn't want to know about that hashtag. Now that I know, I guess I'll be spending the evening reading Twitter and getting outraged. :(.
Re: The internet has made defensive writers of us all
#180Earlier quoted context omitted.
Oh, I what you mean now. I too am afraid of the public Internet, and sincerely hope to never have to deal with it. For most of the time, even on Twitter the social network / filter bubble works, if you're not a celebrity. But I am afraid of saying anything non-PC there.
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> trawl HN
No trawling needed. #hnwatch material is posted every day.