A friend posted a sign on FB. It said:
"JUST BECAUSE YOU ARE OFFENDED . DOESN'T MEAN YOU ARE RIGHT"
Me being the smart a** I can be and since the poster has a history of posting conservative, gun rights , Dr Seuss, etc memes. My comment in response was.
It seems this deserves a corollary. "JUST BECAUSE YOUR WORDS, ACTIONS OR BELIEFS ARE OFFENSIVE, DOESN'T MEAN YOU ARE RIGHT"
Needless to say, my attempt at humor fell flat and drew questioning comments. And I hate trying to explain a joke, though I should be used to this since often my jokes are "unique". So here was my attempt...
So you believe that if you are doing or saying something that is offensive to someone else... That is proof that you are correct? A lot of folks like to post offensive things on FB, and a lot of people are easy to offend... I simply don't think either is a measure of their accuracy and correctness. 😮
Assuming you are conservative, and you find the image below offensive or at least inaccurate. (just guessing) Just because I posted it and you are offended / disagree. Does that make it correct? I don't think so.
My concern is that in America a lot of people post outlandish things and then if someone takes offense. They seem to take that as proof that they were correct, and then they double down and become defensive.
Apparently the commenter must have found the image offensive, because instead of replying regarding my concern / question... He proceeded to insult my previous grammar and complain about Biden's press conference / speech. So I just answered.
I did not create the sign wording... I just copied it with a slight twist. It seems this deserves a corollary. "Just because your words, actions or beliefs are offensive. "Doesn't mean you are right. " 🙂 🙂 Did you like the latest version better? JUST BECAUSE YOU YOU ARE OFFENDED OR OFFENSIVE DOESN'T MEAN YOU ARE RIGHT.
By the way, I grabbed the comic at random, it was not meant to imply anything about you or your previous comment. It was just a random example. I apologize if you were offended. I did not watch the Biden press conference, he was better than the alternative.... But I prefer fiscal conservative politicians. Have a great weekend !!!
After this exchange, I am wondering if people posting political things on FB reinforces their beliefs like confirmation bias. Kind of like when people make statements in public and most polite company does not challenge them. I know a few people who do this and they would swear that everyone in the room shared their views. They are totally not watching the non-verbals of people who visibly disagree with them.
And with FB it is even worse because the unaware oblivious opinionated folks usually unfriend dissimilar voices. Thankfully I still have a few highly opinionated folks on FB who share some crazy stuff, and are tolerant of my typical questions, facts, etc. And sometimes I get one of their other conservative friends to enter into a dialogue. Usually it does not go anywhere, but some dialogue is better than ZERO.
7 comments:
A lot of people in debates try to be offensive. I have been frequently insulted, often in very terms. I just try to ignore that stuff. What I try to avoid is any sense that any criticism I make of what someone else says is an attack on their right to say it. Free speech does not include with it, the right to be listened to, or any sor of right to be taken seriously or not to be ridiculed. Each of us does have the right to offend, but none of us has a right to be exempt from the consequencs of being offensive.
--Hiram
"Each of us does have the right to offend, but none of us has a right to be exempt from the consequences of being offensive."
That is some true wisdom. And yet now days there do seem to be a lot of overly sensitive and vindictive folks out there. It is a challenging time.
I don't generally do bans for political reasons, and I hope others don't as well. My doctor is a right wing nut case, when in airports I eat Chik-Fil-A, and I am a huge Clint Eastwood fan. But I also know the first amendment applies to governments, not individuals. I know as protected as racist views are, it is perfectly understandable that people don't want to be in business with racists. One of the brutal realities of our constitution is that the freedom of press belongs to the people who own the presses, not the people who write for them.
--HIram
My view is that I have a low tolerance for stupidity in any form, and if I am offended by such, I tend to say so. Now if the person takes offense at my reply, it becomes THEIR problem. I have learned long ago that you cannot have a civil debate with someone who believes you morally and intellectually inferior, or worse. Which seems to be the dominant form of "discussion" these days.
Lots of people voted for a guy for president who thinks Obama was born in Kenya. What am I supposed to think about people who would do that?
==Hiram
Jerry,
Now I know why it is so hard to have a productive dialogue with you... Since you seem to think everyone is intellectually and/or morally inferior to yourself. :-) :-) :-)
"I have learned long ago that you cannot have a civil debate with someone who believes you morally and intellectually inferior, or worse. "
I mean you even think you are an expert in infectious disease transmission. Who needs the real experts? We have Jerry. :-)
That they were smarter than everyone else, high information voters in Rush's terms was something conservatives loved to claim before misidentifying Trump as a successful businessman. It was something that receded from our national discourse during the Trump years when it became evident to them what was always obvious to all, that they had chosen an incompetent for president. But now that Trump, the we are smarter than you, notion is returning along with a need to give compulsive lip service to concerns about deficit spending.
--Hiram
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