It’s fine to not care about what other people think and engage with the other person in a discussion. Even then, there can still be value in our arguments for the other people on this website with us. Our discourse can be useful.
As far this Onion video, we should engage in the relentless pursuit of the truth regardless of other people’s opinions real or imagined. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be grateful when someone is arguing for equality.
The conversations we are having on this public comment section are of course public. This can be observed by the fact that people jump in at different points of the comment chains in this comment section. Not to mention the fact we are having a meta discussion about the discussions. Also, most instances have some form of voting in their default views. So the audience is real.
What I find to be the common misconception is that because we are having this discussion over an artificial medium that somehow cheapens the discourse. However, this is a real discussion with real people about a topic that affects real people.
A primary goal should be to educate people. There’s no reason why the discussion can’t be entertaining. Usually this shouldn’t be at anyone’s expense, however we shouldn’t tolerate intolerant people. The far-right have seen the internet as a serious means of communication and are using it as a way to spread their ideology to devastating effect. Making fun of these intolerant people is a necessary step to preventing the spread of disinformation. But making the argument on its own is great too.
I don’t have the time or the energy to reply to every incorrect take or argument I see on the internet. And I typically read more than I write. That’s probably true of most internet users. So I appreciate it when I see other people pushing back against intolerant ideologies. Especially in this case, where the bad faith was so explicitly apparent. No one person could fight back against the right-wing infosphere by themselves. Defeating intolerant ideologies and educating people is a group effort.
Is a rat’s tail like a monkey’s paw?
Also, I lost track of your username. I thought I was arguing with another person in this chain. So anyway, thanks again! =)
It’s fine to not care about what other people think and engage with the other person in a discussion. Even then, there can still be value in our arguments for the other people on this website with us. Our discourse can be useful.
As far this Onion video, we should engage in the relentless pursuit of the truth regardless of other people’s opinions real or imagined. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be grateful when someone is arguing for equality.
The conversations we are having on this public comment section are of course public. This can be observed by the fact that people jump in at different points of the comment chains in this comment section. Not to mention the fact we are having a meta discussion about the discussions. Also, most instances have some form of voting in their default views. So the audience is real.
What I find to be the common misconception is that because we are having this discussion over an artificial medium that somehow cheapens the discourse. However, this is a real discussion with real people about a topic that affects real people.
A primary goal should be to educate people. There’s no reason why the discussion can’t be entertaining. Usually this shouldn’t be at anyone’s expense, however we shouldn’t tolerate intolerant people. The far-right have seen the internet as a serious means of communication and are using it as a way to spread their ideology to devastating effect. Making fun of these intolerant people is a necessary step to preventing the spread of disinformation. But making the argument on its own is great too.
I don’t have the time or the energy to reply to every incorrect take or argument I see on the internet. And I typically read more than I write. That’s probably true of most internet users. So I appreciate it when I see other people pushing back against intolerant ideologies. Especially in this case, where the bad faith was so explicitly apparent. No one person could fight back against the right-wing infosphere by themselves. Defeating intolerant ideologies and educating people is a group effort.
Is a rat’s tail like a monkey’s paw?
Also, I lost track of your username. I thought I was arguing with another person in this chain. So anyway, thanks again! =)