Comic Discussion > QUESTIONABLE CONTENT
WCDT Strips 3281 to 3285 (8-12 August 2016)
TheEvilDog:
--- Quote from: Akima on 13 Aug 2016, 05:54 ---
--- Quote from: brasca on 12 Aug 2016, 11:49 ---Lashing out at people for their benign ignorance doesn't really you do any favors because either they will avoid you because they don't want you to take it the wrong way or they'll resent being scolded like a child and double down.
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I don't think there is such a thing as benign ignorance. That would mean that the ignorance is positively good.
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Oh I don't know. I kind of see benign ignorance as being similar to a benign tumour. Its not spreading like a malignant tumour, but its still a threat to the body because of the pressure on blood vessels or nerves. Just because its benign doesn't mean its not dangerous, just like ignorance.
Wilful ignorance, now that's what I see as being the more dangerous. Continuing to ignore what people are saying and their explanations as to why its hurtful and harmful to remain ignorant is, well, ignorant.
MooskiNet:
--- Quote from: Akima on 13 Aug 2016, 05:54 ---
--- Quote from: brasca on 12 Aug 2016, 11:49 ---Lashing out at people for their benign ignorance doesn't really you do any favors because either they will avoid you because they don't want you to take it the wrong way or they'll resent being scolded like a child and double down.
--- End quote ---
I don't think there is such a thing as benign ignorance. That would mean that the ignorance is positively good.
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Ignorance is neither bad nor good; it is indifferent. It's the empty space where you place knowledge if you're wise, and dogmatism if you're not.
As to it being harmful, pretty much anything can cause harm if used incorrectly. If you hurt someone, you can apologize and try to do better (regardless of whether the apology is accepted), or you can double down and defend your right to hurt someone. I've done both, and option one works much better.
Morituri:
It is damned annoying to read pages and pages devoted to people who annoy other people and people who are annoyed by them.
Most places would be a heck of a lot better if people just made an effort not to annoy other people. Way back in the wayback, there was an early internetwork post-forwarding system called FIDOnet, whose rules required that people "Be neither excessively annoying, nor too easily annoyed." That is an ideal for which, IMO, we should strive. Some of us need others to shut up about certain things in order to feel safe, and one of the things that needs to be safe is the ability to express those needs. Some of us (including me, apparently) have opinions that can offend other people, and need to remember that we lose little or nothing by shutting up about those opinions. I don't have to convince anyone else to think what I think. They can think what they want and that's fine. More than once I've written a post, decided it would create offense, and just not hit the "Post" button.
There are places and times to do something deliberately even when you know that someone will be upset; As John Adams said, "You can't have a revolution without offending somebody." Adams was trying to do something good for the world. There are times and places to challenge people's safety and make them confront issues and think; as Margaret Mitchell said "You should be offended, and often, by someone who knows how." She was explaining why she sought out people who would force her to examine and expand her own worldview; she was trying to broaden understanding. And there are times and places when the need to avoid offense becomes absolute; therapy for example cannot proceed if there isn't a completely nonjudgmental environment where people feel safe to express whatever they need to. It's a judgment call.
As far as I'm concerned the proper criteria to use is to always be trying to do as much good as possible while doing as little harm as required. Saying what you need in order to feel safe is a request among friends and fine. Trying to assert dominance over the form of communication used by others is stroking your own damn ego and worthless. Complaining about others making such requests while ignorant about the reality of their needs is, bluntly speaking, damned rude and should be actively avoided. Remember, the objective is to do good. Balance your needs against others' needs and try to find the way that's best.
So anyway, that's my opinion, but I'll loan it out to you if you like it.
hedgie:
--- Quote from: Morituri on 13 Aug 2016, 10:53 ---So anyway, that's my opinion, but I'll loan it out to you if you like it.
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Is it under the GPL?
Is it cold in here?:
--- Quote from: erin houdini ---If you make a mistake, accept being corrected gracefully, and move on.
You don't have to be terrified of accidentally offending someone. That just makes things awkward. If you make a mistake and dwell on it, that's even more awkward. Even worse is starting an argument defending ignorance or assuming you know better than someone with obviously more education and experience on an issue. Being corrected is ok, and it doesn't make you stupid or insensitive. Just learn, and move on.
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