Saying the same thing from opposite sides

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It doesn't happen as much as it used to, but there was a time when I lept into online arguments with both feet and fists swinging. Now I have much better things to do with my time, such as write this blog, wash my hair, shoot feral cats and make coon jerky.

It wears ammo. I shoot ammo. And things like this.

A major reason I quit is because finding someone who is intelligent enough to debate is hard to do. Most people insult me instead of attacking my argument.

By my rules, I win that argument. As my rules are the only rules that count, I win yet again.

Engaging in a war of insults over an intellectual issue is ... well, to explain succinctly, I'd have to lower myself to the level of the insulters. I don't have a problem in doing that from time to time (see image at right), but not here and now.

Which brings me to today's topic du jour.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/12/atheists-hijack-christmas-nativity-display-in-santa-monica-critics-say.html

Lemme slap to telling quotes on you:

"Their goal is getting rid of us, and squelching our 1st Amendment rights," said Hunter Jameson, 65, who no longer lives in Santa Monica but still worships at Lighthouse Church of Santa Monica.

and

The SCDM - Talent on loan from Thor.

"It's littering — literally, littering — these spaces," Gaylor said of such displays, which she said are a "territorial attempt by Christians to impose their beliefs in this season."

Stick these two comments into my patented and trademarked Semantic Content Distillation Machine. The result is they both say the exact same thing. Both sides insult the other in the exact same way.

If the references to religion were excised from both comments, you'd not know which side said what comment.

I admit these two comments pulled from a larger story are also comments from a much more extensive commentary from the two speakers. But it's what I have to work with. I suspect the two comments are extremely representative of the overall thoughts expressed by both sides.

Rather than engage on the real issue here, both sides decided to let matters degenerate to hurled invectives.


As my longtime bud Tom said on FB where I posted the link originally - Fortunately for everyone concerned, the totalitarians on both sides of the political coin have not yet deprived us of the ability to debate the merits, or lack of same, of these sorts of issues. Just keep it civil, sez I, and no gouging, tweeking or throwing of heavy objects. While that might make it more lively for some, you could put an eye out and lose your depth perception.

Well said Tom. But I wonder if maybe "an eye for an eye" might work best for these people. If they reduce themselves to being blind, mute and deaf, then maybe people who can reason will be able to impose some rationality on the scene.


And, since you are wondering what's my opinion of the Christmas scenes, I like the lottery system. That the atheists "won" several of the slots this year for their display, I like as well. Everyone deserves to have their say, even the people who can only debate via insults. Whether you and I agree is irrelevant.