Why is beating others over the head so attractive?

[wmw999 2,588]

Seems like half of the arguments consist of people beating each other over the head.
"you don't agree with me 100% so you're wrong wrong wrong, you're stupid, and your dog is probably ugly"

No one likes a bully (go read the "bully ownage" thread in Bonfire ). And you gotta give a discussion somewhere to go (reference a previous "meep meep" post
Wendy P.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[rehmwa 2]

Quote

Seems like half of the arguments consist of people beating each other over the head.
"you don't agree with me 100% so you're wrong wrong wrong, you're stupid, and your dog is probably ugly"

No one likes a bully (go read the "bully ownage" thread in Bonfire ). And you gotta give a discussion somewhere to go (reference a previous "meep meep" post
Wendy P.

it doesn't take any effort

Speaker's Corner is the McDonald's of debate - fast, stupid, easy, and very harmful to those that partake

...
Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

[lawrocket 3]

Well, "Shut your mouth and open your mind" has been a phrase used with regularity over the last 40 or 50 years. And when someone refuses to open their mind, then clearly a blunt force craniotomy will not only open another's mind, but will also definitely leave that person silenced.


In all seriousness, open dialogue and understanding are rarer things than most would realize. The people I respect are the ones who CAN do it (like you and billvon). Next in line are those who can't do it but are at least honest enough to admit that they can't or won't.

But beating someone over the head is more attractive because it's easier to do than actually setting an ego aside and trying to get some insight as to where the other person is coming from. Nobody ever likes to be wrong.

For some reading material on th esubject, take a look at Plato's Republic. Specifically, the allegory of the cave. Socrates discussed that the person who is drawn up from the cave may be resistant to the idea that his whole idea of reality is but a portion of reality. Indeed, the person would be resistant to the idea and would want to return to the cave. Socrates himself said that the prisoners in the cave would probably try to kill the person leading them to enlightenment.

It's human nature. Socrates got it. Plato got it. It's unfortunate, in my opinion, that we seem to feel that we are so enlightened as humans that we should have moved beyond it by now to a point of mutual understanding. We haven't. We aren't even close. And I think that those advocates of a human understanding are really creating their own caves - they have their ideas and everything and everybody will be grouped in to match them.

I'm no better at it than anyone. I know my limitations. I know the limitations of others. Try as I might I will not be changing everybody's minds on everything. Try as I might my mind will not be changed on everything.

"Try as I might." I keep on trying. What's that say when I admit that it's probably a fool's errand?

My wife is hotter than your wife.

[maadmax 0]

Quote

Seems like half of the arguments consist of people beating each other over the head.
"you don't agree with me 100% so you're wrong wrong wrong, you're stupid, and your dog is probably ugly"

No one likes a bully (go read the "bully ownage" thread in Bonfire ). And you gotta give a discussion somewhere to go (reference a previous "meep meep" post
Wendy P.

It may be a smoke screen to hide one's doubts and insecurities about what ever subject is being discussed.


...

[RonD1120 62]

Quote

Quote

Seems like half of the arguments consist of people beating each other over the head.
"you don't agree with me 100% so you're wrong wrong wrong, you're stupid, and your dog is probably ugly"

No one likes a bully (go read the "bully ownage" thread in Bonfire ). And you gotta give a discussion somewhere to go (reference a previous "meep meep" post
Wendy P.

it doesn't take any effort

Speaker's Corner is the McDonald's of debate - fast, stupid, easy, and very harmful to those that partake

Well stated. I came here 2 years ago with the sole purpose of posting positive Christian messages. I thought maybe one a week would be an easy goal and would stimulate my Scriptural research and study. My first post was attacked so viciously it made my heart pound. So, I changed my goal.

I decided I would use SC as my personal channel for growth and therapy. That path has many, many options for me.

Look for the shiny things of God revealed by the Holy Spirit. They only last for an instant but it is a Holy Instant. Let your soul absorb them.

[Shotgun 1]

Quote

Speaker's Corner is the McDonald's of debate - fast, stupid, easy, and very harmful to those that partake

The key is to purge after the binge.

And I think you might be insulting the word "debate."

[Andy9o8 2]

Quote

Why is beating others over the head so attractive?

Well, I can tell you that whenever I have satisfying fantasies of beating the living shit out of someone, it's usually the head I go after. So, I guess it's human nature.

[Gravitymaster 0]

Quote

Quote

Seems like half of the arguments consist of people beating each other over the head.
"you don't agree with me 100% so you're wrong wrong wrong, you're stupid, and your dog is probably ugly"

No one likes a bully (go read the "bully ownage" thread in Bonfire ). And you gotta give a discussion somewhere to go (reference a previous "meep meep" post
Wendy P.

it doesn't take any effort

Speaker's Corner is the McDonald's of debate - fast, stupid, easy, and very harmful to those that partake

Exactly, so why do some try and make it out to be something it isn't? Or even to change it into something it isn't? This isn't the College Debate Club.

[wmw999 2,588]

I'm sorry, I'd rather be with people who try to find things out. I have just as much right to try to make it that way, as others have to bring it down to the lowest common denominator.

Wendy P.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[rehmwa 2]

Quote

I'm sorry, I'd rather be with people who try to find things out. I have just as much right to try to make it that way, as others have to bring it down to the lowest common denominator.

see, with comments like that, it's obvious you don't respect the downtrodden people that society has overlooked

...
Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

[livendive 8]

Quote

Quote

Seems like half of the arguments consist of people beating each other over the head.
"you don't agree with me 100% so you're wrong wrong wrong, you're stupid, and your dog is probably ugly"

No one likes a bully (go read the "bully ownage" thread in Bonfire ). And you gotta give a discussion somewhere to go (reference a previous "meep meep" post
Wendy P.

it doesn't take any effort

Speaker's Corner is the McDonald's of debate - fast, stupid, easy, and very harmful to those that partake

I don't find it harmful. I wander in, make fun of a couple of the especially retarded arguments, and then wander back out. Theoretically, I imagine the proponents of those arguments could get their feelers hurt by being proven so horribly wrong, but most of the time they seem blissfully ignorant of their defeat.

Blues,
Dave

"I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!"
(drink Mountain Dew)

[popsjumper 2]

Quote

Speaker's Corner is the McDonald's of debate - fast, stupid, easy, and very harmful to those that partake

Exactly, so why do some try and make it out to be something it isn't? Or even to change it into something it isn't? This isn't the College Debate Club.

Well, it took me a while but i finally got it about SC.

There's extremely little discussion and very little debate. It's all about arguments.

There are few in there who even have a clue on just what a discussion is and how to conduct one. Throw in the concept of debate and they're totally lost.

BUT! However, they got arguing down pat...rock-solid pat!


So, lately I was putting in comments for both sides of the issue thinking that those who are arguing would see that there is more than one way to see and perceive any situation.

Boy did THAT ever backfire!


G-master is correct...why try to make it out to be something it isn't. I'm just dipping in like Dave, tweaking a few noses and watching the carnage.

Funny part is that most, by far, never even realize that their nose got tweaked!

My reality and yours are quite different.
I think we're all Bozos on this bus.
Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239

[popsjumper 2]

Because it feels so damned good and it's good exercise!

My reality and yours are quite different.
I think we're all Bozos on this bus.
Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239

[rehmwa 2]

Quote

I'm just dipping in like Dave, tweaking a few noses and watching the carnage.

Funny part is that most, by far, never even realize that their nose got tweaked!

would you guys stop giving away the cool part of it? if everybody knows, then it stops being so much fun.




Hey simpletons - pay no attention to the man behind the curtain - did you know that GEORGE BUSH steals baked beans from minority poor children?

...
Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

[lawrocket 3]

Actually, driving is a three dimensional activity. You've got your x and y axes, which count for two. Then you've got time - which is the third dimension applicable. I won't count the z axis because there is not much individual control of that - a car follows the surface.

Parking could be considered a one-dimensional activity. It stays at a single point without moving (relative to the ground upon which it's parked) but there is still time.

Just saying...

My wife is hotter than your wife.

[billvon 3,118]

>Parking could be considered a one-dimensional activity.

And yet so many people can't pull it off . . . .

[nigel99 617]

Quote

Quote

Seems like half of the arguments consist of people beating each other over the head.
"you don't agree with me 100% so you're wrong wrong wrong, you're stupid, and your dog is probably ugly"

No one likes a bully (go read the "bully ownage" thread in Bonfire ). And you gotta give a discussion somewhere to go (reference a previous "meep meep" post
Wendy P.

it doesn't take any effort

Speaker's Corner is the McDonald's of debate - fast, stupid, easy, and very harmful to those that partake

I really like that description - it is fantastic.

Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

[lawrocket 3]

Quote

>Parking could be considered a one-dimensional activity.

And yet so many people can't pull it off . . . .

And yet, when the cracker in the 74 Chevy pickup with a gun rack behind the seat and the bumper sticker that says "Guns don't kill people - I do" takes up two spaces, we just let it slide.

My wife is hotter than your wife.

[rehmwa 2]

Quote

Parking could be considered a one-dimensional activity. It stays at a single point without moving (relative to the ground upon which it's parked) but there is still time. ...

clearly you hate one dimensional people that have the right to travel along a line since you propose they sit and don't move at some point in a constricted zero dimensional space

as far as a Y-axis for an operation that lives primarily on a line - ... you spend a lot of time cruising salt flats and parking lots? I bet you do. the rest of us drive on roads

and don't even get me going on your complete miss trying to define time as a physical dimension - how amazingly sophomoric - maybe you should write children's science fiction - you have a future in it.

your dog must be ugly - typical for an anti-dimensionist -

...
Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

[champu 1]

Quote

I have just as much right to try to make it that way, as others have to bring it down to the lowest common denominator.

Wendy P.

Well, you have my regards for trying.

[Gravitymaster 0]

Quote

Quote

Speaker's Corner is the McDonald's of debate - fast, stupid, easy, and very harmful to those that partake

Exactly, so why do some try and make it out to be something it isn't? Or even to change it into something it isn't? This isn't the College Debate Club.

Well, it took me a while but i finally got it about SC.

There's extremely little discussion and very little debate. It's all about arguments.

There are few in there who even have a clue on just what a discussion is and how to conduct one. Throw in the concept of debate and they're totally lost.

BUT! However, they got arguing down pat...rock-solid pat!


So, lately I was putting in comments for both sides of the issue thinking that those who are arguing would see that there is more than one way to see and perceive any situation.

Boy did THAT ever backfire!


G-master is correct...why try to make it out to be something it isn't. I'm just dipping in like Dave, tweaking a few noses and watching the carnage.

Funny part is that most, by far, never even realize that their nose got tweaked!

Now here's a man who gets it. I mean come on people, do you really take an obscure site filled with Skydivers seriously? If this was a site full of skateboarders, how serious would you take what is discussed? What really funny is the anal ones who consider this site a big part of their life. Time to take a step back if you find yourself getting an attitude towards other posters.

[kallend 2,148]

Quote

Quote

Parking could be considered a one-dimensional activity. It stays at a single point without moving (relative to the ground upon which it's parked) but there is still time. ...

clearly you hate one dimensional people that have the right to travel along a line since you propose they sit and don't move at some point in a constricted zero dimensional space

as far as a Y-axis for an operation that lives primarily on a line - ... you spend a lot of time cruising salt flats and parking lots? I bet you do. the rest of us drive on roads

and don't even get me going on your complete miss trying to define time as a physical dimension - how amazingly sophomoric - maybe you should write children's science fiction - you have a future in it.

your dog must be ugly - typical for an anti-dimensionist -

Did you ever read "Flatland"?

It's a classic of sorts, mostly among math geeks.

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[jgoose71 0]

Quote

I'm sorry, I'd rather be with people who try to find things out. I have just as much right to try to make it that way, as others have to bring it down to the lowest common denominator.

Wendy P.

I've made a couple of posts trying to find info for my own knowledge here and I got some informative replies, but I also got a lot of "Neener, neener boo, boo, stick your head in do-do. You are obviously stupid, why are you even here?" responses.

I contribute it to 2 things.

1. There are a lot of people out there who come to the internet looking to make them feel better about there own inadequacies, probably because they get picked on all day when they have to step away from the computer to take care of real life.

2. A lot of species will kill a member of there group who show signs of weakness or being sick to keep from attracting predators. As enlightened as we claim to be, most people will still behave like animals.

"There is an art, it says, or, rather, a knack to flying. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss."
Life, the Universe, and Everything

[RonD1120 62]

Quote

I've made a couple of posts trying to find info for my own knowledge here and I got some informative replies, but I also got a lot of "Neener, neener boo, boo, stick your head in do-do. You are obviously stupid, why are you even here?" responses.

I contribute it to 2 things.

1. There are a lot of people out there who come to the internet looking to make them feel better about there own inadequacies, probably because they get picked on all day when they have to step away from the computer to take care of real life.

2. A lot of species will kill a member of there group who show signs of weakness or being sick to keep from attracting predators. As enlightened as we claim to be, most people will still behave like animals.

Astute observation, I believe you are right on target.

Back in the 60's, sport parachutists tended to ridicule everyone who wasn't a parachutist. It came from the military saying, "If you ain't airborne, you ain't shit." Some actually tried to pick bar fights based on this philosophy.

Now the sport has grown and we are more civilized so we are cruel to each other. But, you know what? It is not just us.

I went to work in the social services field believing it was a helping profession. It is an illusion of help. I have witnessed and experienced unimaginable mental cruelty exhibited by "professional" leadership.

To some degree we are all "cupcakes" and, we have to learn to "suck it up." That is, if we are going to survive the zeitgeist.

All we need is one true friend to help us stay on track. I pray that each of you find him/her.

Look for the shiny things of God revealed by the Holy Spirit. They only last for an instant but it is a Holy Instant. Let your soul absorb them.

[davjohns 1]

Why is beating others over the head so attractive?

I don't know. Bring me that 2x4 and stand still. I'll see if I can figure it out....

I agree with you. Too much "Did not!...Did too!" around here. "If you don't agree with me, you must be stupid, because I'm a super genius."

What really kills me is when someone starts insulting the intelligence of a dissenter, while the writers's grammar and spelling indicates a third grade education and lack of spell check abilities.

I know it just wouldnt be right to kill all the stupid people that we meet..

But do you think it would be appropriate to just remove all of the warning labels and let nature take its course.