2003 March 8

I'm the bogeyman

I am bemused to discover I annoyed Andrea Harris enough that she's written four paragraphs explaining how frustrating it is to try to talk to "these antiwar people."

For the record, I am not especially proud of my part in the debate -- I let my sarcasm get away from me at the start, venting in response to an infuriatingly smug article by James Lileks, and there are a few other comments I'd like to modify if I was to do it over again. It is a fair cop that I used the word "assume" as well, for example -- I'm happy to apologize for that. But Andrea is wrong in thinking that I got "snippy" (her word) because she made assumptions about what I thought -- I got "snippy" because the third sentence out of her keyboard was, "How do people like you get out of bed each day?" And then I was quite taken aback by her flat assertion that "you will not change my mind."

If that was the way of it, there wasn't much point in continuing the discussion, so I excused myself.

So, Ms Harris, you ask "what is the use of writing and engaging in 'dialogue' if it is not to showcase one's beliefs?" "Showcasing" is not dialogue; showcasing is a one-way presentation. The goal of honest dialogue is to exchange ideas in the hope that the process will lead one closer to the truth. If you cannot enter with enough humility to admit you might be able to learn something from the exchange, then it's not dialogue, it's just alternating shouting.

Again for the record, a couple days ago (on discovering her followup article) I emailed her to offer to continue the discussion, if that was what she wanted. I haven't received a reply, which could be because she has a backlog she hasn't worked through, or because it got spam-trapped, or whatever. So I've posted my response here, and will leave it at that.

Comments

Yeah dude, I got your email. I also have a life -- one that's just busy enough to keep me from being able to deal with everyone who wants a little Socratean tête-à-tête with me and my beliefs about life, the universe, and everything. Especially about old posts that have scrolled off my front page ages ago. (Yes, in my blog world, February 19th is ages ago.)

I may or may not respond, but I don't really see why I should. It certainly took you long enough to get back to me, so I don't see where you get off being Mr. Impatient. As you can see, I don't respond well to demands for my attention. Caveat lector.

Posted by: Andrea Harris on March 10, 2003 01:56 AM
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Linked from Too Much To Dream on March 10, 2003 02:15 AM