I have very clearly told Mostafa how it is that he is a religious bully.
I get a lot of insults in return.
---
Voltaire
“ Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities. ”
― Voltaire,
On 7/25/2019 9:29 AM, Miriam Vieni wrote:
I know that Mustafa has done what you say he's done. However, that is not what
you've mentioned to him in your emails to him on the list. What you've done in
your emails is to try to logically argue him out of his religious beliefs.
And even if Mustafa does this stuff to people, (and mostly it's people from
other lists, not ours), no one appointed you to be a police officer or
enforcer. It's understandable if you wrote to him about this once or twice and
suggested that what he is doing seems wrong to all of the people to whom he's
doing it, that American email lists members find it objectionable, etc. But
after saying it once or twice, why continue?
So I've written about what you are doing to you because I find it
objectionable. I find reading your continuous putdowns of Mustafa, just as
unpleasant as his religious rants and putdowns of the US and of you. I prefer a
list where we post articles and have friendly, easygoing discussion.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx On Behalf Of Roger Loran Bailey (Redacted
sender "rogerbailey81" for DMARC)
Sent: Wednesday, July 24, 2019 10:23 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: This sounds like Mostafa.
Miriam, when I try to clarify a meaning or simply clarify some concept that is
neither scolding nor reprimanding. When I express my opinion that does not mean
that I am demanding that other people have the same opinion. Honestly, these
accusations of your seem to be coming out of nowhere to me. As for Mostafa,
again, the point is not that I won an argument. I did, but that is not the main
point. I know that you have already said that you don't like for me to say that
I have said something over and over, but when I do say something over and over
and you just ignore it to divert the gist of what I said to something else I
have to point out to you that I have said it over and over. So I will have to
say again that I have told you over and over what I am doing with Mostafa and
you just keep ignoring it. If Mostafa wants to talk about his religion that is
not the problem. When he forces it on other people then that is a problem. You
just keep on ignoring that and instead go on about my being so unkind or
something like that. He harvests email addresses from email groups and puts
them on his personal mailing list and bombards people with his proselytizing
and refuses to remove them no matter how much they ask him to. It is as if you
remain oblivious to that. He can keep doing it and if you are otherwise unaware
of it I can keep telling you that and you ignore it. Yes, I seem to have to
tell you that over and over. What he is doing is not just exercising his
freedom of speech. It is out and out harassment. Do you think he should be
allowed to just keep harassing people without any consequences at all. Well, if
he can bully I can bully right back. Don't you remember my telling you that
over and over? You seem to think I am the bully. You seem to think that I just
decided to harass this poor innocent Muslim for no other reason than that I am
the epitome of evil. As for other email lists, when I have something to say I
say it there too. I do seem to be misinterpreted a lot. When, for example, I
say that I don't see anything so simple about BARD Express some people who
happen to use it seem to think I am personally attacking them. Sometimes it
seems to me that all I have to do to bring on attacks against me is to say
anything and there will be people who oppose it just because I am the one who
says it. You seem to be one of those. Everyone else expresses their opinions on
this list, but when I do so you have to start denouncing it and calling it
pedantic or unkind or whatever. Mostafa is another one. But he can't stand it
if anyone at all disagrees with him. However, he is right about one thing. I
have been picking on him. I have been picking on him because he picks on other
people. He brings it on himself. And I really do resent these self righteous
religious jerks who think they have to impose their irrationalities on everyone
else. I am not like Joe though. Joe left this list especially because Mostafa
joined it. I don't feel the need to do that. I stand up to him. And, yes, I do
enjoy standing up to him. I enjoy winning a debate against him. I enjoy it when
he insults me and I enjoy pointing out his other failures and contradictions so
that he will pile more insults on me. I enjoy it because every time he does it
my position is validated. But it should be remembered that he only brings it on
himself. Others try to block him. Others may just ignore him. I expect that he
hardly notices that. Others will use his own tactics and just throw insults at
him. I doubt that effects him much either. But I actually point out where he
goes wrong. I point out his fallacies and his hypocrisy and contradictions. He
can't stand that. He is only getting what he deserves. I only wish I was not
left to do it myself. I would love it if you joined in. Carl joins in in some
fashion, but he does not meticulously point to Mostafa's fallacies and flaws
like I do. But even if I am alone and even if I do get tired of it now and then
it is just too tempting to keep pointing to his failures. I did try to ignore
him for a while, but then something captures my attention and I have to point
to his hypocrisy again. But if you really do not want to join in the fun then
you are just as free to ignore our exchanges as you think I should ignore him.
---
Voltaire
“ Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities. ”
― Voltaire,
On 7/24/2019 9:31 PM, Miriam Vieni wrote:
Roger,
You're responding to bits and pieces of what I've written, perhaps because you
don't understand what I've been attempting to say to you or perhaps, because
it's your way of fighting back. But I'm not trying to fight with you. I know
that Mustafa has written things that all of us have found to be objectionable.
I pointed out what some of his reasons may have been for writing what he
writes. I also pointed out that arguing with him only causes him to become more
upset and write more extreme things. Because this argument between the two of
you has continued for quite some time and because it continues to escalate, I
suggested that you stop responding to him. The fact that you feel that you've
won the argument is irrelevant to everyone except you.
You have, in fact, over the course of several years, scolded me and other people for using words
incorrectly or for showing a lack of understanding of concepts that you believe we should
understand. You have complained that you've needed to explain the same things over and over again
to us because we keep getting things wrong. You have told us to read certain books so that we could
understand all of the words and concepts that come up in our interchanges, properly. I mentioned
the word, "bourgeois", as one example of this habitual behavior of yours. I suppose that
the adjective which most accurately describes your behavior, is, "pedantic". You
reprimand us when we stray from the ideas and useage of words, which you believe to be correct.
I've encountered you and several other lists and you don't do the same things
on those lists that you do on this one. I started this thread because of your
focus on Mustafa. I think that given the fact that his English competence is
limited and that his background and culture are different from our's, none of
us should be targeting him as you have.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx On Behalf Of Roger Loran
Bailey (Redacted sender "rogerbailey81" for DMARC)
Sent: Wednesday, July 24, 2019 7:52 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: This sounds like Mostafa.
Miriam, when I make an argument and get no refutation, but instead get a
tantrum I have won the argument. It is right there for you to see and for
everyone to see. Yes, that gives me pleasure and it does not matter if I have
convinced Mostafa of anything. I have a problem understanding how you can see
Mostafa's rants with insults and name calling in response to my calmly stated
arguments and then have the nerve to call my responses to that as somehow
nasty. What you are saying to me and the accusations that you make against me
strike me as simply insane. Where are your criticisms of Mostafa and his
vitriol? And, by the way, I have never in my life insisted that anyone use the
word bourgeois and until you came along I have never in my life had anyone
object to my using that word, ever. I do not see where you are getting it that
somehow I have a problem with anyone not using the word bourgeois. That strikes
me as insane too.
---
Voltaire
“ Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities. ”
― Voltaire,
On 7/24/2019 3:56 PM, Miriam Vieni wrote:
Don't you care how unkind this email sounds? If you say it's so much fund to
give back to a bully , what he dishes out, that sounds sadistic. It doesn't
sound like justice.
For the people who use the term, "middle class", it has a specific meaning. You have a
preference for the term, "bourgeois" and you define it as you have been taught to. But
that doesn't mean that the rest of us ought to use that term and there's no requirement for us to
think as you do.
Yes, you do repeat some things over and over again and I am paying attention.
But if I don't accept something that you have been repeating over and over
again at face value, it's usually because it doesn't make sense to me or it
sounds unbelievable. I'm not sure what you mean about my not accepting what you
say are your reasons for being as stubborn and unreasonable as Mustafa is. Your
reason is that you derive pleasure in using logic to win and argument. The only
problem with your explanation is that you haven't won the argument. You haven't
proven anything to Mustafa, , and all you've proven to the rest of us is that
you can be really nasty in your attempt to prove a point. Is that what you want
to do?
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx On Behalf Of Roger Loran
Bailey (Redacted sender "rogerbailey81" for DMARC)
Sent: Wednesday, July 24, 2019 3:08 PM
To: blind-democracy <blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: This sounds like Mostafa.
The reason bourgeois is okay is that unlike middle class it actually has a
specific meaning. I have not blocked because it is so much fun to give
back to a bully what he dishes out and I have told you that. If you don't like
my saying that I have told you something over and over then pay attention to
what I say in the first place and accept it without making up motives for me
that have nothing to do with the motives that I clearly state over and over.
And, also, you do not have to look for evidence that I am a Marxist because I
forthrightly say that I am. But that does not mean that everything I say is
Marxist theory and so it would be really nice if you could learn how to tell a
personal opinion from Marxist theory.
---
Voltaire
“ Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities. ”
― Voltaire,
On 7/24/2019 12:53 PM, Miriam Vieni wrote:
Roger,
Why is the word, bourgeois OK, but not middle class? Your reasons that you
state over and over again, which I have read over and over again, are your
particular private prejudice. They're not rational and shouldn't be imposed on
the rest of us. You say insulting things when I, or anyone else, uses that
word, even though it is in common useage and it doesn't mean what you choose to
believe that it means. The fact that I don't accept your censure, doesn't make
you the victim.
As for Mustafa, again, you keep repeating the same thing about him over and
over again. You refuse to see his behavior through another lens. Another list
member, someone from his culture and background, has just provided you with
some verification of what I say. But no matter what evidence is suggested to
you that his behavior might be motivated by something other than outright
meanness and bullying, you are sticking to your own opinion. Your behavior
mirrors his. You excuse your bullying by saying that you are defending
yourself. You claim that religious fanatics are pursuing you and that it is
your right to fight back. However, all that Mustafa is doing is asserting is
ideas and beliefs repeatedly on email lists. He would not be addressing you
directly if you hadn't responded to him. If you don't wish him to continue to
address emails to you which you find offensive, all you need to do is to delete
his emails without responding to him. Instead, you are choosing to insult him
publicly on an email list, sometimes, even when he hasn't been writing anything
at all.
Roger, this is my last email on the subject and I chose to write it, even knowing that it would be upsetting
to you, because I believe that you've been unfair to Mustafa and also, to others of us on this list. The ways
in which you choose to disagree with us seem hurtful and insulting to me. Perhaps you don't realize that. But
to me, and certainly to Alice while she was a list member, your responses seemed like bullying. You scold us
by saying things like, "'ve told you over and over again and somehow you don't understand me...".
You told me in several emails that I'm misrepresenting your opinions when I say that they derive from Marxist
theory. But every article you post is from a Marxist oriented publication. You derogate anyone who uses the
word, "socialist", in ways that you deem to be inappropriate and you make that decision based on
its literal definition in the books you read. You've told us that we use the word, "propaganda",
inappropriately, also because we weren't using it as its used in the socialist literature you read. I have no
idea how many people have chosen not to post to this list for fear of bringing down your wrath, or how many
people have quietly left the list because although you say that there are no rules, they don't feel
comfortable here. I'm sorry to have felt that it was necessary to write this, but I don't want to be a coward
and just take the easy way out. Perhaps it's because I'm reading a book about a very wealthy family whose
wealth was vastly increased by its investment in German industry during the Nazi era, or because I think the
Democratic Party, in its zeal to keep its donors and its swing voters, has led us on a path to hell, or
because the American public has allowed itself to be manipulated into passivity. So I just feel that because
this email list has been very important to me over the past several years, I need to speak out against
something that seems wrong.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: Roger Loran Bailey
Sent: Tuesday, July 23, 2019 10:14 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx; Miriam Vieni
<miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Re: [blind-democracy] Re: This sounds like Mostafa.
I am a Marxist, but that remark in there about the phrase middle class is an
example of exactly what I am talking about. Just what does my distaste for the
phrase middle class have to do with Marxism? Once before, after I had explained
over and over why I have a distaste for that phrase, you said that you thought
it was because it was not one of the classes that Marx had delineated. I never
have figured out why you thought that after I had explained the real reasons I
don't like it so many times. And that is why I get so frustrated. I explain and
explain a concept over and over and you just don't get it and you just did it
in this very message. As for Mostafa, this is something else I have explained
over and over. If Mostafa would just express himself then he could just express
himself. But he doesn't do that. He is a relentless bully who insists on
forcing his nonsense on people. I am giving him back what he gives and I do
notice that he is one of those people who can dish it out, but can't take it.
---
Voltaire
“ Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities. ”
― Voltaire,
On 7/23/2019 3:39 PM, Miriam Vieni wrote:
Roger,
Am I mistaken in thinking that you are a socialist and that most of the
nonfiction material that you read is influenced by Marxist theory? Haven't you
criticized people who call themselves socialist when they do not adhere to
classical socialism? Do you not write disparagingly of anyone whose opinions
seem to you to be Liberal or bourgeois? Do you not disparage the use of the
term, middle class, and accuse those who define themselves as such of being
snobs? Do you not sneer at Democratic Socialists because they aren't in favor
of what you consider to be real socialism? Having seen all of these themes in
your posts for a good number of years, I have come to the conclusion that you
are a Marxist Socialist, whatever that actually is. You have very fixed ideas
about socialism and you continually try to indoctrinate people with those ideas
when you complain that some of us are refusing to understand you and that,
therefore, you are forced to explain a particular concept to us, yet one more
time. So, on the few occasions that your utterances aren't motivated by your
close adherence to socialist theory, I think I can be forgiven if I mistakenly
think that they are. But for those infrequent moments, I apologize.
As for Mustafa, he may very well behave in all the ways that you describe. But
which response you make to his behavior, is your choice. An alternative to what
you invariably do, is just to allow him to express his beliefs and his
assertions and his anger and his sense of superiority anddo or say nothing at
all. How long do you imagine that he would continue to insult you if you
ignored him?
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx On Behalf Of Roger Loran
Bailey (Redacted sender "rogerbailey81" for DMARC)
Sent: Monday, July 22, 2019 9:22 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: This sounds like Mostafa.
You would do a lot better if you just dumped the assumptions and
accepted the stated motivations that are clearly given. To allude
to just another example, you might stop calling my personal
opinions Marxist theory when they have little to do with Marxist
theory and when I point you to a book that I have never read the
synopsis of which makes me think it might explain what fascism is
you wouldn't assume that it gave some kind of Marxist definition of
Marxism. But again with Mostafa. He does not just explain his
religion. He does not just discuss it. He seeks people out and puts
them on his personal mailing list and won't let them go and when
they ask to be removed he just keeps bombarding them with his proselytizing
anyway.
That is not exercising his freedom of speech. That is out and out
harassment and I see no excuse for it. As for telling him that his
preaching is not welcome on this list, I set up this list with the
full intention of moderating it by not moderating it. As far as I
am concerned he or anyone else can say anything they want here and
I have never banned or altered any post that he has ever made here.
He can exercise his freedom of speech here, but he has to face up
to the fact that some people will disagree with him and say so. I
not only say so, but I show him where he is wrong. Of course, with
faith on his side he will not admit it no matter how well I show
him to be wrong, but I still show him to be wrong
---
Voltaire
“ Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities. ”
― Voltaire,
On 7/22/2019 5:16 PM, Miriam Vieni wrote:
I didn't mean that you literally represent the American empire. What I meant
was that all of us on this list, represent the American empire to Mustafa.
We're all in America. He's writing to us about what our government does. Why do
you suppose that he does that?
I suppose that you're correct when you say that I'm making assumptions about
people's motivations. That's what most people do and I do that a lot because of
my professional training and because of my personal inclinations. And I don't
always accept the reasons that people give for their behavior as their true
motivations. I can see how that might make you angry.
As for proselytizing, there were two times in my life when someone tried to convince me
to believe in God. Each time, I responded that I had my own beliefs and value system,
that I respected their right to believe as they did, and I would appreciate it if they
would respect my right to do the same. It was friendly and there were no arguments. So I
suspect that when Mustafa began to write about religion, you could have chosen not to
answer those particular posts, just as I did, and there would have been no more
discussion. Or you might have written that you respected his right to his religious
beliefs, but you would appreciate it if he did not share them on this list. I don't know
what his response would have been to that. But you chose to debate him instead. You made
a decision that if anyone began attempting to convince you to believe as he or she did
about religion, it was your right and your duty to fight back. When Mustafa has written
about religion on other lists, other people have made similar choices. Given the results
of these discussions, I wonder why people keep having them. The only conclusion which I
can draw is that you derive some kind of emotional satisfaction from endless argument.
From your explanation to me, it sounds like what you're saying is that you are seeking
revenge because you say, " I don't know why you want to try to pretend to read minds
when I so clearly lay out to you why I am actually doing something. Mostafa is a bully
and a harasser and I am giving it right back to him."
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From:blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx On Behalf Of Roger
Loran Bailey (Redacted sender "rogerbailey81" for DMARC)
Sent: Monday, July 22, 2019 3:43 PM
To: blind-democracy<blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: This sounds like Mostafa.
On two levels you seem to have never paid attention to anything I have ever
said. It is a real stretch to say that I represent U.S.
imperialism. I have denounced imperialism over and over. But on the second
level you are trying to read minds, both mine and Mostafa's. Does it not even
occur to you to accept stated motives rather than pretend to know what people
are thinking and base your guesses at motives on your assumed telepathy. Okay,
let me explain it again. While I may get some gratification out of winning a
contest of logic against Mostafa that is not why I do it. I also do not do it
to convince him of anything. I have said over and over that no matter how
religious a person might be, if they don't bother me about their religion I
don't bother them about their religion. But when it comes to those religious
harassers it is another matter. I am talking about the ones who follow you
around trying to beat you over the head with their religion. I am talking about
the ones will not leave you alone no matter how much you tell them that you are
not interested. I am talking about the kind of people who will follow a blind
man down the street screaming at him that god has struck him blind because he
turned his back on Jesus. I got fed up with those ass holes years ago, but no
matter how much I tell them that I am fed up with them insulting my
intelligence with their harassment they won't stop. So here we have a religious
harasser. He is the first Muslim harasser I have come across unless you count
the one who would not let me off his email list back before Mostafa came along,
but he is still a religious harasser. He first came to my attention when other
people started to complain about him on various email lists. He harvested email
addresses and bombarded people with his proselytizing and when they asked to be
removed he refused. When people blocked him he tried to get around the blocks.
This is outright harassment. It is bullying. So I fight back. I may not fight
back in the same way that others fight back, but I fight back. I engage him in
logical debate because he insults my intelligence and since this is an argument
that I always win I always manage to point up who the real idiot is. And don't
say that I win in my own mind. When I make a logical argument or point out a
logical fallacy in his arguments and he has no refutation, but only launches
into a tantrum of name calling, insults and threats, I win and my win is right
there for you and anyone who is reading the exchange to see. I take on the
challenge because if he wants to insult my intelligence it is like saying,
okay, let's see who the real fool is. Now, I have told you my motives again.
There is no reason for you to ignore what I have said that my motives for
taking on Mostafa are. I don't know why you want to try to pretend to read
minds when I so clearly lay out to you why I am actually doing something.
Mostafa is a bully and a harasser and I am giving it right back to him.
---
Voltaire
“ Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities. ”
― Voltaire,
On 7/22/2019 9:27 AM, Miriam Vieni wrote:
I forgot one more factor and that is a political one. In these debates, Roger
inadvertently represents the US, the super power of the world, the country that
overthrows democracies in favor of dictators who support it and then provides
military aid to the dictators. It has proclaimed, since W Bush's
administration, a Christian crusade, with many members of the military saying
this explicitly. Mustafa is a citizen of one of the multitude of countries that
the US dominates. When Mustafa proclaims his version of the truth on our list,
he is also proclaiming his rage at the US for how it behaves in the Middle
East. Roger's self satisfaction when he believes that he has won a logical
argument, doesn't undo any of what is really going on. Winning an argument with
logic doesn't obliterate religious belief or the anger of people in other
countries or Mustafa's need to assert himself. It's kind of like getting into a
fist fight in a bar. You win the fight and you feel good momentarily, but
nothing has changed.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: Roger Loran Bailey
Sent: Sunday, July 21, 2019 9:54 PM
To:blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx; Miriam Vieni
<miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Re: [blind-democracy] Re: This sounds like Mostafa.
Name calling and insult throwing is not an example of poor English skills. It
is just hostility and tantrum throwing. I bested Mostafa in a debate in logic.
He has been throwing a tantrum ever since.
---
Voltaire
“ Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities. ”
― Voltaire,
On 7/21/2019 9:18 PM, Miriam Vieni wrote:
There may be several factors involved in the faulty communication between Roger
and Mustafa. One of them is Mustafa's limitations in expressing himself in
English. He may be sounding more emphatic than he means to because he doesn't
know the idioms and nuances of the English language. Roger may not always truly
comprehend what Mustafa is attempting to say. Another problem is that they come
from totally different cultural backgrounds. They don't start from the same
assumptions. That fact certainly impedes positive communication. A third factor
may be that each is emotionally invested in his point of view. When they become
involved in verbal confrontations, each feels that his manhood or his is
involved. And there's one more thing. Roger apparently believes that it is his
duty to educate everyone or, to put it another way, to convince everyone to
think as he does. Mustafa may have the same compulsion. I don't enjoy battles
so I don't read their email debates. I just delete them. I remember one night
when Joe and Frank were engaged in a terrible email fight. That was an awful
experience and it was the last time I ever read battling emails.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From:blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx On Behalf Of Roger
Loran Bailey (Redacted sender "rogerbailey81" for DMARC)
Sent: Sunday, July 21, 2019 8:41 PM
To:blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx; Carl
Jarvis<carjar82@xxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: This sounds like Mostafa.
By all means, any of us can have a gap in our education. That was a point I was
making in my other message about whether there is such a thing as a stupid
question. If it is an honest question asked in an attempt to learn it is not a
stupid question. Sometimes it can be a bit frustrating when you realize that in
order to answer it in a way that the questioner will understand you will have
to start educating that person from an elementary school level and I, for one,
cannot do that.
However, if it is an honest question asked with the intention of learning I can
try to do my best to answer. However, an honest attempt to learn is not what
Mostafa is doing with his ignorant questions and pronouncements. He proudly
shows his ignorance in order to discredit entire branches of science. He shows
his ignorance in order to discredit me. At least that is what he is trying to
do. But he manages to actually ask questions that have to be called stupid
questions. They are stupid because when he gets an answer he refuses to accept
it. He just keeps repeating the ignorance that he has been caught up in. That
is a refusal to learn. It is just a hostile act. And what he discredits more
than anything is himself.
---
Voltaire
??? Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities.
???
??? Voltaire,
On 7/21/2019 1:02 PM, Carl Jarvis wrote:
It's frustrating. But I would point out that any of us can
have a gap in our education, or a lack of ability to grasp
information that is well understood by other people.
The value of an opinion based list, such as this one should be,
that we can expose our lack of education and receive positive
guidance without feeling threatened or put down. But that
calls for an open mind on our part, and understanding people
who give their information and opinions in a helpful and caring manner.
Carl Jarvis...who has learned a great deal through interaction on this list.
On 7/20/19, Roger Loran Bailey<dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
I just had to tell you guys about this. This sounds exactly
like something Mostafa would say. There is a Facebook
discussion group on the subject of science that I subscribe to.
It is open to all, but I would expect that people who would
subscribe would have some interest in science and so would
have some kind of knowledge of science even if only rudimentary. Apparently
that is not the case.
Someone just showed up and said that we all know that
combustion requires the presence of oxygen, so is there oxygen
in the sun to make combustion take place there? Some others
started to give answers explaining that chemical combustion
takes place in the presence of oxygen, but that what is
happening in the sun is nuclear fusion. Personally, it seems
to me that if a person could seriously ask that question then
it is unlikely that he would understand such answers. I would
not be surprised if he did not even know what nuclear fusion
is. I did not even bother to try to answer him. With someone
like that the only way to give a good answer would be to go
back to elementary science class and teach him that and to
continue to teach him until he finally reached a point that he
could understand. This is exactly how I feel when Mostafa asks questions like,
if we descended from monkeys then why are there still monkeys?
How can you give a meaningful answer to someone that ignorant?
It is exasperating. It is also similar to another one I saw
once. I don't know if this was supposed to be a joke, but if
it wasn't it is about just as exasperating. Someone from Nigeria once asked, if
the Earth really rotates then why am I still in Nigeria?
--
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Voltaire
??? Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you
commit atrocities. ???
??? Voltaire,
