so does this mean a person cannot contribute to a discussion by offering his
opinion, even if the contribution of that opinion opens a new offshoot of the
topic, particularly if that opinion might ruffle some feathers or be unpopular?
What’s the point of having a discussion then at all? A discussion might begin
about a more or less narrow subject or point, but what makes the discussion
more interesting is having it grow beyond that scope, to bring in other ideas,
other topics…
I know you are not defending the bully criers, Miriam, and I’m just musing
here…I think people vary wildly as to how intense, how deep and wide, they like
their discussions to get. And then, of course, there are the people who only
want to have their say and want and expect everyone who has anything to
contribute other than, “Yes, I agree, you are exactly right” to hold their
tongues.
BTW, what is the bookshare list subscription info? I think I”d like to be on it
for info about what’s going on on bookshare...
On Sep 17, 2015, at 8:40 PM, Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Well, I read some of those interchanges, and then I stopped reading them.
And I am not taking the side of the proponents of religious science fiction
which, to me, with my lack of knoledge of science fiction, does sound like a
contradiction in terms, anyway. But I can explain why this person, or
others, perceived you as a bully. The reason is that you gave your opinion
of religion when no one asked for it. No one was discussing the value or
validity of religion. In fact, most of them feel that their religious
beliefs are part of their identity. So when you say something negative about
religion in general, it feels to them, like a personal attack. And to add
insult to injury, you expressed a negative opinion about religion
gratuitously. So they felt attacked by you or bullied by you, and it seemed
to them, to just come out of the blue.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Roger Loran
Bailey (Redacted sender "rogerbailey81" for DMARC)
Sent: Thursday, September 17, 2015 8:07 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] What Irony!
Here's a laugh for you. Recently I made a comment on the Bookshare list that
I think science fiction that pushes religion makes for poor writing.
Actually, I think that any attempt to use fiction to push religion results
in poor writing, but the topic was specifically about science fiction. Well,
that caused several people to start emailing me to bash me over the head
with religion, bash me over the head and engage in name calling and insults
too. I have a policy anymore of standing up to religious bullies even if not
on the same level as they launch their attacks. I just respond to them using
reason to show them where they are going wrong. Well, I backed one of them
into a corner today and he had no response to the logic trap I set for him.
Wouldn't you know it. He calls me a bully and breaks off communication. Take
note that I did not contact him or any of these people. I only responded to
what they were saying to me, though in a much more civil manner than they
did. Yet, somehow I am the bully?
