Ang's Journal

I'll admit, I'm a slow learner. Despite having been online since the early days of Usenet, I still haven't learned that arguing with people on the internet is absolutely pointless.


As usual, xkcd nails it.

I do try to limit the scope of my stupidity, however, by only engaging here & there. This week, I've been "in conversation" with a internet-only friend on Facebook. She is outraged by the "thugs" & "punks" protesting in Baltimore, & truly incensed by Lil Wayne's disrespect for the American flag. I have been trying to point out that the people in Baltimore have a lot of legitimate grievances that haven't been addressed when they tried more normal forms of protest, & that while I don't like seeing someone trash the American flag, they have every right to do it.

My friend's very conservative, right-wing rebuttals have usually included references to the facts that members of her family have been police officers &/or served in the US armed forces. She feels that this gives her a special understanding of these situations, or perhaps she feels it gives her feelings more priority. I feel that, in reality, it's almost the opposite. Having family that were police doesn't make you an expert on civil rights - in fact, you probably have an emotional bias in favor of the police that you should consider when you are responding to these stories. Having family that served in the military doesn't give you particular insight into the First Amendment - in fact, you might have an emotional bias regarding our national symbols that you should consider when you are responding to these images.

I too have family that served in the US armed forces. My grandfather fought in WWII as a Seabee, my uncle went to Vietnam, my cousin was a Marine. But their experiences are THEIRS - they don't lend me any righteous patina or extra patriotism. And even if it did, it doesn't make me an expert on Baltimore, race relations, civil rights, or the freedom of speech.

Maybe it's time to stop arguing with people on the Internet for a while.

Hoo hoo hoo ... Scary Go Round is funny! Even if one of the main characters is a zombie.

For you, fizrep: http://www.scarygoround.com/?date=20030204