A friend, Dotfic, has a great thought provoking post here. I’ve debated with myself for the last couple of hours over whether or not to respond. To me responding to her post is akin to editing the Gettysburg Address (nothing I can add or subtract). So I took the easy out and posted in my own journal. 🙂
She hits upon the dilemma, not just in fandom, but in most internet interaction. We debate – we don’t discuss. In a debate, there is a winning side – and a losing side. There is no room in debate for compromise. There is no recognition that we both CAN be right or wrong. There is simply the hard line in the sand: if one of us is right, the other MUST be wrong. And since I am NEVER wrong, by extension you must be. That sadly is human nature. You are either like me or you are wrong.
The internet doesn’t encourage discussion, it demands debate. Debate must be loud and flashy. It must be overwhelming in its size and scope. It must show by sheer numbers and computer generated logic that more agree with my position than agree with yours. It must reinforce my view of the world because the enemy of my thoughts is a threat to my world. You must surrender, not to my discussion points, but to my arguments.
Debate doesn’t allow for shades of gray. It deals only in absolutes. They are… We are… They must be…. It’s plus or negative. Yes or no. I, for one, would suggest that personal growth comes from the shades of gray and not the black and white – not the absolutes.
Presentation of new ideas shouldn’t be feared, but rather encouraged. But it should be done with the realization that not all ideas are good, have merit or deserve further discussion. And most importantly my disagreement with an idea doesn’t automatically relegate it to the dung heap of life. Why? Because the tint on my glasses may be a shade less red than yours, that’s all. If I can acknowledge that, I can acknowledge that someone’s dumb idea has value to them. And as my mom used to say, you don’t have to pick up every stick on the ground, just the ones that make a difference. It’s that simple.
Every community has its VIOT (village idiot on tour). When you see one, you don’t have to leave a community, you just screen them out. You can’t force the wind to change direction and you can’t force people to value anyone else’s idea (or opinion) more than they value their own. Just like no one wakes up in the morning and says “today I will screw up on purpose;” no one ever says “my idea is wrong.” The best we can hope for is civil discourse and an acknowledgement that “Your idea may be as good as mine … maybe better.”
Again, it was a wonderful, thought provoking essay (as is her norm). 🙂