Why people won't concede arguments on the internet
I think it's to some extent because many of us who end up on the internet feel that in actual life we suck some, or most, of the time. The social blogging environment is for many people the place where they come to feel appreciated, to compensate for the suckage of life. Like, right now I have an assignment to do, and instead I'm blogging about how smart I am, which is sadly pathetic and clearly establishes my position as a person with his head very far up his own rectum. But I already started, so I'll have to finish the self-irony notwithstanding.
Consider a recent exchange with a man who in civil life is (or at least for a long time was) a clinically depressed and a rather unsuccessful academic. I accused some purportedly semi-academic LJ-text of his of being mediocre and irresponsible. With an obvious result. But what could have been expected, really? That he'll readily admit to failing at being smart on LJ? It isn't realistic. Pretty much all of Life is regularly telling him that he sucks, like it does to many of us. On English-LJ, given its demographics, he gets to feel original, smart and powerful - all the things which are quite hard - for anyone, really - to feel in life. Expecting a person a sizable part of whose well-being is rooted in his LJ-persona to part with some of the comfort that persona provides is extremely unrealistic. Moreover, it is probably somewhat unkind to try and make people part with layers of skin they have grown to be comfortable in.
And if it's both unproductive and unkind, I think - wait for it... - that perhaps I should just stop. I kinda feel very crude engaging in polemics anyway.
Consider a recent exchange with a man who in civil life is (or at least for a long time was) a clinically depressed and a rather unsuccessful academic. I accused some purportedly semi-academic LJ-text of his of being mediocre and irresponsible. With an obvious result. But what could have been expected, really? That he'll readily admit to failing at being smart on LJ? It isn't realistic. Pretty much all of Life is regularly telling him that he sucks, like it does to many of us. On English-LJ, given its demographics, he gets to feel original, smart and powerful - all the things which are quite hard - for anyone, really - to feel in life. Expecting a person a sizable part of whose well-being is rooted in his LJ-persona to part with some of the comfort that persona provides is extremely unrealistic. Moreover, it is probably somewhat unkind to try and make people part with layers of skin they have grown to be comfortable in.
And if it's both unproductive and unkind, I think - wait for it... - that perhaps I should just stop. I kinda feel very crude engaging in polemics anyway.