tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1170345318491016282.post611980337332977206..comments2023-10-27T07:54:12.473-05:00Comments on DisComforting Ignorance: The Rational Sabbath, Vol. IDisComforting Ignorancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04279112381253209661noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1170345318491016282.post-73789142583394523212008-06-29T07:52:00.000-05:002008-06-29T07:52:00.000-05:00Ah, a discussion on abortion leads invariably to a...Ah, a discussion on abortion leads invariably to a discussion of the sloganized terms of Pro-Choice and Pro-Life. I hadn't read any of his posts or articles regarding abortion, but upon reviewing them now it appears he does stick to the anti-choice label, which is sad. Abortion seems to be a major area where I commonly see atheists lose their rational perspective and pedantry for terminology.<BR/><BR/>I've always found this odd, because atheists usually have an affinity for pedantry, especially when it comes to using proper words and words properly (see <A HREF="http://disco-igno.blogspot.com/2008/06/dictionary-of-discomfort.html" REL="nofollow">my post</A> on Ray's distortion of words). For example, would we allow it to go uncontested when someone says "atheism means you know there's no god or gods"? Or what of the use of Atheism instead of atheism?<BR/><BR/>I think we do ourselves a great disservice when we do not commit to such detail as well when discussing abortion.<BR/><BR/>I may eventually make a post on the matter of Pro-Choice versus Pro-Life and some other things in abortion discussions which irritate me. When it comes to a discussion on the legality of abortion, I use pro-abortion rights and anti-abortion rights. When it comes to a discussion on the morality of abortion, I use pro-abortion and anti-abortion.<BR/><BR/>The issue of abortion is too complex to use sloganized terms such as Pro-Choice and Pro-Life in an attempt to malign those of the opposing view.DisComforting Ignorancehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04279112381253209661noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1170345318491016282.post-64821449836149039662008-06-29T03:59:00.000-05:002008-06-29T03:59:00.000-05:00 I am reasonably sure... I am reasonably sure that he says what he believes. And he certainly subtler that stifling all dissent. He didn't start deleting my comments until some of the other people started saying I had a point.<BR/> It has been a while but I recall pointing out that the terms "pro-choice" and "anti-choice" were deceptive inflammatory rhetoric, much like "pro-life" and "anti-life" are. An honest discussion endeavors to use neutral terms. I suggested "abortion-rights advocate" and "abortion-rights opponent" as more appropriate. He insisted that "anti-choice" was neutral and more accurate. And some of the other commenters agreed that what I was saying made sense. That was started deleting my comments.<BR/> It is my assessment that he allows dissent, so long as it does not persuade. It would be far too obvious if he tried to make it look like no one disagreed. But what he did is still a manipulation of what people see. It is <I>that</I> which I find dishonest. Barring that, I would have had no disagreement with the recommendation. <BR/> So that my only objection. I don't believe he quote mines or uses fabricated evidence like the "banana man" we know so well. But I think that the subtler deceptions are worse because they are harder to spot. The one I mention is incredibly difficult to spot because he will allow all comments <I>as long as they don't persuade anyone to disagree with him</I>.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1170345318491016282.post-10336083378460477792008-06-29T01:36:00.000-05:002008-06-29T01:36:00.000-05:00Thanks all for the comments; I will do another Rat...Thanks all for the comments; I will do another Rational Sabbath next weekend then, as well. If you have any recommendations of your own, especially some of your favorite blogs and other media, please let me know and I will check them out. I'm always on the look out for new perspectives and personalities.<BR/><BR/>To the anonymous poster: I went with Austin's blog this week as he posts on a variety of topics, posts frequently, and usually brings interesting discussions and perspectives to the table. He blogs on many things others do not. It is for these reasons I decided on his, not necessarily because I agree with him on everything either.<BR/><BR/>I would be interested, though, if there is some censoring of dissent on his comments. I have never left any comments on his blog or participated in his forums, so I would be ignorant on any such occurrences. I detest the censorship of dissent, so I would be interested indeed in the details.<BR/><BR/>Additionally, if there are articles you have felt he has been dishonest in, please provide a few of them as well, so that I can review them. I do not read all of his entries (largely due to the volume), so I usually skim over or skip those which I feel have been covered elsewhere before.DisComforting Ignorancehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04279112381253209661noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1170345318491016282.post-57137636518638840342008-06-29T00:12:00.000-05:002008-06-29T00:12:00.000-05:00 I will have to disag... I will have to disagree on the blog recommendation. I have found Mr. Cline to be dishonest. I challenged some of his ideas (I don't with anyone on <I>everything</I>) in way that actually brought a different perspective to some of the regular commenters (as noted by their replies.) He promptly started deleting all my comments. He will keep dissent if he thinks he can ridicule it, but not if people start thinking the dissenter has a point.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1170345318491016282.post-70389004950112640502008-06-28T19:08:00.000-05:002008-06-28T19:08:00.000-05:00I love this idea. I regularly sample most of thes...I love this idea. I regularly sample most of these blogs and I don't exactly envy you the job of choosing the best posts every week -- I'd find it damn' near impossible to choose.Weemaryannehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06329039927702839707noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1170345318491016282.post-30494800195329025172008-06-28T16:22:00.000-05:002008-06-28T16:22:00.000-05:00Oh hell YES!! This is a fantastic idea !!Oh hell YES!! This is a fantastic idea !!flinging dusthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06164097777703823192noreply@blogger.com