Author:
Anthony
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Date Posted: 05:45:37 03/20/01 Tue
Snarf, first of all, I agree that this is a ridiculous thread...to a point. Though I thought it was ridiculous I am willing to humor other people's thoughts since, well, since I like to converse with people. Maybe that way their outlandish words will become clear. This way, I hope to learn to expand my personal level of tolerance towards people. I have heard many opinions from many people that claim that the majority of users on the Internet are nothing more than blithering idiots. I would like to stifle that rumor, since I find the opposite to be true. Granted, there ARE those that use the medium as nothing as a place to cause trouble, but that is true of all media that have come before: some have used them to be serious, others to cause mischief. So, in the end, this thread may not be all that absurd. The person that started it was just coming from their personal perspective. That is what talking to people and being tolerant has taught me: that other people aren't just extras in one's life. They are other people with starring roles on this planet, just like me. And we all have to share the stage as best we can, a rowdy bunch of leading men and women. And other people's ideas, while strange sounding they might be at first to me, may become clear.
Now, to address the supposed pretension of this site. I really resent that, and I have had one or two other people like you coming to me claiming that I am pretensious, and I resent it. But there are others coming here for help on papers and to talk and debate and share. I have never stated once here that I believe that my site is some last bastion of intellect on the Internet. I am trying to contact people that like discussing politics, religion, and all the other aspects of civilization and how they have and will (possibly) change. I never said that my efforts or the site would spark earth-shattering global cultural change. I believe in the power of the masses, so what? And I don't think that I can sit here and change the world. I just want to do my small part in keeping people aware of the world around them. That's all. So should I just say forget it and not even bother? Why should we do anything, for that matter? Let's just sit around and not talk. Let's not communicate. Who cares, right?
Listen, I think that YOU are the pretensious one, coming down like from on high to declare me and this site to be pompous. Let me ask you, where did I ever claim that I was some miracle worker with the only path to enlightenment in my hands? I never did. There are multiple ways to "Nirvana", and I don't even think that I know a single one. I just know what sounds profound and pertinent to ME, what sounds like a good philosophy to ME, and just I wanted to share it with others. If others think that my ideas are crap, so be it. They can argue with me and we will have a good debate and maybe expand each other's hoirizons. If others think the same way, then they can talk to me and know that there is someone else out there like them. There you have it again, the use of the Internet to break the silence and to cut down on the loneliness and isolation that thinkers often feel...shit, that PEOPLE in general often feel. So instead of just writing me off as pompous and elitist, why not get to know me better? Why just lay down a judgement? Why not talk to me, using this forum, and break the fucking trend of stereotyping people. The way you so easily criticize me and label me is exactly the kind of narrow minded snap judgement that I am trying to tell others about. That method of thought, IN MY OPINION, leads to intolerance. That is what I believe. So why not talk to me a bit more before branding me? How about not branding people at all, despite what you feel about them? Cause in the end, a person is a lot more inside than the label you tack onto them.
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