the point of argument

[annemehr]

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Amy Z" <lupinesque at y...> wrote:
> Silverthorne wrote:
> 
> >Although it;s nice to be heard, sometimes it's wiser to leave it 
> >alone, if not for your own sake, than for everyone else who has 
> >to 'listen' to it.

Amy Z:
> I have two thoughts on that.
> 
> One, no one has to listen to it; the beauty of a list is that you 
> can read the threads you like, & skip the ones that make you groan.  
> That is why the administrators of this list tend to use a light hand 
> and declare as few topics as possible off-limits.  The medium is not 
> sound, where it is hard to ignore a conversation, but sight, where 
> it is easy.
> 
> Two, I was finding it edifying.
> 
> Three--three thoughts!  I have THREE thoughts!--yes, I agree with 
> you, sometimes it's wiser to leave it alone & each participant has 
> to be free to walk away when it's no longer fruitful for them.

Annemehr:
I'd like to second the three thoughts, and stress the point that, if
someone has had enough of a certain discussion, people should
understand that it does not mean their ideas are any less valid.

Where else but here can we even have these discussions?  In my
experience there are very few places online that keep things as civil
and polite as we do.  Without certain topics having been explored
here, I would have missed so much.  For instance, in my "real life"
(for lack of a better term), almost everyone I know is Christian. 
Back when I was in college, almost everyone I knew was Christian,
Jewish, or atheist.  People are so much more diverse here.  In "RL," I
am not aware of knowing any gay people personally, but here there are
people of all orientations who are willing to talk about it if the
subject arises.  Also, I was educated in the '70s and early '80s, and
it's interesting to talk to people who've gone to school at different
times.

We have a good thing going here, and I hope we can enjoy it without
making anyone squirm.

Come to think of it, here's another point: we develop our
communication skills here.  How often have we had disagreements, only
to find we've sometimes been talking past each other?  So we go back
and forth for a while, find a lot of common ground, and agree to
disagree about what's left?  That has to be good practice!

Annemehr