I guess it's just how I look at things. When I'm debating an issue with someone or at a conference or whatever, when someone says something totally incongruous,

I guess it's just how I look at things. When I'm debating an issue with someone or at a conference or whatever, when someone says something totally incongruous, it always surprises me and I always feel like I've missed something. I try and understand what would make a person feel so strongly about it that he felt like it needed to be said. Some comments cause more friction than others, definitely, but are they of lesser merit for that reason alone? If something is true but not critical to know, and not 'kind', that doesn't mean that it just doesn't matter, right? Ugly truths are out there, and they can be of great use if confronted maturely, understood, and conquered. Right?