4 ms·

Not so comfortable when the shoe is on the other foot? Edit: I see I'm getting downvoted for this. I stand by it because this is the exact same type of presump

Not so comfortable when the shoe is on the other foot? Edit: I see I'm getting downvoted for this. I stand by it because this is the exact same type of presumption that is made of women ("Oh, she's 30 -- we shouldn't hire her because she's probably going to get pregnant soon") all the damn time.

dsacco 9y ago
> Not so comfortable when the shoe is on the other foot? Hm...I find this particular rhetorical technique to be rather lacking in substance. It's unnecessarily adversarial, and it continues an attempt at persuasion by remarking on the individual's identity rather than the statements. To answer it directly: no, I don't feel defensive about the part of your first comment that I singled out; instead, I think it significantly undermines your (fairly strong, in my opinion) argument. Opening with a comment that assumes the other party's race or gender based on their perspective, then immediately patronizes them for it ("I don't mean this as an insult in any way; since that's most likely your entire life experience.") detracts from what would otherwise be a well-delivered point. I don't want to make this a game of suffering-competition, but here's a thought experiment: would you explicitly mention your assumption about someone's race if you figured they're a minority, then go on to use the sentence, I don't mean this as an insult in any way; since that's most likely your entire life experience. to describe their perspective? Edit to your edit: I understand this is an emotionally charged topic, but even if you are correct that women have to routinely deal with the sort of comment you made towards briholt (and I believe they do), you doing the same to convince others is a poor method of bridging communication and empathy.
- exelius 9y ago
  I googled his username first, so it wasn't pure presumption.

dsacco 9y ago

> Not so comfortable when the shoe is on the other foot? Hm...I find this particular rhetorical technique to be rather lacking in substance. It's unnecessarily adversarial, and it continues an attempt at persuasion by remarking on the individual's identity rather than the statements. To answer it directly: no, I don't feel defensive about the part of your first comment that I singled out; instead, I think it significantly undermines your (fairly strong, in my opinion) argument. Opening with a comment that assumes the other party's race or gender based on their perspective, then immediately patronizes them for it ("I don't mean this as an insult in any way; since that's most likely your entire life experience.") detracts from what would otherwise be a well-delivered point. I don't want to make this a game of suffering-competition, but here's a thought experiment: would you explicitly mention your assumption about someone's race if you figured they're a minority, then go on to use the sentence, I don't mean this as an insult in any way; since that's most likely your entire life experience. to describe their perspective? Edit to your edit: I understand this is an emotionally charged topic, but even if you are correct that women have to routinely deal with the sort of comment you made towards briholt (and I believe they do), you doing the same to convince others is a poor method of bridging communication and empathy.

exelius 9y ago
I googled his username first, so it wasn't pure presumption.