4 ms·

If lots of people are simultaneously misunderstanding you in the exact same way, it's probably not that they're all stupid and malicious. Cf. https://xkcd.com/

• DoreenMichele 8y ago
  No, but remarks like this essentially are malicious, regardless of whatever else is going on here. It's basically a personal attack that in no way tries to engage me about whatever point I was trying to make. The fact that you created an account just moments before taking a dig at me only reinforces the idea that this is absolutely not a good faith comment by you. There are lots of things that can cause a conversation to go sideways. It's really common for the group to then blame the person at the center. It only serves to compound and entrench the problem.
• slededit 8y ago
  Its a malicious rhetorical tool to use attempts at clarification as evidence of retreat. That's what politicians do. People here are not professional communicators, you can't expect them to say things perfectly the first time.
  • jestgrade 8y ago
    I think you meant to reply to criley above; this has nothing to do with what I said. I did not accuse anyone of "retreat"; I replied to a complaint about being misunderstood.
• tomhoward 8y ago
  it's probably not that they're all stupid and malicious ... any more than psychiatrists are stupid and malicious for acting in accordance with the norms of their profession. In both cases, people can be wrong without being stupid/malicious, and likewise, people can be wrong whilst adhering firmly to the status quo.