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Whether silence should mean tacit approval and whether it does mean tacit approval are two entirely different questions. I'd argue that it shouldn't but it does
by jjoonathan 8y ago
Whether silence should mean tacit approval and whether it does mean tacit approval are two entirely different questions. I'd argue that it shouldn't but it does.
Mentioning and disapproving of Wolfram's narcissism is hardly akin to dying on a hill, and nobody is even asking you to do it, but Phemist is asking people to not actively disapprove of Wolfram's narcissism and I find that odd.
- zazen 8y ago>nobody is even asking you to do it It may not have been your conscious intent, but your previous comment was in fact in the imperative: >Don't implicitly approve Wolfram's narcissism. Just don't.
- afiori 8y ago> Whether silence should mean tacit approval and whether it does mean tacit approval are two entirely different questions. I'd argue that it shouldn't but it does. Silence can also mean dismissal. Wolfram is hardly at a level of cultural influence where he is rallying up support for a narcissistic lifestyle. In the course many years we moved from an honour culture where tolerance was a weakness and misbehaviour was something to strongly react to toward a dignity culture where we try to lead by example and where (in polite conversation) criticism needs to be more nuanced. Moreover by that logic I am silently approving of many things all the time, when talking about Obama and medicare I often omit drone bombing as a topic.