RE: Are You Entitled to Your Opinion? - Part 2
You tell me: regardless of what you think of fascism and individualism, was I at fault for the breakdown of this conversation?
Well, I would say you pushed him a little bit by not offering him an honorable way out. You could probably have stepped out of the conversation in a less offending manner. You claimed your view was "fundamental" and "non-controversial" (opinion of fact to re-use your definition) without actually attempting to prove it. This translates easily into "you do not understand the fundamentals", or more commonly into "you are a moron". At least that's the way I would perceive it. Nobody likes being called a moron in front of their friends, especially when they are trying to impress them with a "smart" political analysis. The right thing to do for him would have been to defend his opinion calmly, and perhaps point out he didn't appreciate the slight insult induced by your statement, but he apparently decided that going postal was more appropriate. Scary shit, really.
Anyway, great articles. I really enjoyed reading them!
Well, maybe. Though not understanding the fundamentals of a thing doesn't require you to be a moron. I certainly can't say that I understand the fundamentals of calculus or string theory. :) And I consciously chose the term "confused" over a definitive "you are wrong" because I thought it would come across less harsh.
Thanks for taking a look!
Haha, good point, I had not considered that.
Based on his later replies, he is a reader of books (wow) and is proud of his knowledge, so no doubt he felt insulted by the "fundamental" point.
To snap was the only way he could come up with to save the face in front of his friends (not sure it was a success...). Not sure how you could have phrased your point differently so that he could choose to agree with you without damaging his self-esteem. He probably wasn't worth the effort anyway. People who aren't ready to politely face a little bit of confrontation should refrain from talking politics, especially on social networks.
Cheers.