Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me.
So, I was told as a child.
It’s something I remember as an adult.
But should you choose to name-call, it will say everything about you, your personality, and your ethics, and may damage your reputation. I recently watched in horror as a liberal whose opinion I once respected (and never agreed with) went off on another friend because she’s a conservative.
He used the “C” word. As in “you’re a (expletive deleted)”.
Did reading it make you uncomfortable? Good. It should. This was all over a difference of opinion, of which neither will ever cause change or improvement.
No facts, not his opinion or a solution, just “why would anyone listen to you, “C-word”. He kept it classy all the way through … or so he thought.
Never in the history of critical thought has a more compelling argument been avoided. When I confronted this in person in real life, his response was “I didn’t mean it”.
Cowardice? Lack of vocabulary? Or is he delusional?
So, what did this paragon of liberal ethics mean? What message was he trying to convey? Is it Don’t listen to her because I say she’s a ****?”
Words have meaning, and they speak loudly and clearly. What this liberal said is still enshrined on social media; he has refused to delete it (because he’s correct, you know), and it’s there for all to see.
It’s not damaging the reputation of the conservative woman he called out. It is devastating to his, but he thinks that’s just fine because liberals need to win at all costs … even when cheating is involved.
So, this interaction motivated me to conduct a highly unscientific poll. I asked the following question to the point of being annoying – “Have you been called names over your opinion, and by whom, a liberal or a conservative?”
My conservative friends were quick to respond, and their experiences were surprising. They indicated the name-calling was prevalent when the liberals were confronted with facts that didn’t fit their worldview, and the insults were particularly vile, especially toward the women.
My liberal friends put a whole different spin on the question. Their answer was “No” – they had not been berated or called names by conservatives, but they felt that conservatives probably deserved it. They insisted it was perfectly acceptable.
That wasn’t what I asked, but it certainly added a dimension to my “poll”.
I can’t help but ask what we, as a society, have done to deserve this discontinuity. In a polite society, it’s not acceptable to berate someone just because you don’t agree with their stated position.
It’s no secret that I’m a somewhat rotund man, but disagreeing with me by calling me a “fat f**k” does not make your argument or add to your prestige. I’m thick enough-skinned that I just don’t care, but we are not all that mentally tough.
It’s just fine for us to disagree. It would be a boring world if we all agreed. The French have a phrase, “Vive la difference” and it literally means “Long live the difference”. It expresses approval of the differences between people or things and encourages diversity in the best ways.
It’s not acceptable for you to refute my position on any issue by calling my parentage into question and alleging that I prefer relations with barnyard animals, all of which you know to be a lie. A recurring theme on the Left is “Orange Man Bad”. For this column, it’s “Dolph Man Bad”.
Liberals, you have already very publicly hurled many vile and disgusting insults and taken actions that can’t be undone. You can’t put that toothpaste back in the tube. That history of degenerate insults is your reputation.
Liberals seem to enjoy being rude, crude, and socially unacceptable, while Conservatives have chosen not to roll around in the mud with the Left in this regard. This is one of the issues upon which we should never compromise.
We need civil discourse.
We don’t need petty name-calling.
