Quote:
Originally posted by John Klem
Mr. Willson, I believe, laid out some of his classic doubletalk in defining the acceptable limits. He said that "You are an idiot" is unacceptable but "That idea is idiotic." is OK. I maintain that both are equally hurtful and to say otherwise is to prevaricate.
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Mr. Klem:
First: The definition you use for prevaricate is NOT the definition in the Australian dictionry. Warren has quoted that definition before on this forum and -- I'm sure -- within the last six months -- while you lurked. Perhaps you missed it.
Second: I take it you are neither father nor teacher. Both "professions" make ample use of "It's not you I'm angry with; it's your behavior."
As Warren has said, we
all have idiotic ideas from time to time. We all
should be happy when someone points them out.
I've been married for more than 40 years, so I'm conversant with the way women use this technique. Mama says: "Good Lord, Papa, that's the dumbest thing I ever saw you do." My wife knows that
I am not dumb, but we both know I do dumb things.
I suggest you were pulling our legs a little when you said you needed to look up "prevaricate." Artistic license, I'm sure since you proved by your post that you are a literate as well as composed writer. But this
idea you have that Warren is calling people liars
is just
idiotic. (a hasty grin goes here, just in case)
It's perfectly possible to like a person and dislike a behavior. That's part of the basis of the criminal justice system in the United States; i.e., certain people get probation for an offense that sends another man to jail for 10 years.
Go back and read Warren's posts carefully. You'll see that
most of the time Warren is complaining about ideas, a poster's behavior. Of course, sometimes Warren himself is just plain idiotic, and ....
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[Edited by Carl Childress on Feb 24th, 2001 at 11:10 PM]