“If you prick me, do I not leak?”
Dear Bookworm Room readers:
Can we talk? More specifically, can we talk about Zachriel? (Zachriel, you don’t have to cover your ears here. I’m not going to say anything mean about you, although I will offer some politely stated critiques that you’ve heard before.)
I have noticed that, in my absence, Zachriel’s comments have sparked frenzied responses on your part, some of which have crossed the line from lively debate into personal attacks. I have a guess as to why this is happening. Regardless of what we throw at Zachriel, he remains imperturbably unruffled. Nothing interferes with his endless flow of facts. It’s this very imperturbability, I think, that explains the rising emotions on our side. We want some sign of humanity, and it’s not there.
Zachriel’s robotic quality is increased by the fact that his comments seldom have either introduction, argument or conclusion. He throws the information out in a rhetorical vacuum, and we are forced to draw our own conclusions as to his point — and, often, we assume the worst.
The fact that I understand that Zachriel’s exceptionally passionless facade increases the urge to draw blood, if only to prove that he’s human and not a robot, does not mean I approve of or accept the personal attacks that I’ve seen throw against him. Rather than getting furious with Zachriel, based on our assumption that his unanchored facts are attacks, let’s get curious. Politely challenge him to expand upon and explain his ideas. We may find he’s less malevolent than we assume. In any event, per Dennis Prager, clarity is preferable to agreement and, sometimes, clarity begets agreement.
This is my warning, therefore, that a comment containing blatant insults or rude statements against Zachriel (or against anyone else at this blog, for that matter), will get deleted. Demands for further information? Fine. Contrary arguments? Go for it. Competing facts? Feel free. Insults and threats? No! Not here.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lq2rxfybR7g[/youtube]
