Flame — HabitableZone

Flame » in reply to Not a lie.

But not the truth, either
Robert — (archived)

Looked at objectively, this is an interesting example of a meme that's developed poweful defenses to cling to life.

One that I see in your post is the extrapolation of "dirty looks" and somewhat self-imposed intimidation ("...worked up a back route to class that was less annoying") into what you perceive as the probability that it must have happened somewhere. Seeing a certain level of general hostility, it may have seemed that it wouldn't have taken much cross the line into violence such as spitting.

But what if it didn't? What if there was a line of common decency that everyone recognized and few crossed?

Implicit in this belief that such despicable acts were widespread is the belief that a large number of fellow Americans were (and are) morally and socially deficient. At its dark heart, the smear alleges that "the Left" is sociopathic.

That's the belief that I see Lee clinging to so fiercely, and you to a lesser and more civil degree. If you have to concede that maybe your political opponents aren't the subhuman beasts you want them to be, what might you have to concede next? It's a slippery slope.

You're latching on to small uncertainties to maintain that it must have happened and been widespread. I see the same uncertainties and maintain that statistical noise doesn't overcome the lack of any hard evidence of a widespread phenomenon. (Sounds like the issue of climate change with polarities reversed.)

Let's play the game of false symmetry, and say that those interpretations are roughly equally valid and cancel out. Then the outcome and intentions are revealed as significant. (Remember, this isn't engineering, this is a profoundly human issue...soldiers are real people, not anonymous cannon fodder in a political war.)

All else being equal, it's better for the country, and better for veterans, to have the story debunked. It may be very late in the game to bury the hatchet, but better late than never. Uncertainty should be biased by patriotism toward the outcome that benefits America, not the outcome that keeps a political grudge alive.

Why do you want to keep this meme alive?

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