The Left/Right Theory (was *Why* is Lee a troll?)

From: Lee Corbin (lcorbin@tsoft.com)
Date: Fri Sep 20 2002 - 18:02:22 MDT


The first theory is that it's mostly a left/right thing
in the sense that some people who actually disagree *only*
with my political views have persuaded themselves that
something else is at work. Let me emphasize that this
is only a *theory* for the purpose of discussion; I am not
ready to claim that it's true without further evidence.

Now, regardless of various improprieties committed by various
people, your unconscious bias in favor of those on the same
ideological side as you are distorts your perceptions
slightly, and you "read in" negative traits for some posts,
and "read out" or ignore negative traits in others. This
does happen, I believe, even in the least biased to some
extent.

I did receive one off-list letter of support from someone
far to the left, and although this disconfirms the theory,
it doesn't refute it because that particular person could
always have an "chance immunity" against the proposed
mechanism. It would be enough for the theory to be true
that a *substantial* number of people were consciously or
unconsciously affected.

Yet the theory is confirmed---though not of course
proved---by the fact that the large majority of my
detractors have been from the liberal side.

SO here is exactly what is needed to REFUTE this theory:

Please, if you are a libertarian and conservative, or
libertarian/conservative, then summon all the honesty
you can, and aspire to the most dispassionate analysis
of which you can conceive, and if you can truthfully
report that you have found my posts at all

    * confining
    * dishonest
    * manipulating
    * insincere
    * calculating

or something analogous, or in some other way objectionable,
then *please* do so. That is, if you *do* have a history
on this list of being right-leaning, *PLEASE* consider
whether you can help contribute to getting to the truth
here. (I would certainly appreciate it.)

All that is important is the truth, not how I or anyone
else might feel about it.

I will not and cannot hold against you anything you say...
provided, of course, you are polite.

Thanks,
Lee



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