From: Lee Corbin (lcorbin@tsoft.com)
Date: Tue Nov 19 2002 - 21:45:52 MST
Brett wrote
> > Secondly, your statement rubbed my egalitarianism wrong.
> > I often see, more I think now than years ago, certain
> > European [academic] tendencies (sorry) towards authoritarianism
> > that bug me. People can become not only afraid to ask
> > Herr Doktor Doktor a question, but even start to consider
> > themselves out of place and presumptuous for failing to
> > *believe* everything that Herr Doktor Doktor says.
>
> I'm not European (if your apologising to me). In Australia
> we have this cultural conviction "that one man (maybe person)
> is as good as another - if not a darn sight better!".
It appears to be true that Americans have to bow before
Australians in terms of egalitarian instincts (joke
intended). I have often heard of the Australian cultural
need for everyone to be given a "fair go". I think that
both American and Australian egalitarianism stem from the
frontier mentality where established orders and hierarchies
were not present. This even applies to high schools: I
observe that older, more established high schools have more
cliques and social stratification.
> > Even right here on this list, we have had posters who
> > first examine someone's credentials before assessing
> > whether what they say makes sense. If the "assessment"
> > is not sufficient, then whoever it is is dismissed as
> > as a "nobody", and his or her arguments are deemed
> > completely unworthy and ignorable.
>
> I'll confess to a bit of shorthand here. And I know it
> can be dangerous. But if I invest the time in checking
> out someone's ideas and find them solid in one area I
> bring to the next encounter a great propensity to accept
> less critically both what they say themselves, and also,
> to take some account of who they recommend as also having
> ideas worth looking into.
Oh, absolutely! This is the sort of impression one could
not even avoid if one's brain is working properly and is
discriminating. You can't help but make that kind of
judgment, nor should you IMO.
That is, when I read some posts, a part of me says "this
is probably nonsense, but let's give it a chance".
What I oppose is arguments of the type "well, so and so
is known to have no credentials", or "so and so is linked
to bad web sites", or "so and so is a nobody", and "therefore
so and so's arguments and points of view need not be
entertained". It happens, and I'm afraid that it happens
more than it once did.
Lee
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