Re: Libertarian Economics

Kennita Watson (kwatson@netcom.com)
Sun, 21 Sep 1997 01:50:08 -0700


Lee Crocker writes:
>Joao deserves insults. He is not merely ignorant, he is willfully
>ignorant; he /has/ been pointed to sources of information (I pointed
>to some myself), and he chose to waste our time instead. That's not
>just ignorant, that's rude.

I find that answering a negative behavior with another negative behavior
(indignance, righteous anger, scorn, etc.) simply raises my blood
pressure. This is true even assuming that the other party actually was
deliberately rude or cruel or whatever, which (from my point of view)
doesn't matter.

I say this simply because I find kindness, understanding, patience,
etc. more *effective*. Argue its relevance if you will, but a basic
psychology text will point out that reward is more effective than
punishment for behavior modification.

Just a thought,
Kennita

P.S.: Thanks for the HotBot pointer, by the way.

Kennita Watson | The bond that links your true family is not one of blood,
kwatson@netcom.com| but of respect and joy in each other's life. Rarely do
| members of the same family grow up under the same roof.
| -- Richard Bach, _Illusions_