grannyfox
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posted on March 15, 2001 01:13:54 PM
...(you know)...we all got one. 
But some are credible and some strike me as completely meaningless.
I like a well thought out opinion that shows someone has actually considered various aspects of the subject and can present their argument in a clear, rational fashion. I like credible sources, and a point counterpoint discussion in which each can explain their opinion based on facts.
Rhetoric, usually created someone other than the person actually posted here, is empty and verbose. It carries no more weight than any other rant does with me.
Email from lurkers and voices of the down trodden carry little validity in my mind either. Unsubstantiated antedotal evidence carries slighty more credibility.
So what is it about opinions that bugs you?
**Disclaimer: If I appear arguementive, then I probably am just being a #*!@ today. It comes & goes. C.
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grannyfox
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posted on March 15, 2001 01:16:30 PM
Oh yeah, and the slippery slope is neither valid, nor credible. It is rhetoric. It is always added to an opinion just to add words. It can be used on any perspective of any debate at any time. It is crap.
[ edited by grannyfox on Mar 15, 2001 01:17 PM ]
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Zazzie
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posted on March 15, 2001 01:32:07 PM
Gads--I always hate it when someone brings up the slippery slope and talks about avoiding it..... I say great!!! The slippery slope will make us all land in the mud puddle and then we really have to get down to business rather than avoiding getting dirty
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rawbunzel
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posted on March 15, 2001 01:43:15 PM
You get email from lurkers? I have never had any email from a lurker! Heck, I thought that was all rumor!
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grannyfox
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posted on March 15, 2001 01:46:43 PM
Na...no email for me.
I meant those that speak for the emailing lurkers do not hold much credibility for me.
Sorry.
I thought another pet peeve...
I hate the "your momma wears Army boots" type of come backs.
**Disclaimer: If I appear arguementive, then I probably am just being a #*!@ today. It comes & goes. C.
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capriole
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posted on March 15, 2001 02:00:03 PM
Molasses
(evil grin)
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jamesoblivion
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posted on March 15, 2001 02:02:47 PM
Hmm, I once got an AW related (loosely) email from someone I didn't recognize and might have been a lurker.
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Muriel
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posted on March 15, 2001 02:04:34 PM
Lurkers?? 
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jamesoblivion
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posted on March 15, 2001 02:06:30 PM
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rawbunzel
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posted on March 15, 2001 02:08:02 PM
I am guilty of having used "unsubstantiated anecdotal evidence" before.
However, I am not sure if I have used the "oh yeah,well your momma wears combat boots" one. If I have it has been purely unintentional.
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jamesoblivion
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posted on March 15, 2001 02:10:11 PM
Aww, come on. Only an android would never use unsubstantiated anecdotal evidence. If you've got a good story, how can you not say it?
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jamesoblivion
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posted on March 15, 2001 02:11:02 PM
We should call it UAE from now on.
"Hey, that's a UAE. I'm not buying that, no dice."
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Muriel
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posted on March 15, 2001 02:11:19 PM
Oh thanks, James. Now I'm really scared. I think I need police protection now! Hmmmm.... who could I get? 
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jamesoblivion
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posted on March 15, 2001 02:12:13 PM
Hahaha 
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gravid
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posted on March 15, 2001 02:44:18 PM
Mr X***** of the lurk patrol. Otherwisw known as Captain Baboo.
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Zazzie
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posted on March 15, 2001 02:52:44 PM
Xardon---arrest that Lurker!!!
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Muriel
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posted on March 15, 2001 03:03:20 PM
I think that's Lieutenant Baboo.
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xardon
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posted on March 15, 2001 03:39:23 PM
Alas, what a cruel fate has befallen me, I am hoist by mine own nihilistic petard, and become a proxy derailer.
.....and speaking of dada, I was given to considerable pause by the title of Muriel's thread elsewhere in the RT. Be still my heart!
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Muriel
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posted on March 15, 2001 03:44:17 PM
Xardon, what the heck are you talking about?
And furthermore, ok! I admit it! I'm Jane Doe and Xardon is "the boyfriend". There! Now you all know!! Baby Doe's name is "Lieutenant Bob". 
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gaffan
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posted on March 15, 2001 04:03:37 PM
The conjecture that my mother wears combat boots is an unsubstantiated anecdote.
I'm irked by those who end their post with "and that's the last I'm going to comment on this", then post again seven minutes later. And twelve minutes after that.
-gaffan-
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Linda_K
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posted on March 15, 2001 04:05:05 PM
So what is it about opinions that bugs you?
Not much. I enjoy reading how other people view the same issues. I have opinions, others have opinions (like you said - we all have opinions).
While reading how they think or feel they might just share something that causes me to look at it from their prospective. There are a lot of subjects that I 'ride the fence' on and enjoy hearing other sides.
Variety....the spice of life.
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xardon
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posted on March 15, 2001 04:05:13 PM
My apologies to grannyfox for being the unwitting cause of this unseemly derailment. Your topic is worthy of more considered response than we've provided.
Muriel,
We'll take this to another thread.....and brace yerself!
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SilkMoth
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posted on March 15, 2001 06:56:48 PM
------WARNING: DERAILMENT------
Muriel said: "And furthermore, ok! I admit it! I'm Jane Doe and Xardon is "the boyfriend". There! Now you all know!! Baby Doe's name is "Lieutenant Bob"."
...as long as it isn't "Sergeant Michael...."
^Å^
----------END DERAILMENT-------
[ edited by SilkMoth on Mar 15, 2001 06:57 PM ]
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stockticker
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posted on March 15, 2001 07:19:21 PM
I agree with you Linda_K. Hearing different opinions helps me understand what makes other people tick out there in the real world. That's always interesting (at least to me). I'm not concerned that someone will force me against my will to their point of view... it won't happen, and I don't feel the need to "prove" I'm right to anyone. I guess that means my ego is healthy.
Irene
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nobs
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posted on March 15, 2001 07:44:47 PM
As long as the opinion is stated as an opinion and is done so respectfully and with some amount of intelligence, than most opinions are fine with me.
The opinions that are usually irksome for me are those that come from an agenda. I have no problem with anyone expressing an honest opinion - I like point/counterpoint discussions but when I feel that someone is trying to shove an agenda (be it political, religious, personal etc.) down my throat then the opinion is lost on me, I give it little weight.
I enjoy discussions that don't get bogged down in rhetorical opinion.
Of course ... this is all just my opinion.
affirmation comes from within ...
not at the expense of another.
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mybiddness
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posted on March 15, 2001 07:52:40 PM
The differences between us are what add the spice to life. The only time I am turned off by an opinion is when it is presented as the final word on the subject. That tells me that the person really isn't interested in a dialogue - so I automatically shut down.
This is a little long but I think it applies in most cases anyway.
THE CRACKED WATER POT
A water bearer in India had two large pots, each hung on each end of a pole which he carried across his neck. One of the pots had a crack in it, and while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water at the end of the long walk from the stream to the master's house, the cracked pot arrived only half full.
For a full two years this went on daily, with the bearer delivering only one and a half pots full of water in his master's house. Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments, perfect to the end for which it was made. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it was able to accomplish only half of what it had been made to do.
After two years of what it perceived to be a bitter failure, it spoke to the water bearer one day by the stream. "I am ashamed of myself, and I want to apologize to you." Why?" asked the bearer. "What are you ashamed of?" "I have been able, for these past two years, to deliver only half my load because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your master's house. Because of my flaws, you have to do all of this work, and you don't get full value from your efforts," the pot said.
The water bearer felt sorry for the old cracked pot, and in his compassion he said, "As we return to the master's house, I want you to notice the beautiful flowers along the path."
Indeed, as they went up the hill, the old cracked pot took notice of the sun warming the beautiful wild flowers on the side of the path, and this cheered it some. But at the end of the trail, it still felt bad because it had leaked out half its load, and so again it apologized to the bearer for its failure. The bearer said to the pot, "Did you notice that there were flowers only on your side of your path, but not on the other pot's side? That's because I have always known about your flaw, and I took advantage of it. I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back from the stream, you've watered them. For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate my master's table. Without you being just the way you are, he would not have this beauty to grace his house."
Moral: Each of us has our own unique flaws. We're all cracked pots. But it's the cracks and flaws we each have that make our lives together so very interesting and rewarding.
You've just got to take each person for what they are, and look for the good in them. There is a lot of good out there.
There is a lot of good in us! Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not be bent out of shape.
Remember to appreciate all the different people in your life!
Or as I like to think of it--if it hadn't been for the crackpots in my life, it would have been pretty boring and not so interesting...
Thank you all my crackpot friends... and I ain't sayin which ones I think are the crackpots.
Not paranoid anywhere else but here!
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lotsafuzz
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posted on March 15, 2001 09:04:06 PM
mybiddness: Would it surpise you to know that I received an email copy of that story TWICE in one day? One was from someone I only know online and the other was from my best (real) friend.
I do believe some folks are trying to tell me something!!
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mybiddness
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posted on March 15, 2001 09:10:27 PM
Lotsa LOL, I got it twice last week too. I considered being called a crackpot a high compliment. I'm glad to see I have such good company!
Not paranoid anywhere else but here!
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lotsafuzz
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posted on March 15, 2001 09:27:58 PM
LOL!
Well, at least I'm not alone! What killed me was the fact that two people who know my in very different ways/forms both thought of me when they read it!
Heck as long as they remember that I am a cracked pot and not a crack pot, I'm happy!
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Linda_K
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posted on March 15, 2001 09:53:56 PM
stockticker - Irene - That's always interesting (at least to me). Me too!
mybiddness What a wonderful story. And perfect for this thread. Thanks for posting it.
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