Quote:
Originally Posted by TonyB06
And again, you continue to make the mistake the other poster makes -- that your opinions of what is "just and pure and right" should carry the day on what others post. They do not. Everyone can weigh and sift what they read and make a determination on what they accept. Your choices on what and when you add to the public discourse, and whether they are sufficiently positive are just that -- your choices. You do not get to make that choice for others.
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To my mind, this sounds like, essentially, the "EVERYBODY HAS A RIGHT TO THEIR OWN OPINION!" and/or "IT'S NOT RIGHT OR WRONG, IT'S THEIR OPINION!" notions, re-packaged for this thread.
Both are demonstrably false - opinions can be wrong, misplaced, uninformed, ill-gotten, and etc. and nowhere is opinion protected against reprisal in the public forum for being wrong/dumb/whatever. Knowing this is not a "mistake" - the mistake is thinking otherwise.
But either way, I'm not asking people to withhold making their own determinations. I'm asking them to refrain from idle speculation and wanton disregard for such standard practices as "fact-checking" and "responsible reporting."
Of course they are free to ignore that request. They have that choice. However, that choice has consequences, real-world consequences, which have been proven out by science - regardless of whether or not you think it matters.