filtherton

I don't mind the Socratic method when a professor is using it. It can be a motivating/challenging way to learn.

I think that in a discussion about, say, smoking bans it is a bit out of place.

I don't think your problems with the things I say stem from a lack of clarity on my part. Clearly we have ideological differences, you and I. And no, it ain't just the thread where you "don't" exemplify my criticism. Though it is interesting to note that your opening question exemplifies the type of debating style I'm attempting to avoid, in that you're clearly feigning ignorance with a question and your question is phrased in such a way so as to betray your contempt for whatever you're pretending to be ignorant about.

The thread I abandoned wasn't the our first conversation. We have a rich tradition of me saying something, you pretending like you don't understand what I'm saying so that you can ask a question about it. Then when I answer your question, you just respond with another question, ad infinitum, until I stop responding.

The reason I abandoned the above-mentioned thread is that it finally dawned on me that there isn't any point in attempting to have a discussion when my every response is going to be met with some form of "but why?" I feel like the crime of filling innocent threads with terse, line-by-line rebuttals is some a waste of everybody's time. Call it personal growth, I guess.

I mean, we've gone over this same track for abortion, cigarette bans, landlord racial discrimination, etc. Now I guess we're going over it with respect to my response to aceventura's aversion to context.

And you're deluding yourself if you think you can pass off your questions as some sort of honest effort to get beyond some sort of lack of clarity on my part. The questions you frequently ask often drip with the kind of derision that would be completely out of place if all you were trying to do was understand my perspective. Beyond that, your questions are typically leading, which to me means you think you already know the answer to them and are asking them to point the conversation in a particular direction. Presumably, the fact that you think you already know the answer to a question is due in part to the fact that you feel comfortable in your understanding of the statement that inspired the question, no?

Now, I'm not trying to hurt your feelings. You're clearly intelligent, passionate and thoughtful. I'm just trying to explain to you why I'm not particularly inclined to engage you in message board discussions.