Monday, 16 July 2012
-
Being Attacked for Your Beliefs: It Happens to Everyone
No matter what belief, faith or philosophical stance that is taken, the one holding it will one day be attacked for being different from the attacker. It is a sling fest, I believe, and perhaps it has always been so.
Today however it does seem to be more prevalent, no doubt because of our ability to communicate so much more easily than in the not so distant past and by that I mean just a few years. The internet gives everyone a place where they can speak their mind, post their thoughts and if they feel the need, to defend themselves from others who attack, put down, shame or just want to provoke an argument. Like the saying goes -- “Sometimes you’re the fly, at others you’re the windshield” -- expresses in a few words an almost universal experience for those who post on a regular basis or respond to posts often on the internet.
There is something about the internet, perhaps like driving a car, which can bring out the worst in people. Manners, respect for others can disappear and what is left is often just insults and mud slinging. People are not as anonymous in their cars or on the internet like they believe they are. The nicest people can be the worst kind of ‘jerk’ when they get behind the wheel, the same goes for being on the internet I believe. I have been that jerk in the past, and no doubt will be so in the future if I don’t watch myself and my responses that are irrational and unreasonable.
Assumed identities can be taken, fake pictures posted, or just an avatar and they are ready to rock and roll. Perhaps I should say ‘we’ are ready to rock and roll. I have said some really ignorant things to others over the years, and it has taken a long time for me to get some hold on it. Like driving, peoples reactions on the web or more often than not are not personal attacks but responses to some past experience lived out now.
A village atheist’s retort can for me bring back the energy from past experiences if taken personally. Once it is learned that it is for the most part a shot gun reaction, not personal at all, then the sting is taken away. Thin skinned people should really stay away from posting personal beliefs on any kind of public forum; it is open season all year round.
No matter what is posted, everything is read and interpreted and the intent of the author is often lost when receiving a response. Some responses are good and helpful, others are just angry blast or some deep misunderstanding that can’t be reconciled. It is best to be at peace with that sort of thing; it can’t be helped.
I have done this in the past to other posters and until I was informed ofthat fact --thatI did not understand what they meant when they posted -- I actually thought my response was right on target, but was not. So if someone gets what I post, well and good, if not, that is ok as well. Communication is difficult at the best of times, impossible more often that we would suppose.
Now there are those who post to provoke and insult. They have that right and I am glad that they can express themselves fully without fear of reprisal. Many of us need a place where we can express ourselves fully. I write for that reason, for healing and inner balance, which I have little, but as I age find that it is increasing. Writing does that for me I believe, as well as the sharing of it. Both are important components. I share nothing that others don’t experience and I believe that saves me from suffering from “terminal uniqueness” -- a very sad affliction.
How is communicating with those who disagree with you on the internet different from communicating with similar people face to face? What has your experience been with discussions on the internet? Have you ever been attacked because of your faith?
RecommendRelated Posts
Post a Comment
- Back to revelife's Revelife Site!
- Note: your comment will appear in revelife's local time zone: GMT -05:00 (Eastern Standard - US, Canada)
About the Author
-
- From: markdohle
- Name: markdohle
- Location: Atlanta, Georgia, United States
- About Me: I am a Roman Catholic, who seeks to ever deepen my love of Jesus Christ.
Stats: This Week All Time Posts: 1 94 Views: 421 132501 Comments: 0 509 View all posts by markdohle
Comments (11)
Ah, the Internet. Bastion of civility, eloquence, and tolerance, am I right? ;) Anonymity emboldens many a soul. TV Tropes sums the concept up well in their article on what is called GIFT--the (pardon my French) Greater Internet F*ckwad Theory: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/GIFT
The internet is a great invention. Sure, we tend to disagree, but after passive things like tv, radio, and movies, the freedom of being able to actively participate in what's out there may lead us to extremes. I am Catholic, so life is not normal unless someone pokes at my ideas or my Church -- but in all this, I come to understand the different ideas others have, so it's worth it.
Revalife posts would be much deeper if comments were on the subject, and in such a way so as to expand our understanding.
"Assumed identities can be taken, fake pictures posted, or just an avatar and they are ready to rock and roll"
I'm always me... never hid behind anything on the internet. I use my own face and I relate to everyone as if they were not just on the other side of a computer screen. I try to make connections with everyone and see their perspective. I've grown a lot even in internet relationships because I respect people. Sure this means I get hurt a lot, but I'm getting thicker skin too.
"Thin skinned people should really stay away from posting
personal beliefs on any kind of public forum; it is open season all year
round. "
I do my best to present my ideas and beliefs in a way that doesn't make someone else feel offended or criticized, which can be challenging but I really enjoy hearing what other people truly think about my perspective in life... so its important to me, and for growth, that I respect each persons view even if they cannot do that same for me.
i love to write, it also brings me balance, I feel I really learn myself deeper here.
Now that I've used the internet to speak my views, I'll pass my soapbox to the next person eager to post! LOL
Peace to ya, Mark!
I love the Internet!
Dealing with the hatred has been a small price to pay for being able to examine the world of beliefs, philosophies and modes of thought out there.Our civilization is in grievous trouble because most educated people, Christians included, are unable to use reason effectively to explain their beliefs.
Discussions devolve into mere exchanges of dogma.
When asked to explain why the belief in a certain dogma, both Christian and atheist will blubber a litany of nonsense that amounts to nothing more than,
"Because," or "Because the Bible says so."
The Internet eliminates physical threats and is usually more fruitful because it allows for time to digest and organise arguments.
anything i say online, i'd happily say to your face. for example, all my Christian friends know i'm very much non-Christian. anything i say on this site, i've said to their faces.
Good post!
I've actually recently been engaged in a conversation with someone about morality and faith. I think that the internet medium is actually useful for this discussion because if it was face-to-face, I fear it would turn into a shouting match. Perhaps people post their opinions online because they know they are safe from that sort of confrontation. But I think you make a point about how everyone makes unkind remarks, sometimes when they aren't even trying to, and it brings me to wonder first, if I would have reacted the same way had the initial remark been said to my face, and second, if I have at any time during the course of it, spoken too quickly. I know others have, so why should I not also be to blame?
Anonymity is the enemy... that's why I post my picture. So what if it keeps girls from browsing my blog! ~.o
In any debate where people have heated opinions, my truest sensibility is to always try to address the issue, and make it clear that I am addressing the issue, and not the person. I try to refrain from point-by-point rebuttals of people's posts, because while I understand this to be effective rhetoric, I think it is too much of a personally assaulting strategy to use unless I am communicating face-to-face. There is also a condition with well... my generation and younger, where we tend to have a real problem divorcing the critique from a person's evaluation of us. I had a professor at university who said this... "George Bush is somebody I'd love to go fishing with, catch a Cowboy game next to, and share a rib and some Bud... I just don't want him as my president!" I liked the message of that statement. We can disagree with the philosophy of a person, the job they are doing, or their particular argument... but that doesn't mean we consider them to be a "bad person". I count among my close friends people with differences in gender, religion, political ideology, preference for rollercoasters, and thoughts on a wide variety of issues. None of those things means we can't be friends, nor does that fact that we differ on our opinions make one of us a bad person. If we give other people on the internet, anonymous though they may be, the credit that they too are most likely a good person, who is pleasurable company and makes someone a fine friend, and then make sure we address the issue, and not the person, I find we can debate our opinionated differences without offense.