Hub Pages Forums and the Perpetuation of Aimless Argumentation
68Dedicated to the Hubpages Political Forums
Brain Games Turning into Brain Drain
Ahh the spectacle of the online arena....
I remember back to my first online social site experiences. While in the Marines I joined a site called "Asian Avenue." Some Navy friends of mine had personal pages there, and I decided to hop in....
This was.....back in 2000....
It was in their forum section that I began evolving as a writer and where I entered the arena of online debate...
Writing, in my perspective, is one of the most valuable forms of communication, and something to be prized and mastered. Yet, I observed as this precious resource was wasted as members bashed one another based on what part of the Asian continent they represent, bashed on non-Asians on the site through the perpetuation of the "threat" of Black and White "Asiaphiles," and as they took turns demonstrating (largely) how empty their brains and identities really were.....
I would argue with people who put up images of aggression against African-Americans...who would use some of the worst racist, sexist, and just plain demeaning language I had ever come across....at the time...
Hubpages is a world apart from that ridiculousness, which has been removed from Asianavenue....at least the last time I was there several years ago..
On one hand, the profanity is less, and the racism not so blatant....on Hubpages there is also a, to some degree, presumption of intellectuality because, as opposed to an online social network, this is a place where writings are published for a larger purpose....and not just to make friends and chat.....
But there are those who prowl about, from article to article, from forum to forum looking for nothing but bantor swapping.... It does not matter what is said, what sources are cited, or what specific examples are exposed,explored, or explained......there are some who just like to take a countering opinion, regardless of how unrealistic or nonsensical it actually may be.....
The online forum allows for anonymity, and enables people to behave less responsibly than they might if sharing a similar type of activity in the flesh.... When discussing undocumented immigration to the United States, or whether or not Obama is a good president or really a "secret Muslim agent", it is very simple to move the fingers a little bit and communicate something trivial and irrelevant in response to serious reasoning....but if done live and in person such would not be possible.....just the time that it takes for some of these "intellectual" responses would leave the real-life arguer standing with his/her mouth open with not much to say.....the online slows down and morphs arguments into slow-paced tit for tat that enables the unknowledgeable to try to figure out a comeback...and then post it hours later in an attempt to look clever......in real life the crowd would have dispersed, and they would have looked pathetic.......
While posting in forums is not only beneficial to the abilty to type effectively and efficiently, but it can stimulate the mind when there is something of interest or of real merit that is being expressed...whether about an Al Gebra terrorist plot, or a discussion on class and generational strife.........but at the same time it is very easy to fall into pointless, waste of time "debates" with people who have nothing better to do with their time but retort.....and retort......kind've like this....
Hmmmmmm....
There is nothing Iike more than a good debate, and a discussion of serious issues....but it is another thing when sharing time with those who don't, and who don't care about what they don't know.....
I learned that, through games like chess, people show a lot about who they are and how they think without realizing how much observers can notice behavioral and decision-making patterns and study them........I have had friends stop playing chess with me because they know that I realize that this concept exists......but I have realized that in the online arena...where no one really knows anyone (especially if they use avatars and don't produce articles)...the concerns that come along with physical observation are minimized, and for many, self worth goes right out the window....
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I hope it was enjoyable....that's one of my favorite Monty Python skits.....
I like to watch people as I drive..it's part of defensive driving, but I do like to pay attention to what drivers around me do..what kind of character traits they show...
Of course, I take into account that this is a momentary observation...but driving, like the internet, enables people to take on avatar-like personas....one can see who a person is to some degree....are they considerate people? are they attentive, or impulsive?
I will say, though, the driving patterns of the majority of random samplings give me great optimism for my world...
Thanks for posting..
Wow. That was some of the most shameless passive-aggressive bellyaching I've seen in some time.
On the other hand, it's good to see that you are so in touch with your feminine side.
Your tender sensibilities may be better served by steering clear of discussion until you are old enough to handle it. There must be more book reports to write.
I'm glad to see "great" minds like yours are again being "productive".....doing about as much useful activity as Dick Cheney while he was Vice President....
"Feminine side"? Whatever that means, eh?
You start with latent racism in your posts elsewhere and then you move to sexism here....not bad....you are learning to show your true colors more and more Sad....
I'm glad to see you choose to do so on my articles, as opposed to your own page...
My "book reports"
or your "creations".....I'm glad to have my priorities straight....
This article was partially dedicated to you......thanks for leaving your mark....
Sab is Sad
""Feminine side"? Whatever that means, eh?"
It means you are very sensitive and in touch with your feelings, and that's a good thing.
"This article was partially dedicated to you......"
Really? You don't say. Who could have known? Instead of that embarrassing display of passive-aggression you might have just come right out and been direct.
Quoting Sab:
"Personal responsibility applies on the national level as well as the individual."
Now, when I say latent racism, I am not talking about something obvious, as you will know Sab....
Color-blind racism is the perpetuation of white dominant conjecture phrased in a way that shields the communication from standardized "racism" measures.....
Let us look at your quote here....you speak of individual responsibility...whether of the nation of Mexico, or Mexicans as individuals....
To begin with, you demonstrate latent racism in that you somehow classify Mexicans into a whole which does not actually exist.....the building of the false archetype....
I will use the following quote to explain my further point:
"Elite law schools in the United States serve a gate-keeping function into the profession of law, a profession which dominates positions of power in all branches of government as well as in the business world. As a sub-system of the legal system, elite law schools are important cites of institutional power. These historically exclusively white institutions have opened their doors to people of color in post-civil rights America, but they remain white spaces. Through an ethnographic examination of two elite law schools, I find that the dominant practices and discourses in these schools are characterized by color-blind racism. As a result, students of color within these spaces face systematic, if sometimes subtle, challenges to their ability, their intelligence, their perceptions, and their right to even be in the law school. Examining the racial hurdles faced by law students of color who must negotiate color-blind racism, reveals the mechanisms by which notions of liberal individualism and color-blind racism work within the institution of elite law schools to justify and reproduce white power and privilege, while simultaneously disavowing it."
Now, while this speaks of law schools, the nations of Mexico and United States....and the holds on the clutches of power, are really no different.....
As Europeans (from via the United States or Europe directly) dominate the Mexican and American landscape, they strengthen ties, economically, militarily, and politically....and leave others out.....
Indigenous-looking Mexicans are looked down on in both the United States dominant culture as well as in European-dominated Mexican culture.....both feeding and supporting one another...
To then further that Mexico should "take care of itself" is a denial of the truth that we all know is actually going on....where Mexicans of Indian descent, the overwhelming majority of the population, and the overwhelming majority of those who are disenfranchised by "their" government (or is it the American plutocracy behind it?)........unable to sell their own corn in their own markets....
You may call you words otherwise.....but they carry with them far deeper and darker connotations.....that line up directly with "color-blind" racism....
Passive-aggressive?? Take a look in the mirror....
I really wish I had left your statements on my "Breadgivers" article up....I could then simply remind you of your own behaviors......you project a lot....
Integrity is here......now how about yours?
I am not done with proving my 'latent racism' case.....although most of your posts do follow the same theme that I have just expressed.....
Keep protecting the racist masters and you will be associated with them......"individualism" either in the national or personal sense does not exist......it is an illusion...just like the argument that "Mexico needs to fix itself".....
and then there is your "feminine side" comment....
What you might classify in gender-specific terms are human traits and characteristics.....and are not based on whether one has something hanging in between their legs or not....
You should no better than to argue such foolishness Sab.....you just, perhaps, are too classically conditioned regarding "gender roles" to see how poor your choice of words were...
Reeeeediculous!
"Color-blind racism is the perpetuation of white dominant conjecture phrased in a way that shields the communication from standardized "racism" measures....."
LOL! This is a perfect example of the pointless empty nonsense that makes unwashed college professors touch themselves in unholy ways. Absolutely perfect.
"you speak of individual responsibility...whether of the nation of Mexico, or Mexicans as individuals.... "
No, I referred to all nations and all individuals. Maybe you need to reflect on your own racial assumptions. Or maybe you just need to put more energy toward reading carefully than toward dramatic emoting.
"To begin with, you demonstrate latent racism in that you somehow classify Mexicans into a whole which does not actually exist.....the building of the false archetype.... "
I referred to all the citizens of the nation of Mexico. If you want to wallow in empty radical-speak and spin reality into some unrecognizable 'theory' that's up to you, but you take care with casting accusations of racism my way young man. I don't know how old you are, but I'm sure it's old enough to start demonstrating some character.
"Indigenous-looking Mexicans are looked down on in both the United States dominant culture as well as in European-dominated Mexican culture....."
YOU are making judgements and drawing conclusions based on how people LOOK and you dare accuse others of racism? Have a look in the mirror. Simply being a fully-indoctrinated radical lefty does not exempt you from responsibility for your own words and the assumptions they carry.
Your responses speak for themselves...there is really nothing left for me to say....
I know what my experiences speak for, and they are far more relevant than your rhetoricizng...
I stand by by words, and you have failed to pursuade me otherwise.....
All citizens of Mexico are not weighted the same way, and neither are they here...to state otherwise is merely the perrpetuation of a nonexistent ideal......
The readers can go back and read your posts in their entirety and check if my context behind your quote was correct....
Your opinions are your own...thank you for leaving them...
"Mexicans of Indian descent, the overwhelming majority of the population, and the overwhelming majority of those who are disenfranchised by "their" government"
Then 'they' need to take care of that.
TK always did like to argue pointlessly...as you can see
LOL Mike, frankly you are an avid contributor to political forums yourself :D
I've never said that I wasn't a contributor... How could I write about something I haven't participated in?
Sab, I've listed my ideas before...
The dude in the mask must have a crush on the writer of this article, hence all his pointless comments. He wants to engage the author, who would probably not talk to him otherwise. Sa Oh has a man crush on Mike, and he needs the confrontation to perpetuate it.
I've found the perfect hub to permalink in forums when someone starts a pointless argument.. i'll just stop. text" watch this vid ", post the link and then be on my way.. That vid is hilarious! and DAMN a few of those wallops look like they hurt ! oWWWCH!
Cathy 2 years ago
Ah, c'mon, I can't believe no one's taking you on Mike. Ha. Had to chuckle a bit, around the 'secret Muslim spy portion. No one could ever know me through a game of chess, as I'll never attempt it again. I got no rhythm, er, strategy I mean. Keep sharpening those 'pencils'.