>On Sat, 8 Nov 1997, David McFadzean wrote:
>
>> I'd like to clarify something before this degenerates further. My claim
>> is that if someone makes the effort to explicitly define their terms, then
>> it is rude for the reader to deliberately misinterpret those same terms.
>
>You're right, of course. So why is the world filled with so many rude
>people?
People are always prone to rudeness when their favourite beliefs are called
into question, when their most cherished memes are attacked. I've noticed
that I am no exception to this rule. And what is "favourite" and "cherished"
in this context? The memes that are most deeply entrenched, that have somehow
managed to link themselves with <goodness>, <necessary>, <sacred>, etc.
The rudeness is literally a defense mechanism.
-- David McFadzean david@lucifer.com Memetic Engineer http://www.lucifer.com/~david/ Church of Virus http://www.lucifer.com/virus/