Extrapolation of Opinions

[Tmhays87]

It is painfully obvious to me that, amongst some posters on this forum, it is fair game to take stated opinions on a matter and run with it in directions that may not have been intended. To take it one step further, these assumed opinions gathered from reading between the lines then serve as justification for dragging the supposed opinion-holder through the mud in any number of ways, ranging from judgements on their perhaps-implied overall character to outright attacks on their person.

To give you an example of how this might work (quote box added to separate example from main post):

Joe supports a proposed new prison being built in his area because he has a family and values their safety. He sees criminals being kept off the streets as a good thing, so he voices his support for the new prison at a town hall meeting. Opponents of the prison being built claim that this prison will harm the African-American community because, statistically, African Americans are incarcerated at a higher rate than whites. Joe is assumed to be a racist by some of these opponents because he supports the prison and made clear in his statement that he thinks it will help to "clean up the streets". After the meeting adjourns, some of the opponents confront Joe and begin calling him a racist and verbally harassing him, calling him "Jim Crow" and "whitey". They don't listen when he tries to explain to them that he's not a racist and that he is only opposed to criminals because he cares about his family and the other people in his community. Joe wonders if he was wrong to have believed in the town hall meeting as a forum for constructive debate on the issues.

I ask you, Hyde Park: Is it fair or constructive to read peoples' words and opinions and take them to another level without definitive cause? Can you agree that we should limit ourselves to simply debating the issues and not making assumptions about people and who and what they are by the opinions expressed here? I know I've been surprised to find out things about people that I wouldn't have thought possible, based on opinions they have about certain things. Such things have taught me that you can't really tell much about a person just because of their political, religious, or philosophical opinions. There can be, and are, so many different reasons why people hold these beliefs.

I'm not saying you shouldn't have an opinion of my opinion, because I will certainly have an opinion about yours. I'm merely advocating for civility and common decency as we discuss and, yes, disagree about the various issues of the day. I know things get heated on Hyde Park, and it wouldn't be the same without a certain level of the sarcastic, witty and even snarky come-backs we all formulate on a regular basis. But, couldn't we just leave the accusatory and condemning language out of it?

 

[Dromond]

 

[Tmhays87]

 

[penguin]

 

[Tmhays87]

 

[Big Beautiful Dreamer]

 

[frankman]

 

[Dr. Feelgood]

 

[bigmac]

 

[Mack27]

 

[mossystate]

 

[Tmhays87]

 

[bigmac]

 

[Mack27]

 

[bigmac]

 

[Tmhays87]

 

[Dromond]

 

[Tmhays87]

 

[Dromond]

 

[penguin]