Public Discourse - Tumblr Posts

Digital Nuance, Public Discourse, and Public Approval: The Steady Decline of "Having a Dialogue"

Being on the internet as someone who operates from a place of nuance and complexity as opposed to simplistic and impulsive knee-jerk reactions feels like being a masochist because there's so much you could say but it would take too long to write out and mostly fall on deaf ears.

It also doesn't help that although there are many people out there that are happy to have these complex discussions, you're much less likely to find people who are capable of doing so in a way that doesn't convey the idea that the only perspective they're open to is theirs.

This mentality is not just aggravating to deal with as someone who wants to contribute to these discussions, but actively drives people away from having them, which is incredibly counterintuitive given how much stress and importance is constantly placed on speaking on issues.

This, if anything, calls into question why stress is even placed on having discussions about any topic. If there's supposedly only one right view and thus solution to an issue, why even start a dialogue in the first place? To talk in circles? Unless, they're not that simple...

It's a rare occurrence, but my faith in humanity is slightly restored whenever I see what could've easily turned into a heated argument about a topic beautifully and amicably resolve itself with each party respecting each others views without attacking them.

Though, I feel like the concept of "ratioing" people is what holds us back from these occurrences happening. I can't help but feel that people on the internet are less concerned about actually defending their argument, and more about whether other people will back it up.

Saying this, I can already hear people defending ratioing because of how it supposedly "puts people in their place" and makes them feel shame for what is mostly agreed to be the morally or intellectually incorrect way of analyzing a topic.

Again though, why should the focus of having an opinion be attempting to "prove" that it's the so-called "right" one through public approval which is also nothing more than simply a larger group of people's opinions?