11-09-2020, 12:33 PM
(11-09-2020, 12:01 PM)hollodero Wrote: Civility is a thin layer with people. This has little to do with political affiliation. When it comes to Trump, it sure helps that losing the layer of civility often was actively encouraged by the man himself. Which happened on a scale that did not happen on the other side.
When it comes to reacting to Trump, it is a tough ask to keep up civility against a deeply uncivil person like Trump, or many supporters for that matter. In a sense, I guess civility is one of those social contract things, like respect and all that. You get it when you give it. When someone isn't civil, people will respond in kind and that does not automatically mean the blame is equally distributed and it's just everyone that is inherently uncivil.
CNN example, I don't know what they are supposed to do when Trump says uncivil things, or moronic ones, or false ones, or actually dangerous ones like claiming voter fraud by the millions without a shred of evidence. At some point, I feel calling things what they are might trump the urge for being "civil" and not saying anything impolite, no matter how warranted it might be. I get they (and also many Democrats and liberal commentators etc.) take it too far sometimes, meaning I agree with that. But accusing them of inciting violence by not reporting in a way Trump could more easily stomach (or helps him "keep his ego intact", which would effectively mean they'd have to call him great and beautiful), that imho takes it a notch too far.
Very well stated and I don't find anything in there that I disagree with. I just find it odd that people would behave in a way that encourages a response they purport to fear or at the very least find extremely undesirable. It certainly takes a large dose of maturity and patience to deal with someone who completely lacks both of those qualities, to be sure. But if you're worried about a mercurial and thin skinned person doing something rash the absolute last thing you would want to do is needle them.
I guess my main point is the same it's always been, be responsible for your own behavior. Be consistent in what you state you want and act accordingly. We're certainly not seeing either of those things here.
