Stop, Drop and Roll

03 October 2008 | Alameda Community, Alameda Truthiness | John Knox White

Watching last night’s debate, were you as flabbergasted as I was by Sarah Palin’s comment “And I may not answer the questions that either the moderator or you want to hear, but I’m going to talk straight to the American people…”. I had planned on writing about a similar subject, but that just jumped out at me.

Recent discussions on Lauren Do’s blog (tip to blogger Roberts, it’s “Doe” on “Doo”) have led to outlandish claims calling SunCal “crooks” and accusing them of “Land Grabs,” accusations that yours truly is breaking the Brown Act (open government laws) by having a blog that I sometimes express an opinion on, and the claims and accusations go on and on.

Which is all fine and dandy, except that when asked to back up any and all of these claims, these posters (most anonymous) either fade away into the shadows leaving their unfounded comments hanging without even a faint defense. Or worse, like our moose-hunting VP wannabe, they quickly pivot to some other comment that is again unsubstantiated. Governor Palin fails to produce any specifics or even understanding of the sound bites she spits out. It’s great that she has opinions, but just basing them on gut feelings and clichéd political platitudes doesn’t add up to a lot of credibility.

So here’s some ideas for improving public discourse on the blogs:

1. “Lighten up Francis”: People call people “morons”…its name calling, it reflects poorly on the speaker not the target. I mean c’mon, sometime people whip off a “crook” or a “moron” or even a “jackass,” we can ignore it and move on. Secondly, while it’s certainly true that comprehension is in the eye of the reader, that doesn’t mean that looking for ill-intent is excusable. Flippancy, attempts to be light-hearted, etc. aren’t always conceived will evil-doing in mind.
2. Be prepared to back up your position: The First Amendment provides everyone the right to voice their opinion. However, in order for discussion and dialog and debate to occur, one needs to be prepared to back up what they are saying with facts and logic. (Example, if you’re a local blogger who wants to rant about the Alameda Point plan, you do yourself no favors referring to it as 900-pages on your local cable show week after week. It shows that you haven’t even looked at it (It’s 132 pages, most of which are pictures!).
3. Understand what “libel” is: Accusing people of crimes, when they haven’t actually committed them is libel. I’m not talking about calling someone a “crook” that’s a term that reasonable people will understand it hyperbolic in nature. Reasonable people. But when you start throwing around accusations that courts will find somebody guilty of something, you best be ready to bring fact to bear.
4. Don’t change the subject: trying to pivot on the issues when your backed into a corner doesn’t give great confidence in the confidence of your convictions.
5. Lastly, if you’re going to call people names and accuse them of everything under the sun, all while not actually listening/reading what anyone has to say, don’t be surprised when people stop discussing things with you.

Gov. Palin essentially feels that she should be able to engage in a public debate in which she says whatever she wants without any discussion or need to support her positions. Some bloggers out there seem to feel the same way. Readers see through it, just like viewers of last night’s debate saw through Palin’s performance.

Just a few thoughts before the weekend. Have a great one, see you at the party for Marie Gilmore on Sunday or the Estuary Crossing Study session on Saturday!