It’s ok if I come off defensive. How many challenges of substance do I get? Or a

It’s ok if I come off defensive. How many challenges of substance do I get? Or are they ad hom’s, special pleading, justifications for preserving self deceptions, retaliation for slaying a sacred cow?

So I tell you what. Find someone who is making a substantive argument where you think I’m being defensive rather than ‘returning the insult that was given in kind’, or ‘preventing a dishonest or false argument from sticking’ or ‘using the argument with the person for illustrative purposes’, or ‘holding the person to a false argument until they must depart or surrender so that they can’t claim success.”

I want to see one.

I do.

Because in general I find that people use projection to insinuate or suggest I have incentives and use methods other than those that I do and am open and honest about.

Here is the truth: I use the audience to learn. In large part because it is very difficult for me to understand the thoughts and feelings of ‘ordinary people’. But I cannot let others poison the well for me.

I keep a record of everything I do.

So just as I am not letting you get away with a bullshit accusation, I don’t let others get away with bullshit accusations and framings.

And that is what you call being ‘defensive’.

And I call it ‘prosecuting ignorance, error, bias, wishful thinking, suggestion, and deception for the purpose of maintaining the informational commons.’

In other words, I practice what I preach.

(jay dyer, rick storey, josh, that one christian-ancap guy whose name I forget… there are any number of people who are trying to preserve self deceptions (sacred cows). it’s ok. I understand. But I get very few interesting criticisms to work with. I learn what I must do by arguing with every one of them. but I’m not going to let them get away with it while talking to me. I will keep with the argument until I understand what falsehood they are trying to protect, and then attack it.)