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Honesty---good or bad? (here and in real life)

Elijah, Freelance Rabbi

14:45 / 13.04.02

ok, so i have been thinking over this for a few days after my postings in head shop provoked absolutely no one agreeing with me.
So, i ask you barbelith, is it better to ignore your actual opinion and "fit in" or should you voice you real feelings and damn the torpedoes?

See, i dont know who the "Knodge" person is, but i think one of the 2 pieces recently posted in The Creation, although very frank and likely to offend people (it was labeled, "dont read if you get offended easily") was a well formed short piece of fiction. I enjoyed it the same way i enjoyed reading the Authority issue where you see the horrible and offensive treatment they were getting at the hands of our government.
Now, the 2 posts following mine were completely contradictory to my opinion. One poster is someone whom i have disagreed with in the past on the boards, but also someone whose opinion i value.

My point is, would i be better off not voicing opinions i KNOW others are not going to agree with so in later discussion im not, "that idiot fascist" or something similar (like the barbeloids in the past were they to return to haunt us, none of us would give them the time of day)

written badley, i know, but im at work

14:58 / 13.04.02

my response to the 'fiction' was about the fiction, and the attitudes contained therein. not the author. the piece was posted purely to upset people - there's a long history of it with that particular member.

i think honesty is the best way. otherwise, where would we be? i know some here take on a new fictionsuit for various reasons, i've never done that. wysiwyg. for better or worse. often on barbelith i've felt like the only one with a certain opinion on something, but that's okay. it doesn't make a person wrong, as long as everyone is willing to discuss why they feel how they do about something. agreeing to differ, with a bit of mutual respect, is alright by me.

15:00 / 13.04.02

No, most definately not. Whilst I appreciate what you're saying here, I think you should always be honest in your posting - even if that honesty contradicts another person's opinion. If you structure your own conversation in the hope of pleasing your assumed critics, your points become dishonest to the extent that they are unrewarding (either to you or to the other participants).

15:02 / 13.04.02

Post what you feel, not what other's want to hear. Don't be offensive about it and back up what you're saying, but don't just post something you don't agree with simply because you want to fit in.

As for Knowledge, you may want to go check out the policy. There's quite a few topics dedicated to him.

Elijah, Freelance Rabbi

15:06 / 13.04.02

wait, knodge is knowledge +1?
that explains a lot

15:10 / 13.04.02

no oneshould have to lie to fit in, especially here. that, to me, contardicts the whole point of barbelith.

there is also something to be said about respectful silence though. the truth may be that you think someone is a fucking asshole. that doesn't mean you should broadcast it. i think many 'lithers feel the same, which is wahy that particular piece in creation has had so few responses. silence is sometimes the key to effectiveness, but should never be used just to be with the "in crowd."

and by the by, this is not in any way in reference to the ierne/m3 thread in policy. that's somethimg in and of itself which i lack the knowledge to comment on.

19:10 / 13.04.02

So, i ask you barbelith, is it better to ignore your actual opinion and "fit in" or should you voice you real feelings and damn the torpedoes?

Why would one want to fit in with people one has to lie to?

23:04 / 13.04.02

because they hold the electorate votes!

23:12 / 13.04.02

more reason to speak the truth and disagree!

07:38 / 14.04.02

No-one can exist within a vacuum. There's honesty and there's tact. Excessive outward adherence to one's 'honest' opinions (assuming they really are what one genuinely thinks as opposed to a deliberately abrasive facade constructed for attention-seeking purposes) may well be considered irreconcilable with the society in which one lives - in which case one faces the choice of moderating one's 'honesty' or finding a more sympathetic milieu.

This is an oooold discussion...

STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK

07:41 / 14.04.02

I always go with trying to be honest... you just have to accept that, in their turn, people will be (hopefully) honest with you, for good or for ill.

Solitaire Rose as Tom Servo

14:42 / 14.04.02

I am always honest, and I don't think anyone who is honest gets stomped on personally (but all opinions are fair game). In fact, I think it might be a good thing if we had a few more people who would challenge the political bent of the board, simply because I would like to have my thought processes challenged. Opinions that arent' challenged don't ever grow or change.

But remember, there's a different between being honest and stirring the pot just to stir the pot. It always reminds me of the Monty Python Arguement sketch...it seems that on some forums, people say the opposite of someone's opinion just because they are bored.

Wait.

No they don't.

^_^

10:09 / 15.04.02

people say the opposite of someone's opinion just because they are bored.

Maybe there should be a special acronym for that (Disagreeing Only Because I'm Bored, DOBIB) or a smiley. Just so that people know not to take you too seriously.