A study that will resonate with more than one blogger.
11 Replies to “Well, This Explains A Few Things”
Warning: don’t drink and click 😉
Ya know, somehow I always knew that people who didn’t understand my humour were not in their right mind.
Dummies get to vote, too, yaknow. (and if they are really stupid, they get Liberal cabinet posts)
Beltway Traffic Jam
The daily linkfest:
Dave Pinto’s Baseball Musings Radio Show at debuts 8 EST tonight.
Terry Oglesby is having a bad hair week.
Reihan Salam examines the free rider problem with car insurance.
Kate McMillan examines the science of blogging.
A…
So “The Hidden Agenda Tour” would backfire with the very people that need a slap upside the head.
Kate’s trying to explain to me why I don’t understand her meme.
Hilarious…
You know, I was raised Conservative. Then I tried to be a Green but everywhere I looked in that crowd I was always seeing red. Then I got tired of it all, and for a long time I refused to listen to or look at any news of any kind. Now I am trying to catch up and find out what it means to be a Conservative today. So I torture myself regularly by reading this blog. (Why this one? Kate’s Dad recommended it.) I want to be a Conservative again – please convince me! But most times when I even think about asking a question or floating an opinion here, I just bite my own tongue rather than risk having someone else tear a strip off me.
sarcasm:
1579, from L.L. sarcasmos, from Gk. sarkasmos “a sneer, jest, taunt, mockery,” from sarkazein “to speak bitterly, sneer,” lit. “to strip off the flesh” … http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=sarcasm
Online Etymology Dictionary
I am quite capable of understanding sarcasm, and I confess I use it myself, more often than I ought. But do I have to enjoy it? Is that what it takes to be a Conservative today?
Laura, a couple of things:
While this is a conservative blog, it is not a Conservative blog.
The discussion of late has been centered on Canadian politics, but in a less heated news atmosphere the topics range widely, from genetics to US politics to motorcycling.
This post about the study into sarcasm isn’t about “conservativism”, but about a phenomenon that bloggers see relatively frequently – a tongue in cheek post elicits a deadpan response from a reader who takes it literally.
The use of sarcasm isn’t limited to conservatism or to any political stripe, or to politics. It’s part of human communication.
Now, back to your other point (having explained that the two are unrelated) – if you want to get a discussion moving, just ask! If you aren’t comfortable with posting your real email address, make one up. You can enjoy complete anonymity if you choose (among the other readers at least), so there’s no good reason to bite one’s tongue.
You said you had stopped watching the news – well, much of the anger and frustration you see here is the venting of conservatives who are fed up with seeing themselves represented as “the other”, of having no voice. This is where they can find one, small as it is.
Even if you get angry responses, don’t assume they are directed at you. Just pick and choose among the ones that interest you and continue the discussion on your own terms.
Another point – don’t assume a response is written in anger. In the absense of obvious signs… &#%@$&! – try to strip emotion away from words. One of the biggest mistakes people make in internet discussions is to “read” emotion into someone else’s words – often they are simply projecting their own.
I love the idea of giving the ‘Press Gang’ some irony in their smug, doltish faces but as Cal said, it would likely be “spun into a web of lies; and ‘so they finally admit it, that very,very scary Stephen Harper has been lying to us for years, hiding his plans to eat our young while we sleep….ad nausium. I think Stephen Harper would be the BEST Prime Minister Canada ever had (I could back this up for PAGES); Canada would be an Artic Tiger with an honest Man running the show. Every one would want to get into our dominion instead of OUT.
Why do Canadians feel that the people who govern have to drool all over voters? (That is the major MSM ‘dump Harper’ rant reason today, they say he is too aloof) All throwing your arms around people you don’t know and mugging them in the ear, eye, or Heaven forbid, on the lips does is spread disease. Notice the Queen was not kissing people, she is a sensible, gracious woman. I don’t think she was impressed with PMPM’s arms around herself and Prince Philip. I saw her cringe. Stephen Harper is not a pubic Hugger and kisser and I admire that in a Man. His wife looks a lot happier than Paule’s wife. That says it all.
Warning: don’t drink and click 😉
Ya know, somehow I always knew that people who didn’t understand my humour were not in their right mind.
Dummies get to vote, too, yaknow. (and if they are really stupid, they get Liberal cabinet posts)
Beltway Traffic Jam
The daily linkfest:
Dave Pinto’s Baseball Musings Radio Show at debuts 8 EST tonight.
Terry Oglesby is having a bad hair week.
Reihan Salam examines the free rider problem with car insurance.
Kate McMillan examines the science of blogging.
A…
So “The Hidden Agenda Tour” would backfire with the very people that need a slap upside the head.
Kate’s trying to explain to me why I don’t understand her meme.
Hilarious…
You know, I was raised Conservative. Then I tried to be a Green but everywhere I looked in that crowd I was always seeing red. Then I got tired of it all, and for a long time I refused to listen to or look at any news of any kind. Now I am trying to catch up and find out what it means to be a Conservative today. So I torture myself regularly by reading this blog. (Why this one? Kate’s Dad recommended it.) I want to be a Conservative again – please convince me! But most times when I even think about asking a question or floating an opinion here, I just bite my own tongue rather than risk having someone else tear a strip off me.
sarcasm:
1579, from L.L. sarcasmos, from Gk. sarkasmos “a sneer, jest, taunt, mockery,” from sarkazein “to speak bitterly, sneer,” lit. “to strip off the flesh” … http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=sarcasm
Online Etymology Dictionary
I am quite capable of understanding sarcasm, and I confess I use it myself, more often than I ought. But do I have to enjoy it? Is that what it takes to be a Conservative today?
Laura, a couple of things:
While this is a conservative blog, it is not a Conservative blog.
The discussion of late has been centered on Canadian politics, but in a less heated news atmosphere the topics range widely, from genetics to US politics to motorcycling.
This post about the study into sarcasm isn’t about “conservativism”, but about a phenomenon that bloggers see relatively frequently – a tongue in cheek post elicits a deadpan response from a reader who takes it literally.
The use of sarcasm isn’t limited to conservatism or to any political stripe, or to politics. It’s part of human communication.
Now, back to your other point (having explained that the two are unrelated) – if you want to get a discussion moving, just ask! If you aren’t comfortable with posting your real email address, make one up. You can enjoy complete anonymity if you choose (among the other readers at least), so there’s no good reason to bite one’s tongue.
You said you had stopped watching the news – well, much of the anger and frustration you see here is the venting of conservatives who are fed up with seeing themselves represented as “the other”, of having no voice. This is where they can find one, small as it is.
Even if you get angry responses, don’t assume they are directed at you. Just pick and choose among the ones that interest you and continue the discussion on your own terms.
Another point – don’t assume a response is written in anger. In the absense of obvious signs… &#%@$&! – try to strip emotion away from words. One of the biggest mistakes people make in internet discussions is to “read” emotion into someone else’s words – often they are simply projecting their own.
I love the idea of giving the ‘Press Gang’ some irony in their smug, doltish faces but as Cal said, it would likely be “spun into a web of lies; and ‘so they finally admit it, that very,very scary Stephen Harper has been lying to us for years, hiding his plans to eat our young while we sleep….ad nausium. I think Stephen Harper would be the BEST Prime Minister Canada ever had (I could back this up for PAGES); Canada would be an Artic Tiger with an honest Man running the show. Every one would want to get into our dominion instead of OUT.
Why do Canadians feel that the people who govern have to drool all over voters? (That is the major MSM ‘dump Harper’ rant reason today, they say he is too aloof) All throwing your arms around people you don’t know and mugging them in the ear, eye, or Heaven forbid, on the lips does is spread disease. Notice the Queen was not kissing people, she is a sensible, gracious woman. I don’t think she was impressed with PMPM’s arms around herself and Prince Philip. I saw her cringe. Stephen Harper is not a pubic Hugger and kisser and I admire that in a Man. His wife looks a lot happier than Paule’s wife. That says it all.