2/9: Terrible MSNBC gaffe

[MaggieL]

Originally posted by jeni
i think maybe david just doesn't want to waste his time trying to explain his points repeatedly to people who don't understand, or aren't willing to at least acknowledge those points...

Not every collection of words in a row will be recognized by everyone as constituting "points" deserving of agreement, recognition or even acknowlegement. Simply because the *speaker* feels they have a point doesn't gaurantee either rebuttal or acknowlegement from the person addressed, or anybody else on-thread, for that matter.

When you find yourself explaining a point repeatedly, there are a number of possible reasons other than your audience "doesn't understand" or "isn't willing to acknowlege" you. You also may not in fact *have* a cogent point, or you may have one but be failing to convey it effectively. That's just the way things work in a forum like this. Certainly jumping up and down (even typographically) spouting profanity is unlikely to to be considered a clever forensic maneuver by most readers. Profanity *can* sometimes be used effectively for emphasis. Used constantly, it loses that effectiveness, and becomes simply abuse. (And "I've killfiled you, neener, neener, neener" is another move likely to be seen as a tantrum rather than effective argumentation.)