Mitch "gets" Perrin
Mitch Berg lights into Dennis Perrin over his attack on Lileks. It's a well-done fisking, passionate and full of interesting details.
I have two kids, too. They're 10 and 12, so they're not as cute as Gnat anymore, but I'm still pretty attached to them. I suspect Perrin would call me a "Warblogger", too - and he'd probably be equally flummoxed by the way I juxtapose my kids and my firm belief in the War on Terror so far.But there's no way to separate the two. And it involves a different pile of rubble altogether.
I almost regret my comment on the post.
UPDATE: Added link to Mitch's post. Guess that would help, wouldn't it?
Comments
I was a little puzzled when I read your comment. I understand the "more of the same" argument, but my own feeling is that you can't let "more of the same" go unchallanged. One of the ways that certain shibboleths get traction is simply by repitition. The idiocy has to be answered each and every time it pops up.
Posted by: Guy Smilee | January 15, 2004 05:12 PM
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Sometimes, though, explaining your point of view is pointless. How many people have you corrected on the usual slanders - "unilateral" or "imminent" or "lied about WMD" or "quagmire" or or or? How many of them have stopped spreading those slanders? It's pointless.
There was a time, oh so long ago, when I was a young guy, and felt it necessary to correct every misconception I encountered on things that mattered to me (and on some that didn't). I quickly learned that arguing with people was pointless...not only would they persist in their misconceptions, they would add misstatements of my point of view to boot. Why argue? State your point, get out. Stick and jab, stick and jab.
Posted by: Brian Jones | January 16, 2004 12:49 PM
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Well, of course, it never stops. And I agree, to some point - you'll notice that I'm not blogging or writing long screeds. But as long as someone is doing it, that the facts are being checked, I'm pretty happy. (Well, maybe "happy" is the wrong word, but you know what I mean.)
Posted by: Guy Smilee | January 16, 2004 04:03 PM
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PS I wonder if this is the same Perrin?
Posted by: Brian Jones | January 16, 2004 04:10 PM
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Oh, and Guy, if you're reading this - who was that troll that used to hang around in rec.sport.golf and advocate for turning all the golf courses in to motocross venues? More particularly, what was his battle cry, the one he closed all his posts with?
"(something) yet?"
I find that it frequently helps to mentally append that to a lot of those same ol' arguments. It helps me keep perspective.
Posted by: Brian Jones | January 16, 2004 04:55 PM
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I don't remember his name, but he used to end his posts with "mad yet." Like that, with no capitalization, and no question mark. Yeah, he was always on the "golf is a game, not a sport" kick.
(OT: It's is COLD up here! I went skiing today. The temp at the base was about 10F, and at the summit about 0F. Heavy winds. It's supposed to hit 30 tomorrow. That's gonna seem downright balmy, but at least it bodes well for the Pats/Colts game. I'm predicting a Pats/Eagles superbowl, which will be interesting because McNabb can scramble, and throw shorts, but he can't throw the long ball, and Brady can pass, but he can't scramble.)
Posted by: Guy Smilee | January 16, 2004 05:14 PM