DRFseven

Helen, think of Martin Luther King, Jr. Yes, he was finally assassinated, but that doesn't mean he was wrong. "Stirring up trouble" can be used as a tactic to precipitate a crisis so that change can occur.

HelenM

Ah but...while this is a great example, he was continually insistent on certain non-violent ways of doing it, wasn't he?

I'm not questioning whether it's ever valid to stir things up. Goodness knows I do it often enough, in general

What I'm questioning is whether this is an ethicalinstance of 'stirring things up'.

I.e. is the end justified by the means, in the specific instance of trying to make people think, or retaliating in some way towards them, by disrupting their discussion boards?

love
Helen

[ June 07, 2002: Message edited by: HelenSL ]</p>

HelenM

Yes, but it's not 'open' if you got there under false pretenses and then have to lie about who you are...what's 'open' about that?

love
Helen

[ June 07, 2002: Message edited by: HelenSL ]</p>

HelenM

Talulah, I really wasn't thinking of you but of the 'plotting to disrupt a certain board' thread on MRD (I think) that has since been closed because the moderators didn't want to seem to be condoning that behavior.

I think it's valid to go to a board for the sake of understanding yourself or others better, fwiw.

And there's a difference between being discrete so as not to shoot yourself in the foot, and lying simply so you can get in and cause trouble.

I don't have any sense you were doing the latter, from what you said.

So this really wasn't intended to say anything against what you did...

love
Helen

abe smith

Oh, I think "stirring up trouble" is ALWIZ justifiable. Otherwise we = humankind are dead.This goes w/ one of my favorite bumper-stickers = "Thwarting produces intelligence." Why shd anyone be reluctant to get a good crash-bang intellectual argument going? Anyone who can't take the heat can depart from the kitchen, [as AMOS & PollyFlinders seem to have done from the Forum?]. Abe.

DRFseven

Yes, he was anti-violence, but disrupting a discussion board wouldn't be violent, either.

Personally, I wouldn't be able to justify a disruption of most religious discussion boards, unless we could call giving them a cause to think about what they believe a disruption (in which case I wouldn't call it a discussion board!). To me a disruption is more along the lines of making it hard or impossible to hold a discussion; that I couldn't justify. But I COULD personally justify a disruption to, say, a hate group board because I feel they are so detrimental to society. Note: I have a cousin who did some neat espionage work for Morris Dees, of the Southern Poverty Law Center; she attended some actual Klan rallies in the guise of being sympathetic in order to get information for a conviction.

So, in answer, justification totally depends upon viewpoint.

emphryio

I agree with AntiChris but hardly think the Baptist Board is worth the bother. Truly an act of futility.

Jesus Tap-Dancin' Christ

Immoral as showing up at a political rally with a protest sign.

[edited to fix the grammar.]

[ June 07, 2002: Message edited by: Jesus Christ ]</p>

The AntiChris

HelenSL

My understanding of 'open' debate is that all shades of opinion are given an equal hearing regardless of who holds those opinions.

I'd be really interested to know what bearing you think a a poster's identity has on the validity his argument.

Chris

Panta Pei

"Anyway, I know I say I'm a Christian, but have I ever said I was liberal? You'll get me in trouble...my church is very conservative!"

Surely you jest I was under the distinct impression from your most recent submissions that you were associating with a UU minister for insight. Again, I suppose you can divert your current stance by, once again, vascillating within the ever-evolving HelenSL. I cannot be expected to keep up, however, as I lack omniscience

"Indeed; but I'm not sure what I was thinking of is technically 'fraud'."

I was speaking of christianity and the justification of voicing a dissenting view.

"I'll await your humble apology regarding wrongly-stating my self-profession "

Yes. You apparently will.