Did I miss a memo? Why are we returning to feudalism, again?

[Nessus]

You have as much to learn from me as I from you. If you think you have nothing to learn from me, it's simply because you're close-minded, lazy and unwilling to entertain realistic worldviews that are outside your ideological spectrum. These are traits I do not share (relatively speaking).

And, if you feel so strongly that you have nothing to learn from me, I have nothing to learn from you. You're dense in the skull and petrified of engaging with anyone who takes a different perspective on something. Even if that something is an issue many of us can speak intelligently about, such as long-term energy production and consumption.

Once again, you refuse to go into any depth to describe anything or stick your neck out for any particular idea. Probably because you worry about looking less intelligent than you like projecting yourself to be.

This post seems somewhat contradictory in that you're saying I'm an insecure and obstructionist jerk-hole, all the while maintaining a rather bizarre idea of egalite, fraternite and liberte. Nowhere does it say I have as much to learn from you as I do from other people (or you from me for that matter, although I have become rather convinced you are incapable of "learning" anything from me).

I would argue that I am not afraid; I truly enjoy the occasional talk with Loki where his insecurities I manage to lower, I am pretty sure wiggin disagrees with me on a host of issues, and before he went absolutely crazy Kain also seemed worth-while. Hell, I am chuffed to bits Enoch posts here, and I'm not sure it is physically possible to be any more diametrically opposed to what I think politically. (Anarcho-capitalists and other fringe people, maybe?)

I'm not saying this to fellate them, or to insult you. My point is that IMO it is an empirically found fact that what you have to bring to the table is expressed both more clearly and more amusingly in political satire and criticism. This isn't some tit for that, I do apologize if using your first name offended you, but since you used Being as a negative example, you must be on some level capable of seeing that some people don't generate anything that resonates, or anything that breaks previous resonances. The only things I see you advocate and argue are both so weak and misinformed that it's unreasonable to expect me to climb that hill. It will not net me anything but wasted time, and another empirical observation is that tilting against windmills does not encourage the people whose posts I miss to begin posting again.

One last thing, and this in particular makes me so sad you did not choose to take this to PM: I know it sucks to be called dumb. I know you know it, since you're casually referring to my potential stupidity in this very post. I tried, albeit badly, to get you to back off somewhat politely. You chose to make an issue of this, which suggests to my socially not so well adjusted mind you wanted to have this conversation out in the open. I have no issue, none at all, with that. I do not need to ask anyone else what to think of myself anymore. I have been told, both point blank and through behaviour, that people whose intellect I have the highest, utmost respect for, think very highly of my mind. These people I have asked, they've answered, and for the short term that is enough. I do not need for you, or any of the other people you forced me to name in this post, to think anything of my intelligence. That I think highly of theirs they can take or leave, it doesn't really matter to me personally, it's just what I consider an empirical observation.

That I am not willing to go "in-depth" into anything with you is something that I choose because of what I have observed of you, not out of general policy. I really am sorry you brought this to this point, and I feel emotionally drained and sad that I had to say these things. But I will not apologize for things that I do not feel were my fault, or my wrong-doing. I am not responsible for how you behave.

Do as you wish. I have no apology and no regret to offer. I stand by this reasoning until its wrongness is to me demonstrated.