Week 9 - Online Arguments

This was a very challenging assignment for me to work on.  I do not subscribe to, seek out, or participate in online arguments.  I try to avoid them in person and with friends as well.  Partly because I miss some of the social nuances, partly because I was raised in a violent household, partly because I choose not to expose myself to negative energy.  With that being said, I am attempting this as an academic exercise.

                                                

I chose to be inspired by my boyfriends interest in Elon Musk for this adventure.  There are plenty of fans and haters with most subjects and people and Elon has plenty of both.  The specific thread I chose to analyze is Elon Musk gets destroyed by facts and logic.  I chose this particular thread because it has humorous elements to it while also illustrating to me that keyboard warriors love to share their opinions anywhere they can.

                                            

The story begins with Elon posting his feelings "...that space represents hope for so many people".  Zack Hunt responds with a colorful remark, and from there, things get interesting.  The three negative or concerning examples I have from this thread are:

1) The initial response shown above is juvenile and judgmental.  Which sounds quite judgmental itself.  As we have been learning in class, if you're going to make an argument for or against something there is an art to it.  Spouting off angry rhetoric is not beneficial and adds to the challenges in the world, not help.

2) The top rated responses riff off of the concept of rockets being large phallic symbols and space debris.  Trickle down economics, yeah, we get it.  It's playful, yes, but again, it is not adding benefit to the argument/conversation.

3) The response from EmperorRosa makes a claim that Elon does very little at SpaceX to deserve the praise he receives.  This statement/assumption is not backed by facts or knowledge.  With some research one can learn that Elon knows virtually every facet of the engineering.  He is hands on with the technical side of the business.  

When there are responses giving proof of this EmpororRosa fires back with more information that is not backed by data.  They are not presenting a well researched argument and they are not open to reviewing information.

Picture credit Violetteee.com

Before I suggest 5 rules for how people should argue online correctly I would like to share four agreements that I work to apply to my life everyday.  They are in Don Miguel Ruiz's book The Four Agreements and they are wonderful guidelines to live by every day of your life.  I would love to offer these as the first 4 of the 5 rules, but I will leave them here as a bonus for anyone that wishes to read them. 

1)  Ask yourself WHY.  Why am I choosing to write this or respond to this?  Why do I feel this way?

2)  Ask yourself HOW.  How is this helpful?  How is this beneficial? How will others feel when they read this?

3)  Ask yourself WHAT do I hope to gain by this?  Are you hoping others will change their minds or positions?  Are you hoping that they tell you how brilliant you are?  Do you hope to just feel better for blowing off some steam?  

4)  Do your research.  If you want to make a powerful and intelligent impact know the facts.  

5)  Proofread.  Grammar and spelling also make a big impact on your audience.  If you wish to be taken seriously be sure your presentation is well rounded.