Why Do We Argue? (Page 2)

You do know the big words only work if you use them and spell them correctly, right?

Texans know big words?  Don't they try to shorten everything already?  "You all" to ya'll?

I think people argue on here because of egos! We have have egos! I have yet to ever read in a thread where someone said they themselves were wrong!

Note: I have not nor will I attempt to read every thread on here. It may have happened...

They sure do know big words. They know place names like Waxahatchie and words like Ustacould (as in Ustacould use your pistol to shoot snakes, but now there are too many houses...), and my favorite... mayonnaise (as in Mayonnaise a lot of cows wandering loose in Ft Worth today).

I've said I was wrong a number of times and have even looked up statistics on things to support on viewpoint and found that the stats are against me and I admitted that too. BT is a great place to argue because we have something in common (Triathlons, endurance sports) whereas most comment boards are just a total melee because people don't respect one another.

Or drink.  Maybe I'm part Irish? 

I WAS drinking a Guiness and listening to Irish music on directv a couple weeks ago while studying for my seismic exam for the California PE...  Hmmm  coincidence? 

No, see, you're not Irish......we don't need a reason to argue.....for drinking, we don't need an excuse. 

Now it you would just admit it I could buy you a beer and this would all be over.

You argue with people? 

Apparently.....although my definition of arguing and someone elses may be vastly different.

I see you as a bit cheeky with strong opinions. And a cute doggie

Wait......I learn in order to argue.

That too!

When I argue with smart people my assumptions are challenged. That makes me think through things more deeply and so I learn. Lots of smart people here.  Even the Irish guys.

Plus, while I have a good sense of humor and am pretty funny in real life, I can't write funny worth nothin'... so I might as well argue. 

That's my problem with the internet and perceptions.  If we were together in person, the discussion would be full of laughs, and a few beers if circumstances permitted.  Without the benefit of facial expression, voice inflection, and genuine humor, everything on the net tends to come off as more mean spirited than it is.  That's ok, who really cares,  but it's alot less fun than getting together with folks over a few beers and hashing it out.

Thought about this thread during my lunch walk.

Nothing revolutionary, but I would think that most arguments/fights get heated not because of the topic, but how it's delivered.

Most people don't like to be told they are wrong, but dislike even more being called names, belittled, or patronized in the process.

PLUS the safety of anonymity.  We all know the "internet tough guy".  Many people feel it's easier to get nasty without looking them in the eye.  It's just words on the screen and not a real person (is the perception).

I don't think it's an "internet tough guy" thing all of the time.  In this medium, you can't see the other person and realize that they are getting sideways, or their feelings hurt, or whatever....in real life you would just naturally back off, but on the net you don't get those clues.  For some, who have a thick skin or are not easily offended, it doesn't matter at all.  For others it's a problem that probably wouldn't exist in person.

It seems that people perceive arguing as bad. I think it's good. There's an art to it though, and in real life my experience is that the art of arguing is dying out.

With my Jewish friends I can argue full throttle, and they give back in the same measure. They've perfected the art of the argument.  It's a pleasure.  More or less everybody else, outside of my family, takes arguing too personally and they don't seem to enjoy it.  With them I come off like a bull dog when really I'm just a mule with inertia.

Of course not all the time.  I think it's what you said PLUS you occasionally get the tough guy thing (or safety behind the monitor).

That's a perfect example right there about communication break downs.  You said you don't think it's an internet tough guy all the time.

I then get upset because I didn't say ALL THE TIME and you put words in my mouth and get all huffy and puffy and call you names...

But I assume that's not what you meant.  We have to trust assumptions a bit more if we can't read body language or get tone.

That's probably right......the rest of us are just as stupid in real life as we are here.

I often think that I would probably like most people on BT if I actually met them in person...

Check that, I really don't like people in general, now get off my lawn.

then I must have been doing it wrong because I don't want to be around people that argue. We can discuss opinions and whatnots, but if someone comes looking for an argument, then I have better things to do with my time, especially on an internet triathlete forum...