brynndragon: (tye-dye love)
benndragon ([personal profile] brynndragon) wrote2007-01-10 12:39 pm

QotD

"Logic is the opiate of those who are afraid of their feelings."

*dons asbestos suit*

EDIT: We have competition for QotD: "Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime. Give him ramen noodles, and you don’t have to teach him anything." (from Momofuku Ando's obituary)

Feelings burned the witches, feelings fuels the mobs

[identity profile] fengi.livejournal.com 2007-01-10 06:11 pm (UTC)(link)
Which is exactly the argument the fundies use - this is why Newage (pronounced sewage) is the handmaiden of the Xtian right.

Re: Feelings burned the witches, feelings fuels the mobs

[identity profile] benndragon.livejournal.com 2007-01-10 06:23 pm (UTC)(link)
You come in to my journal, take a light-hearted tongue-in-cheek quote and turn it into propagandistic bullshit, and insult my intelligence and my compassion. I'm feeling generous, so I'm giving you a third chance (the second chance was the reply to my initial reply to you). Here's a quarter, buy a sense of humor or a ticket outta here, it's entirely up to you.

I apologize

[identity profile] fengi.livejournal.com 2007-01-10 07:43 pm (UTC)(link)
My comments were more caustic and severe and insulting than they sounded in my head, especially since to a stranger. I took "dons asbestos suit" to mean you were open to strong disagreement, but my reaction lacked civility and context.

You expand upon the one-liner into a longer philosophical argument for the positive side.

I've had the opposite experience - aphorisms about feelings or faith used to excuse inexcusable behavior, political or personal. The violence I've encountered has been justified with feelings.

As others point out, logic can help direct feeling. For example, this post had a strong negative connotations for me and my tone got nasty. Had I applied some logic, I would have used explanations instead of insults.