I was treated to an interesting exchange of words over on Chris K's blog (in the comments section). Now, while I have been accused many times of being a fence-post-sitter and refusing to take sides, this is one particular argument that I feel rather strongly about. However, since other people obviously disagree with me, I've chosen to bring the argument here rather than clutter up Chris's comments section with what may very well become a flamewar.

Now, for a point-by-point rundown of the topic at hand:

(1) Does it make a difference who the opinion comes from?

Yes, yes it does. I'll grant you that an opinion is an opinion is an opinion, and the source doesn't necessarily have any bearing on the value of the opinion itself, but here's the thing: The only way to decide the veracity of an opinion (and hence its value to you) is to sit down and think long and hard on the opinion itself, as well as how it applies to the world, to the subject at hand, and to you as an individual. Even then, you may miss something. Additionally, there are so many opinions being tossed about in the world that you can't do this for all of them. There isn't enough time. To aid the process, then, we tend to use background information to decide quickly is the opinion is worth real analysis. Such bakground information typically includes the person from whence the opinion came. For example, if I have knowledge of your character, your opinion may mean more to me. It may be true that your opinion is insightful and extraordinary, but if you're the sort of person who does things just because it's the "in" thing, or a person who's been shown to have poor character (at least in my opinion), then your opinion is shuffled to the bottom of the stack as far as ones I'd like to take into serious consideration. Now, I consider the courage to stand by your opinion and be held accountable for it a mark of integrity. By not doing so, you have not demonstrated integrity. Hence, the character you've demonstrated is less than admiarable, in my opinion. So, there it goes, right to the bottom of the stack.

(2) It does take courage to have an opinion. Too many people have become numb. They don't want to think - they don't care. I'd rather have a person have an opinion than to have no opinion at all. Complacency sucks.

I think the point has been missed here... My statement was that having an opinion in no way takes courage. I am of the opinion that dorm life ain't what it used to be. I am of the opinion that file-sharing, despite being illegal, isn't necessarily an immoral thing. I'm of the opinion that virtually every person I know, myself especially, still has a bit of growing up to do. However, _having_ those opinions doesn't take courage whatsoever. Expressing them, standing by them, being willing to be stigmatized because you believe in them... That takes courage. And more, it takes integrity.

(3) I believe in standing up for what you believe and yes it takes courage to attach your name to your belief, but it in NO WAY makes the point less valid.

See above for argumentation on this. And to add a bit, I have the following: When dealing with cold, hard facts, points are valid regardless of who makes them. If I make a mathematical discovery and publish it anonymously, my discovery is still valid regardless of the fact that I'm not willing to attach my name to it. When dealing with opinions, however, it's another matter. Opinions have no intrinsic worth or truth. Their worth is calculated on a person-by-person basis. And to me, character, integrity, and courage are traits that make an opinion more worth hearing.



(4) And you are right. Blake's post lacked tact, which is important in conveying ideas (especially if you want people to respect them). I don't see how it took courage.

Blake's post lacked tact, yes. However, I give it more credence than I give anonymous postings, because Blake has, so far, shown himself to have integrity. As for whether or not it took courage, well, maybe not. I suppose it depends upon how you define courage. But he has the integrity to claim his actions and his opinions as his own and to stand by them regardless of what other people think. (And no, I don't think stubbornness is necessarily a mark of good character, but that's not what I mean. I mean that he won't change his opinion based on what's popular, unless what's popular is that way because it's shown to have merit.) And on the other hand, he did everything he accused you of not doing (i.e., talking about someone where they'll actually notice it, and taking credit for his opinion). Blake did nothing wrong except be rude unnecessarily.

(5) As for consequences, isn't that kind of the point of the blog? It's a place to vent. It's a place to share ideas. There are few consequences for having an opinion on here. Tell your opinions to someone's face. That's courage.

Hmm... This amuses me, because until Sunday night, I'd have agreed with this, that most of the time posting to blogs don't really have any consequences. However, on Sunday night I got told to fuck myself by someone I care about, based entirely on a post that I made to my blog. You know what I did? I told her that I was sorry it hurt her feelings, but that what was done was done, and I didn't think I'd done anything wrong. So I'm sorry, but I can't agree with you on this one. There definitely can be consequences.

(6) As for accountibility, that's funny. Especially since one of our most powerful tools and rights is the vote-anonymus free speech. No one has to be accountable for that.

Sorry, but again I have to call bullshit on this one. The problem is that you don't realize that you're accountable. While you may not endure the personal accountability that we associate with openly expressing your opinion, you're still accountable for your vote based upon the actions of your candidate (because really, he's just acting as an extension of you). And yes, I realize that frequently we suffer (or enjoy, depending) the same results regardless of whether or not we vote, but that's still you being held accountable. For what, you ask? Why, for choosing to live in this nation, of course, the wonderful place where I am perfectly free to lambaste you for expressing what I believe to be an opinion demonstrative of poorly-held ideals and poor character.