tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5603375794810392270.post4327043381784259274..comments2023-03-24T19:18:09.313+08:00Comments on Fearfully Opinionated: wise restraintsFearfully Opinionatedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13742668709052406391noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5603375794810392270.post-51556385400088527922007-01-16T20:11:00.000+08:002007-01-16T20:11:00.000+08:00~[z][x]~,
Thanks for your kind words.
I'm starti...~[z][x]~,<br /><br />Thanks for your kind words.<br /><br />I'm starting to think we actually agree about the main issues at hand, but we only appear to disagree because we're talking about slightly different things. So I hope you don't mind we end the conversation thread here. I'm actually going to take a break from this blog. You're free to join in the comments thread on the SA article though.<Fearfully Opinionatedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13742668709052406391noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5603375794810392270.post-13069120412040150462007-01-16T15:28:00.000+08:002007-01-16T15:28:00.000+08:00wow i love your essay! haha. Do update us if your...wow i love your essay! haha. Do update us if your suggestion comes true. <br /><br />On our ongoing discussion, I might seem to be grasping at straws here, thus I beg your pardon, but I would argue that if someone says something "rude" about my girlfriend/wife, I should be discerning enough to pause and ask myself if it is a logical accusation or a illogical one. For example, if you criticize~[z][x]~https://www.blogger.com/profile/00915556149665859279noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5603375794810392270.post-43766737885920878432007-01-16T11:50:00.000+08:002007-01-16T11:50:00.000+08:00~[z][x]~,
Firstly, can I draw your attention to a...~[z][x]~,<br /><br />Firstly, can I draw your attention to an article I submitted to Singapore Angle? I believe it will interest you:<br /><br />www.singaporeangle.com/2007/01/on_the_possibility_of_religiou.html<br /><br />I wasn't really trying to compare religion to one's parent. I was trying to show that people get offended when things they care strongly about (such as their parents or their Fearfully Opinionatedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13742668709052406391noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5603375794810392270.post-1307023626116650412007-01-15T13:28:00.000+08:002007-01-15T13:28:00.000+08:00Hi FO,
Sorry to read about your dad. I understan...Hi FO,<br /><br />Sorry to read about your dad. I understand your analogy of comparing one's religion to one's parent, and it is a thought-provoking point. However, a big difference between the two is that one's religion is (should be) what one has chosen, while the same cannot be said of one's parents. It is for this reason why Rowan Atkinson expressed that "to criticize a person for their ~[z][x]~https://www.blogger.com/profile/00915556149665859279noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5603375794810392270.post-85693154802552968272007-01-12T23:15:00.000+08:002007-01-12T23:15:00.000+08:00Hi ~[z][x]~,
I actually left you a reply, but I d...Hi ~[z][x]~,<br /><br />I actually left you a reply, but I didn't realize that it failed to publish.<br /><br />I think that it is not really fair to compare piety (or fervour) toward one's religion to affinity one has towards a certain brand of car. How EXACTLY are the two different? I think the answer is not that clear. Academics always had difficulty defining what religion is.<br /><br />Fearfully Opinionatedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13742668709052406391noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5603375794810392270.post-74597656980563962492007-01-12T20:41:00.000+08:002007-01-12T20:41:00.000+08:00Hi ~[z][x]~,
My apologies. I didn't quite catch ...Hi ~[z][x]~, <br /><br />My apologies. I didn't quite catch on that you were talking about religion in your initial comment, nor that the "right to offend" that you referred to was in the context of this Rowan Atkinson quote (which I have seen before. but where? hmm). In that light, I hope you will not be offended if I say I found your second comment much more enlightening and enjoyable to read cognitivedissonancehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07846004465914087481noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5603375794810392270.post-84678987537017636342007-01-11T15:55:00.000+08:002007-01-11T15:55:00.000+08:00Hi FO,
I apologize for digressing from the origin...Hi FO,<br /><br />I apologize for digressing from the original topic. I am writing particularly on religion, since it is what causes the most hysteria and uproar whenever an "offending" remark is being made. If a Muslim who drives and adores Toyota cars makes a complaint to the police about a blogger who criticizes Toyota cars, the Muslim will be sent to a psychiatric. Yet the opposite is true~[z][x]~https://www.blogger.com/profile/00915556149665859279noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5603375794810392270.post-1152217676522037882007-01-09T13:51:00.000+08:002007-01-09T13:51:00.000+08:00Hi F.O. :)
Nice conversation we had.
Having ta...Hi F.O. :)<br /><br />Nice conversation we had. <br /><br />Having taken some time to think over your post in its entirety, I identify far more with your first anecdote than the second, but this is probably my personal and perhaps professional distaste for the second's "external empowerment" situation.<br /><br />This past week's blogosphere events struck a chord in relation to the "wise cognitivedissonancehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07846004465914087481noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5603375794810392270.post-14733115880880437752007-01-08T23:20:00.000+08:002007-01-08T23:20:00.000+08:00Hi ~[z][x]~,
Thanks for dropping by. As I have in...Hi ~[z][x]~,<br /><br />Thanks for dropping by. As I have indicated so in my post, I ask these questions as a prompt for deeper contemplation of issues related to freedom. I did not intend to directly question or advocate any specific views, and you are certainly free and entitled to have your own answers to the questions I raised.<br /><br />Now another question: do you think other people agree Fearfully Opinionatedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13742668709052406391noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5603375794810392270.post-45943706945650220412007-01-08T10:43:00.000+08:002007-01-08T10:43:00.000+08:00Hey FO, here are my opinions to some of your quest...Hey FO, here are my opinions to some of your questions: <br /><br /><i> If I am free to express anything I want to express, am I free to express something offensive? </i> <br />--> As long as it isn't direct slander or VERY obvious personal attack, yes.<br /><br /><i>And if so, are readers free to not get offended by your own expressions?</i> <br />--> Definitely. They could like, err, go ~[z][x]~https://www.blogger.com/profile/00915556149665859279noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5603375794810392270.post-70194295409870489292007-01-04T22:34:00.000+08:002007-01-04T22:34:00.000+08:00I think it's understandable why people like to den...I think it's understandable why people like to deny that they have a choice. By saying "no choice lah", they deny responsibility of the action (or inaction). So, if the consequences turned out to be less than desirable, they can say "not my fault. the situation dictated my action/inaction."<br /><br />Perhaps, such people do not realize that this is perhaps so for ALL decisions we make in life. Fearfully Opinionatedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13742668709052406391noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5603375794810392270.post-41327998448206561492007-01-03T20:33:00.000+08:002007-01-03T20:33:00.000+08:00Fearfully Opinionated,
Holidays have been a good ...Fearfully Opinionated,<br /><br />Holidays have been a good break. :-P Thanks for asking. <br /><br />You point that to not make a choice is in itself a choice is good. Problem is that some (many?) do not even realize that by not making a choice, they already have. Such are the mysteries of life. :-Pkwayteowmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10586538402729252879noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5603375794810392270.post-7226740364320902012007-01-03T19:14:00.000+08:002007-01-03T19:14:00.000+08:00Hi KTM,
how was your holidays?
On both your poi...Hi KTM,<br /><br />how was your holidays? <br /><br />On both your points, I think you are absolutely correct. No argument from me here.<br /><br />Perhaps for the sake of completeness, it might also be worth noting that NOT performing an action is also a choice. And inaction, just like action, may or may not have an effect on others. (Such as not doing anything when a man is drowning).Fearfully Opinionatedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13742668709052406391noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5603375794810392270.post-35231738477272930012007-01-03T03:03:00.000+08:002007-01-03T03:03:00.000+08:00Two points for your consideration:
One, freedom r...Two points for your consideration:<br /><br />One, freedom requires choice. When one has choice, but does not exercise it, he gives up his freedom. :-P<br /><br />Two, the exercise of a choice involves an action. An action may (or may not) have an effect on others. When we perform an action that affects others, there CANNOT be complete freedom or there will be chaos (c.f. your example on robbing kwayteowmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10586538402729252879noreply@blogger.com