Posted by Willful on August 11, 2013, at 15:41:06
In reply to Re: Restoring Manic to Babble, posted by Twinleaf on August 11, 2013, at 10:05:38
One thing that's kind of vexing here is that Bob never explained his blocking ideas. At least not while I've been here. I don't understand any more than anyone else why the blocks escalate by doubling each time any offense, no matter how minor, takes place. I don't understand why certain things are blockable offenses, rather than just something one doesn't like, or find unsavory, like using certain words.
I'm left to infer Bob's intentions and theories, but this is always unsatisfactory, especially in the face of blocks that seem very unfair.
And of course there is Bob's insistence on a certain cleverness rather than substantiveness in his answers.
Something that I think must be a question of cultural attitudes or a tin ear for the resonances of language, is that Bob doesn't seem to understand the nails-on-blackboard effect of his little question, "would anyone like to help support X in avoiding a block?"
We all cringe when we hear this, which in this culture is so infantilizing, and sounds like a parody of the 2nd or third grade prattling teacher's question, "are you all being good little girls and boys?" I don't think Bob understands how that question sounds to the ear of those of us who are entirely adapted to the culture of late 20th and early 21st century America- otherwise there is no way that he could keep repeating it--
And then sometimes I begin to wonder if it doesn't represent his attitude toward us, that we are somehow mentally backward, nonpeers, and not to be respected and addressed as such.
Of course none of us is going to volunteer to "help" Manic be a good little boy. And none of us appreciates Bob's attempts to be gnomic, or delphic, or somehow more subtle than we are. We could play wordgames too if we had nothing at stake... if we were the one in control. We could come away from every exchange pleased at our epigrammatic form, and without the sense that the other person is slip-sliding away from every attempt to start a serious and mutually respectful dialogue.
But I imagine Bob doesn't mean any harm by it. And he does care about Babble-- and about us. He simply doesn't see how short shrift he truly gives us, and how palapably he displays this in his posts.
Emsam.
Abilify
Provigil
Rilutek
poster:Willful
thread:1048371
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/admin/20130702/msgs/1048818.html