Mar 5, 2012

Emotions vs Facts (Just a couple of posts to the Youtubes)

Just a couple of posts I am making to the youtubes right now. Maybe they are just reiterations of things I've said before but I want to jot them down for now.

If someone says that they don't like something or someone, then that is their opinion, which is subjective, and cannot be verified of falsified. On the other hand, if a person says that someone is "sick" or "wrong," these are factual statements. Those making a claim are subject to the burden of proof.
I would not call them "close minded" or a "bigot" because that is an ad hominem and not relevant to the topic of discussion. What matters is they are responsible for backing up their claim.

And a separate, but very much related comment:

People have emotions and emotions are not always rational. When someone has an emotional reaction, that is not something that they can control, so I am not going to blame them for that. What matters is people's actions. 
Posting to a public forum is an action,  but merely expressing your emotions is at worst rude, and there are lots of rude people out in the real world, so I have no argument with their emotions, even if I disagree with them.

Their emotions are their problem, not mine.

The above comments were not made to anyone in particular, but are a reaction to the general discussion over the last couple days.

Here is a comment that is a direct reply to a specific post. You can read between the lines to guess what they wrote.

You might think it is "too much" but that is not your decision to make. Riley's life belongs to her. Unless she is violating the life, liberty or property of another she is free to live her life as she chooses.
If you don't like the way that she lives her life then that is OK because that is your problem, not hers and not mine. Just don't pretend that you can draw factual conclusions based entirely upon your emotions.


Does anyone think I should repost most of my comments here? Or is anyone actually reading this stuff?

Mar 1, 2012

Haters Gonna Hate


If you are going to respond to haters, one thing that I feel cannot be said enough is don't take it personally. For one thing, often it is hard to tell the difference between a sincere hater and a troll. A troll does not necessarily care about what we do, they may just be pretending to be a hater. The only thing a troll cares about is eliciting an emotional reaction. How to tell the difference between a troll and a hater can be tricky. There is a similar situation with religious extremism known as Poe's Law.

At the end of the day it doesn't make much of a difference since they both tend to act the same. This illustrates another point that I would like to make. When you are responding to a hater, do not think that you are going to change their mind. If they really are a hater you are unlikely to change their mind. If they are a troll they don't really care in the first place, they just want to get your goat.


If I am not trying to change people's minds, what am I trying to accomplish when I respond to their comments? I am trying to be a voice of reason and give some perspective to other people who might be reading the comments. Not everyone is going to have a strong opinion on this subject. If the only posts they see are negative then they may see the issue as one sided. On the other hand, if you come off as a reactionary, or just as much of a jerk as the hater, then people will get a negative impression of the ABDL community.

It is very important not to allow yourself to be upset by the comments of haters. For one thing, it will reflect in your posts, and distract from the real issues at hand. Maybe they are a bigot, maybe they are not. It does not matter though because it distracts from the issue at hand. Tolerance goes both ways, and remember tolerance does not mean acceptance. You can tolerate a person being a bigot and still think that their position is wrong.

Freedom of speech applies to everyone regardless of if they are right or wrong. Bigots have freedom of speech to post comments in a public forum, and we have the freedom of speech to respond to their comments and call their BS BS. Remember that they are the one making a factual claim so they have the burden of proof to provide evidence to support their claim.

I think the best way to do this is to respond apathetically with logic and reason, and respect whether they deserve it or not. If they are a troll they will get bored when no one gets upset. If they are really a hater then love, tolerance and respect will drive them completely up the wall. I find it quite amusing myself. They get progressively more upset with each rational comment you make, and they reveal themselves as the raving lunatics they really are.

Another thing, who really gives a dirty diaper what some loser on the internet who you've never met thinks about you? They are not worthy of your ire. Besides, even if you were not an Adult Baby there would still be people out there who would hate you. For anything that a person could be or do there is someone out there that will hate them for it. I am tempted to propose this to be Rule 43, as it is sort of the antithesis of Rule 34. I did a search and there are already three separate definitions for Rule 43 on Urban Dictionary, but I don't know if any of them have wide acceptance.

Anyway, you don't need the acceptance of anyone except those who mutually consent to participate with you. Tolerance can be a tricky issue, but if you are conservative about who you tell about this, and I think you should be, that should not be much of an issue. If you are considering telling someone that you are an ABDL, you need to ask the question, do they really need to know? Remember, a person cannot discriminate against you for being an ABDL if they don't know you are an ABDL.

The Philosophy of Liberty is based on the principle of Self-Ownership. You own your life. To deny this is to imply that another person has a higher claim on your life than you do. No other person, or group of persons, owns your life, nor do you own the lives of others. You may live your life as you choose so long as you do not violate the life, liberty or property of another person. Never mind the haters. Life is precious. You should enjoy it.

Responding to Religious Based Arguments

Recently an antagonist has been making a lot of comments, mostly, or entirely, based on their religious beliefs. The first comment I made was not in reply to any of their comments, but when they replied to my comment I replied back. What they wrote was not particularly noteworthy so I will not bother to post any of it here.

Religious based arguments are irrelevant. Riley lives in the US where we have freedom of religion. Riley, like everyone else in the US has the right to follow the religion of her choice, or not, as she sees fit. There is no official state religion here.
Also note that ABDLs are a diverse group. It is not surprising that the majority of ABDLs in the US are Christians, as that is the religion of the majority in the US. In Dubai or Iran I expect that the majority of ABDLs there follow Islam.

You have a right to believe whatever you want to believe. You have a right to your own opinion, but you do not have a right to your own facts.
When you express that someone is "sick" you are making a factual claim. Factual claims require evidence based in reality. When you post such claims in a public forum, others may respond by challenging you to provide evidence to support your claim.