[gojomo]

If all conversations were limited to dinner-party politeness, we'd remain trapped in a state of childlike obliviousness about the real disagreements and difficulties of the world.

(My dinner party would welcome both paul and thaumasiotes, as people able to speak about a difficult topic calmly, with strong and contrasting perspectives based on real experience. In contrast, yscale would be asked to apologize or leave for content-free name-calling.)

[yscale]

Saying "cost of replacing the thing" about a baby, to a father, was not calm speech about a difficult topic.

It was pointlessly rude and provocative. It was an indefensible way to express his underlying opinion.

And if you were paying attention, you would've realized I emphasized his method of expressing the opinion far more than the opinion itself.