| I have to agree with the other commenters that what this OP thinks of as "defensive" writing is sometimes just better, more nuanced writing. For me, it just boils down to a tradeoff. Oh, you want instant access and the ability to influence the billions of people who are on the Internet, and to do it for free? Then don't expect the insulation you get when your writing was previously restricted to a published journal or local newspaper column. Tangentially related: In the academic world, people have been abuzz about Steven Salatia, a professor who was nearly in the door as a tenured professor at University of Illinois until the board of trustees, made aware of his stream of inflammatory tweets about Israel and Palestine, nixed the offer, leaving Salatia without a job: https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/09/10/steven-salait... Besides espousing the value of academic freedom, Salatia's defense has been: If you had only read my entire tweet stream, you would've seen that I don't hate Israel, and that my seemingly violent sentiments were just rhetorical flourishes when viewed in context. Sure, I see his argument and I empathize with him. But he's being naive and Pollyanish about communication. The world doesn't have time to explore your mind-palace...each of us are already preoccupied with our own lives and thoughts. If you wanted to make catchy soundbites over a complicated issue so that you could catch our attention amidst the global debate, well, the other side of catchy soundbites is that sometimes they catch you. Frankly, I don't think the world loses much if, when it comes to complex nuanced issues, we put down the Twitter client and put our thoughts in a medium (no pun intended with Medium) intended for expansive discussion. Does it slow you down? Sure. And that's a good thing. |
But they have time to search social media sites?
If someone wants to twist an argument around to attain the goal they desire, you can take anything out of context and spin it in another direction. Informal language is informal because of this - it never conveys a true objectivity that can not be mutated with the slight of hand - and that includes things that have been invented and things that have not been yet.
There are no real rules to communication, only guidelines that are often informally adjusted via precedent. Politics is often a very tricky tightrope to walk.
> Frankly, I don't think the world loses much if, when it comes to complex nuanced issues, we put down the Twitter client and put our thoughts in a medium (no pun intended with Medium) intended for expansive discussion. Does it slow you down? Sure. And that's a good thing.
I do. I think it makes people visually aware of how a collective sentiment can build over small iterations of many dialogues. Maybe that would make people more empathetic to people who have such seemingly inflammatory opinions, and also not feel so alone in having fairly quirky ideas.