Intent & The Line In The Sand
What bothered me, were those comments containing what I call "cause blackmail". This disturbed me primarily because what started as an innocent exchange of disparate ideas now had several comments with much more ominous overtones, and was much more personal. And these weren't trolls.
"Cause blackmail" goes something like this: If you are an influencer of other people then we will publicly state that your position, with which we disagree, is actually the direct cause of xyz horrible thing. Therefore you, personally, must be in support of that horrible thing if you decide to take an opposing point of view. Maybe that's a fur coat or a hamburger, thus you must be in favor of the horrid torture and killing of defenseless animals. Maybe that's flying on a jet plane, thus being in favor of killing millions of people through climate change. Maybe you shop at Wal-Mart sometimes, thus we claim that you support the loss of local jobs and the usage of sweat shops. I won't go into any of these issues, they aren't the point, suffice it to say that yes we all make decisions every day that when taken down a logical and extreme path would seem unthinkable in isolation. As societies we decide at the broad level what is acceptable and create laws and mores to enforce them, beyond that we are left to our own individual conclusions about what is or isn't ok. Some of which we have very strong opinions on.
In this case it became "Chris Brogan used a spec work service, therefore he supports the demise of an entire population group of designers". Or more accurately, there was subtle and not so subtle pressure being applied to have Chris take a stand against spec work. That's troubling. I completely get it, I understand that from the perspective of some of these designers they are fighting for their livelihood. But I could just as easily make the case that says "If Chris Brogan is against spec work then he supports the collapse of the free market economy and millions upon millions of job losses". These are false choices that are meant to hide complexities and valid points on both sides.
But it made me think, where is my line in the sand? I shop at Wal-Mart from time to time, god knows I love a good hamburger, and I've been on more jet planes that I can count. Do others have a right to attack me with "cause blackmail"? My conclusion of where I place my personal line in the sand came down to "intent", both for myself and for the party who disagrees with my actions.
Was my intent to cause harm? Was my intent personal. Was my intent to deceive? If not, my expectation is that you approach me with the *intent* to have a dialog and the *intent* to listen to my side of that dialog. If your intent is to speak in one direction with closed ears, if your intent is only to practice "cause blackmail" as the means to your end then you've crossed my line in the sand. If the only way you can argue your point is to wholly believe you have the only valid points I have no time for you, or your opinion. If your intent is to try and educate, to be open to education in return then I'm happy to listen and provide my own point of view. Perhaps one of our minds is changed, perhaps not, but these are not black and white issues. There are no absolutes. Argue with me, debate me, but don't cross my line in the sand.
On a side note, there were plenty of passionate people who made some great points on both sides and in the process educated me and gave me an expanded perspective from where I entered.
{p.s. - Yes, it does occur to me that this would mean brandjacking is crossing my line in the sand i.e. Nestle / Greenpeace. }
Cheers,
Matt Ridings - @techguerilla
1 Comment
I've been a victim of that on Twitter often.
Any serious topic goes there quickly these days.
Brogan is an easy target. You're an easy target. So am I. We're all very big talkers, engage others, and aren't afraid to mention where we enjoyed a burger, bought a book, or ordered a service.
That's not just being transparent, it's about sharing what worked for us. Heck, I'd wager most folks don't have evil intent, want others homeless, jobless, or uncared for.
Even worse is you don't want to totally silence that conversation. Lots of good points can be made, as you pointed out.
I've just tried to call people on it when they start attacking people too strongly.
Cheers to a thoughtful post.
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