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The Atlantic Rift | 47 comments (47 topical, editorial, 0 hidden)
Re: Americans will not allow (none / 1)
75% still doesn't make 100%. For the same of the other 25%, who may be 99% or more of the Americans posting here, please awoid generalising language.

*Lunatic*, n.
One whose delusions are out of fashion.
by DoDo on Thu Feb 2nd, 2006 at 11:14:36 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Americans will not allow (none / 0)
I expected better from you.

You let me down because I consider you much smarter.

Was I offensive to the particular poster? How? Hell, I should be offended for you trying to tell me that 75% is not 100% (!!!) as if you are talking to some some nine-year kid.

In fact, I have high esteem for him/her just for being a member of this community. This is not personal.

by Euroliberal on Fri Feb 3rd, 2006 at 07:08:36 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Americans will not allow (4.00 / 2)
If you added "Most" before 'Americans', I would have agreed with your post 100%. In fact I suspect stormy present would have agreed by a similar margin. Without the "most", your words can be read as over-generalisation, in fact both people who responded to you did so - even if as clear from the above you didn't intend that meaning.

It would be nice if you could admit that your wording was prone to be misunderstood and she could see that you didn't meant what she understood reading you, but sadly your discussion devolved into an unnecessary flame war...

*Lunatic*, n.
One whose delusions are out of fashion.

by DoDo on Fri Feb 3rd, 2006 at 04:30:01 PM EST
[ Parent ]
sorry (none / 0)
you are wrong here.

If one word was all that was needed, maybe I should have been asked to include it or at least explain my intentions.
While we are on the subject of linguistics, may I ask why should I be forced to include certain "keywords" in my opinions instead of others? For example, couldn't I argue that instead of using "most" Americans (your suggestion) to exclude those that might be offended, it should be implicitly assumed that unless I use "All" Americans then there is a part of Americans that are excluded.

Anyway, I stand by my comment and wish to change nothing. It's valid, it's what I believe and I'm sorry I lost the chance to have someone engage me with a counter-argument, honestly pointing out where we agree or disagree.

My words are my liberty.  Your displeasure is your own burden.

by Euroliberal on Fri Feb 3rd, 2006 at 06:49:16 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: sorry (none / 0)
If one word was all that was needed, maybe I should have been asked to include it or at least explain my intentions.

That's fair. However, the lack of that one word changed the perceived meaning of your entire text into something personal and offensive, so neither I nor stormy present realised that one word would have done it, I only realised it upon re-reading your text in light of your previous reply.

may I ask why should I be forced to include certain "keywords" in my opinions instead of others?

You are not forced anything, but are advised for the sake of being understood correctly. If two of us independently read 'Americans' to mean 'All Americans', then that's perhabs because the default meaning is usually the latter in that context. Or not. I now get a faint suspicion that this might be a case of differences between languages. At least there is a difference with my mother tongue - in it, you can't say 'Americans...' without a prefix, and if you say "the Americans", it means all. So maybe I read it so because of my Hungarian, but this is not valid for stormy present. (Perhabs Metatone can comment.) I don't know how it works in Portuguese.

*Lunatic*, n.
One whose delusions are out of fashion.

by DoDo on Fri Feb 3rd, 2006 at 07:21:20 PM EST
[ Parent ]

The Atlantic Rift | 47 comments (47 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)
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