Adrienne, that's a valid concern. People shouldn't be walking on eggshells. However, that's a misreading of the case here. This is more like 'Smee realizing on self-reflection that they actually *were* making assumptions and not being as considerate as they wish to be. I don't think this apology was an insincere fear-based one but one in which it's a modeling of holding oneself to a high standard.
Again, you're right in that we live in a context where *reasonable* discourse gets grotesquely misrepresented and then people self-censor out of fear. That is a totally valid problem, and we should not accept it as okay. At the same time, we should work to treat everyone with some benefit-of-the-doubt and compassion. And there's nothing wrong with apologizing for not living up to that standard, even if someone's worst was *still* better than many people's normal. If I write something from a defensive, reactionary mindset, I would hope to recognize it and apologize if I failed to check myself before sending it. That's independent from the fact that my emotional reactionary writing might still be more respectful than most people's non-emotional postings. On 2019-09-24 10:56 a.m., Adrienne G. Thompson wrote: > Gee 'Smee: > Things are getting a little out of hand. So now guys can't have > reasonable arguments with women without feeling like they're being > "combative"? Are you afraid someone might call you "sexist"? > I didn't see where you said anything objectionable or "combative". > Adrienne > On Tue, Sep 24, 2019 at 12:43 PM 'smee via libreplanet-discuss > <[1]libreplanet-discuss@libreplanet.org> wrote: > > I was combative in my language with Deb earlier and would like to > apologize and say I'll do better in the future. > I assumed bad intentions and acted out of irritation. I'll do better > in > the future to consider that there are real people with real concerns > and try not to be combative. > _______________________________________________ > libreplanet-discuss mailing list > [2]libreplanet-discuss@libreplanet.org > [3]https://lists.libreplanet.org/mailman/listinfo/libreplanet-discus > s > > -- > Freedom - no pane, all gaiGN! > GNU C-Graph - [4]http://www.gnu.org/software/c-graph > Code Art Now - [5]http://codeartnow.com > Abertheid Campaign - [6]http://www.abertheid.info > Follow me on Twitter @AdrienneGT @GNUcgraph > > References > > 1. mailto:libreplanet-discuss@libreplanet.org > 2. mailto:libreplanet-discuss@libreplanet.org > 3. https://lists.libreplanet.org/mailman/listinfo/libreplanet-discuss > 4. http://www.gnu.org/software/c-graph > 5. http://codeartnow.com/ > 6. http://www.abertheid.info/ > > > _______________________________________________ > libreplanet-discuss mailing list > libreplanet-discuss@libreplanet.org > https://lists.libreplanet.org/mailman/listinfo/libreplanet-discuss > _______________________________________________ libreplanet-discuss mailing list libreplanet-discuss@libreplanet.org https://lists.libreplanet.org/mailman/listinfo/libreplanet-discuss