Theos-Talk Archives (May 2005 Message tt00124)

Cass Silva wrote:
> You numbskull, without HPB there would have not been anything for AB
> or CWL to write about.
First of all, I am aware of the story of the farmer, the mule, and the 
2 by 4.

Given that, there is something in discussions for which I like a term 
used by Ed Abdill: "red flags." This is after the myth that bulls, when 
they see a red flag, become so angry that they ignore everything else, 
and become competely focused on destroying it.

Certain phrasings of terms or concepts can act as red flags to people; 
when they see them, the totally ignore the point being made, and only 
concentrate on the red flag, virtually guaranteeing that you will not 
get through to them (this is a reason why many American conservatives 
think that laws against burning the American flag in demonstrations are 
ridiculous; when a flag is burned, all anybody remembers is the flag 
being burned, and nobody remembers the reason for the demonstration, 
making it ultimately a self-defeating gesture).

In any case, calling someone a "numbskull", especially if they ARE a 
numbskull, will merely increase the numbness.

Bart