2016 Postmortem
In reply to the discussion: Count Down [View all]H2O Man
(73,537 posts)posting your thoughts here. I appreciate that while you voicing opposition to what I stated in the OP, you did so in a manner that was not disrespectful, or offensive.
More, I think that, if we look closer, at least parts of your objection can be put in a different context, even while using the exact same example as you did. Let's take a look .....
You quote what I said about "opinions," and then went on to speak about "facts." Although the two are closely related, they are distinct. Hence, Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan's infamous saying, "You are entitled to your own opinion, but not your own facts."
Facts are, well, facts. For example, it is a fact that "2 + 2 = 4." That is not an opinion. An opinion is an individual's belief, based upon their interpretation of facts, truths, and experiences.
A person who doesn't know the fact that "2 + 2 = 4" is ignorant of that fact. A person who refuses to believe that "2 + 2 = 4" is stupid. Thus, it cannot be said that's their opinion, for it is the result of being uneducated, mis-educated, or lacking in rather basic math skills. In many instances found in discussions here, when it involves social-political issues, people express Indeed, we see this in too many of the arguments about Black Lives Matter .....and Clinton verses Sanders.
Hence, my point did not suggest that "facts" are something that everyone is entitled to deny when it's convenient. There is nothing in the OP -- or anything that I've ever wrote -- that suggests this. Rather, I clearly said "opinions" .....that good people can interpret "facts," especially when there are several involved, differently, without being under-handed or dishonest.
This, of course, is not to say that there are not dishonest, ignorant, and/or mis-educated people on DU. I do not doubt that, from time to time, some people here look to stir the pot, and disrupt meaningful conversations .....and, possibly, are itching to start fights. I am convinced that I've seen exactly that type of behavior a few times.
Peace,
Pat