Abrasive twunts. Just have some respect for other people, will you?

[parentsvsPIL]

People who know me would say I'm not particularly thin-skinned.

But one of the things that used to really get me down when I was in my old job (academia) was the willingness of colleagues to abrasively tear one another to pieces, be highly disprespectful of others' lives and beliefs when those beliefs weren't harming anyone, and generally having nasty ad-hominem attacks being the normal mode of interaction (and then telling people who said "this is not reasonable" that they couldn't cope and shouldn't be in science).

This includes large quantities of racism and bigotry, dressed up as the right to free speech.

I've just been reminded of it by accidentally walking back into an argument that I should've avoided, on Facebook. I attempted to offer a rational take on a problem and got torn to shreds and told I should stay out of it because I am apparently an academic failure (because I left my job a few years ago) and a fing religious nutjob with no fing clue and no right to wade into discussions I don't understand. Ah thanks, yes I'd conveniently forgotten that some of my former colleagues (who also don't work on the problem being discussed) disliked me because i thought religious bigotry was unacceptable.

Grr.

[MyPeriodFeatures]

I think I know what you are talking about. Your contribution was and is valid. I have remained silent on these threads because those differences should be put to one side.

I'll eat my hat if it's not the same group!

[parentsvsPIL]

Thanks for the expression of solidarity MyPeriodFeatures This one happened to be a bunch of biochemists arguing about the (non-)merits of nuclear power for the UK - and publically tearing to shreds a former colleague - not sure if you're involved or not!

But there have been just so many examples of it over the years. I was just utterly appalled at the reactions of my ex-colleagues to things like Richard Dawkins' God Delusion, the Danish cartoons and Charlie Hebdo: supposedly highly-educated people (i.e. with the ability to follow a nuanced argument) with plenty of choice and autonomy in their lives, expressing casual racism and bigotry all over the place.