: Barry's favorite 'scientist' (putting aside Marx for the moment) is the redoubtable B.F. Skinner (author inter alia of the suitably titled, for Barry, 'Beyond Freedom and Dignity'.): Skinner was an advocate of punishment/reward reinforcement as a means of controlling human beaviour. Now Punishment Skinner says:
: "is designed to remove awkward, dangerous, or other wise unwanted behaviour from a repertoire on the assumption that a person who has been punished is less likely to behave in the same way again".
: (Beyond Freedom and Dignity at 64)
: I'll step out on a limb and say that there is general consensus in this DR that Mr Stoller is rude, abrasive, belittling, arrogant, snide etc to those who might happen to oppose his views. He exhibits what Skinner would call classic punishment behaviour.
: So is Mr Stoller trying to use punishment (consciously or unconsciously- whoops sorry that isn't behaviourist) against those who oppose his views in the hope that he will either extinguish our responses or drive us away?
: Sounds ridiculous, i know but that's what else would you expect from a rank behaviourist?
Hey, Piper,
Without taking any sides as to the accuracy of Stoller's post or the legitimacy of your complaint, I would just like to remind you that this is a new medium, a strange mixture of public and private. I mean, let's say Stoller has been a snide, rude pig to you. So what? This is the arena where snide, rude behavior can be tolerated more than any other.
What I'm saying is, what are the actual consequences of his jibes? None, really. 10 years ago, he couldn't have even made them to you. He didn't treat you in that fashion in public, did he? He didn't insult you in front of your family, wife, kids or mistress, did he? If he treats people that way in his real life, that's his problem, not yours.
Toughen your hide, Piper, and keep fighting the good fight.
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McSpotlight: Thanks for the sensible words, Marshall. This is by its very nature one of the hotter corners of the 'net; *anyone* can get steamed up here.
Basically, taking a few minutes out to cool off can lower the temperature for a while.
