On 5/19/06, Peter Ansell ansell.peter@gmail.com wrote:
I was using a touch of irony to point out that divisive and inflammatory are not clear to all people. I agree that applying a category about your personal abilities is not divisive when someone labels themself with it. However I still can't see how labelling oneself as a member of an organisation is necessarily divisive and inflammatory, as opposed to stating an undefined level of interest in said organisation.
Member of Hamas? Hmm...
Seriously though, to me stating any kind of political affiliation or ideology has a touch of "up yours" to it. This may have to do with the people I have actually met who would do such a thing. But I have trouble explaining why. For a start, I would not find a great big "This user is a republican!" or "This user supports the Front National!" userbox a great invitation to start a conversation with that user. It's like saying "Here are my political leanings, and you're going to hear all about them".
Steve