On 5/19/06, Peter Ansell <ansell.peter(a)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