| Username |
Post |
| ashu |
Posted
on 18-Oct-01 12:49 AM
Hi all,
I read all your comments in that Milan Karki -Royal massacare thread.
I welcome your comments to as an opportunity to clarify my thoughts
further.
That said, by now, I have learnt to accept all these comments (ranging from brilliant to silly) as representatives of just another exciting day in the life of GBNC Web site, and that is fine. As long as people are reading postings and making good or bad comments, that's good.
Now on to the substance of the debate:
The dictionary I have in front of me here defines "on the contrary" as follows:
"When you have just said that something is not true and are going to explain
how the opposite is true."
Now let us apply that definition to the discussion at hand:
NK wrote that she is amazed how people discredit themselves.
Now, using common sense and good judgment, it is and was reasonable to assume
that NK meant that to apply that "discredit" thing to Milan Karki.
From my past encounters here, I have ALSO KNOWN how touchy could NK be when argued back directly. So, I had no intention of engaging her in this particular discussion, but in this public space, I could freely use her comments to make GENERAL points addressed to all.
This was what I wanted to do.
So, I just responded -- NOT directly to NK but to readers IN GENERAL-- by making BROADLY GENERAL points that: Well, ON THE CONTRARY, human rights activists (need not be discredited) and are to be admired for their sense of compassion.
(Again, knowing how touchy NK could be, I paid no attention to her. That Kris and NK felt that I actually said NK was wrong is for them to sort out -- and NOT
for me to get tripped up with!)
What I said further said (and this was the crux of my argument) was that: Time has come now for Nepali human rights activists to take logic, reason and well-reasoned arguments seriously . . . for that is what we, friends of human rights wallahs, demand and deserve from them.
Of course, I ended my posting with a flourish, saying that, hey, I am a friend of
human rights activists but an enemy of muddled thoughts.
With that famous phrase "muddled thoughts", NK, being NK, probably thought that I was still after her (hence the references to the poem and the rest!)
. . . when, ON THE CONTRARY (to use this phrase again), the truth was that
I wanted, as others too wanted, human rights activists such as Milan to use logic, reason and evidence to support their conclusions.
This is the way I saw that whole discussion. If others saw differently,
then, that's life. After all, I cannot predict how my postings are taken by
different people at different places . . .
Finally, I do NOT see myself standing on top of a pedestal, nor do thump I my Harvard credentials everywhere. I had had a great time in Boston and at Harvard, and I am grateful to the university for relentlessly teaching me to fight/push/argue for good ideas, good ideas and good ideas . . . that's a
lesson I strive hard to put in practice online and offline.
Yes, I DO like to debate/discuss ideas and information in public with energy, logic, evidence and passion -- and, despite the expected attacks and criticisms, I plan to
continue to do so here, Martin Chautari and at other places.
oohi
ashu
ktm,nepal
|
| mahen |
Posted
on 18-Oct-01 01:16 AM
You seem to be your own enemy, as far as muddled thoughts go judging by your writing above. When it comes to being touchy, you are no less so than NK. Actually, NK exuded a lot of fortitude when misinformed people were name-calling her in the restaurant thread. While your attempts to belittle NK is subtle, your sense of modesty is pretentious and your arrogance no less hidden.
|
| Kris |
Posted
on 18-Oct-01 01:19 AM
Ashu thanks for trying to clarify your 'muddled thoughts'.
NK said she was amazed at how people discredit themselves.
and "on the contrary" means "When you have just said that something is not true and are going to explain how the opposite is true."
Her gist is that she is AMAZED at how people do certain things...
Now, how can that be not true that she is amazed if SHE says so??? Why can't you let her be amazed at what she feels is amazing without having to clarify your muddled self indulgent thoughts?
|
| ashu |
Posted
on 18-Oct-01 01:44 AM
Dear Kris and Mahen,
Thank you for your reading my thoughts and for your responses.
To make a GENERAL remark addressed to all: One of the joys of posting stuff in public in one's own name is that even when one makes mistakes, it's RIGHT OUT THERE for everyone to see and one can learn from those mistakes very fast.
As such, there is NOTHING to be ashamed of. And the better and sooner you
can do that, the flatter your learning curve is going to be . . .
That said, I also know that one can disagree, even strongly and vehemently, with other people's ideas WITHOUT reducing everything to the binary output of "I am right and you are wrong". The world is too complex and complicated to reach conclusions . . . hence the only methods we can be certain of are of GOOD ARGUMENTS. For an elaboration of this, please listen to that Martin Chautari discussion that appears as an audio file (thanks to Biswo) in the literature section of this site.
Finally, if I were touchy or sensitive to criticisms, I would think that I would NOT have the strength to go on and on . . . sharing news, views and ideas here like
I enjoy doing. At the least, I would have changed my name here to AT from ashu :-)
oohi
ashu
ktm,nepal
|
| nemesis |
Posted
on 20-Oct-01 10:58 PM
> Finally, I do NOT see myself standing on top of a pedestal, nor do thump I my
> Harvard credentials everywhere. I had had a great time in Boston and at
> Harvard, and I am grateful to the university for relentlessly teaching me to
> fight/push/argue for good ideas, good ideas and good ideas . . . that's a
> lesson I strive hard to put in practice online and offline.
Clarifying, muddeling, well, I don't get it. Your Harvard educated line of thought to me is as clear as the advanced lectures in Quantum Chromodynamic I enjoyed, oh well, not at Harvard. But at least, the word Quantum Chromodynamic includes the word light, as in enlightenment.
BTW: We still have a good time in Boston, and somehow, I think your absence here doesn't seem to harm us.
Your Nemesis
|
