When I tweet something dumb (not infrequently!) I try not to get defensive when challenged but listen to those answering back. That's not easy but it's the better use of twitter than becoming embattled.
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This is definitely a dynamic that exists:https://twitter.com/warren__terra/status/964977633061519360 …
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I'll add that listening to others gets harder as you get more followers because you're mentions are always full, so harder to engage in meaningful conversation.
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in the good old days I only had a few hundred followers & tried to engage with everyone even Nazi trolls. That's much harder now, and makes twitter less a place for conversations.
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The best dynamic would be: 1) dumb tweet 2) people respond 3) dumber tweeter reconsiders his/own position & apologizes 4) everyone laughs, eats ice cream, & moves on. Rarely happens!
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Anyways, these communication breakdowns are a failure on all sides but I do think elite journalists & editors need to be better at listening to criticism, even if vitriolic. Fuck the Nazis, sexists & bigots but listen to everyone else.
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There's also a tendency of the offending (and then piled-upon) party to use the most extreme responses as an excuse not to seriously engage with legitimate criticism of their original statement. This comes across as bad faith, especially when they're clearly nutpicking.
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This is something the recent NYT-affiliated Bad Tweeters have all taken refuge in: Weiss, Lipton, Stephens; even Quinn's defenders specialized in this. They played for sympathy with respect to some obnoxious pushback, as a way to avoid engaging with more reasoned critiques.
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Hmm, I hear what you're saying but have you considered just doubling down over and over again until you've reached a logical apotheosis so horrifying you no longer recognize it or yourself but you have fought so hard to get there that you can't abandon it? I call it "frumming"
Thanks. Twitter will use this to make your timeline better. UndoUndo
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