My Thoughts on Comments

Altmann, Gerd. "Exchange of Ideas, Debate, Discussion, Entertainment." 2014 via pixabay. CCO Public Domain License. 

This is a follow up post on my previous post My Controversy, where the argument about legalizing euthanasia was briefly discussed. This post will look at four comments from the website Debate.org where the same debate over euthanasia took place. These comments are broken down by whether they are reasonable or not.

Reasonable

Beondel is expressing fear when he says that the act of using euthanasia is evil. He compares this evil act to an act murder, and that it goes against what is morally acceptable.  Beondel seems to have belief in some faith because he talks about how human life is sacred, and talks about human life in a very abstract way. 

This comment is reasonable because under his profile he has opinions on many other controversial topics, and his tone and syntax seem scholarly. 

ResponsiblyIrresponsible is portraying a wish about how he thinks people should approach the legalization of euthanasia. His word choice like, "I think" and "ought to be" are not very definitive ways of expressing opinion, which shows that his comment is what he would like to see. He values people's rights when he says that the right to death exists. 

This comment is reasonable because he addresses both sides of the argument while still making his opinion clear. Also, his profile shows he is very active in other debates on the website. 

Unreasonable

Annaliese is expressing a fantasy where the decision to use euthanasia is compared to how a similar process is used on animals. She reaches the conclusion that human euthanasia is humane because it is also considered humane on animals, but I don't think this is a valid argument. 

Annaliese is unreasonable because her writing is very informal compared to the other comments on this bog. Also, when reading her profile it says, "I'm a 14 year old with an opinion... I'm sassy and rude."

BLAHthedebator is expressing a wish that people can view euthanasia as a different form of suicide. He claims that because suicide is voluntary and there are no laws against it, then the same should apply for euthanasia. He does not seem to have any values because he talks about human life like it doesn't matter and that people are disposable. This is especially true when he says, "Some people are going to die with their illnesses anyway, and they know it." 

BLAHthedebator does not seem like a trustworthy source because his reasoning does not make sense, and like the writer above, his profile shows he is very young.  


Reflection:

I learned from reading Tom and Sam's posts that many people verbalize their fears and wishes through social media in ways that aren't affective. These people used social media comment threads as an outlet to voice opinions that have no authority or credibility, and make themselves look foolish. On the other hand, there are equally the same number of people who skillfully and eloquently express their opinions through comments that add beneficial thoughts to the debate. These people show credibility by not having biased opinion or letting their fears and wishes dictate their writing. I agreed will all of Sam's opinions on the Super Bowl issue, and while Tom didn't express his opinion of Planned Parenthood I agreed with all of his critiques of people's comments.