Attack the Ideas, not the Person

There's a tendency on the Internet to make personal attacks, when in fact you merely disagree with the ideas or the methods another person uses.

So it was refreshing the other day to read Shel Holtz's lengthy rebuttal of T.J Larkin's theories about employee communications, as espoused during a speech at the IABC International Conference in Washington, D.C.

Holtz gets in quite a few body blows, but I think he gives Larkin the respect of doing a blow-by-blow rebuttal of his use of research to support his business communications theories. It would have been easy just to disparage Larkin without explaining exactly how and why Holtz feels he is wrong.

(This is another posting admiring Shel Holtz. Before I morph into a sycophantic toadie, I think I'll shut up and let Shel's writing stand on its own for a while. Unless of course you want to catch the podcast he does with Neville Hobson: For Immediate Release.  Oops. Okay, that's the absolute last promo I publish for a while.)

Comments

[Scott Baradell]

You are so right about personal attacks on the Web. For example, see Russell Beattie's recent blog post entitled, "PR People Are Morons." It's more difficult to intelligently address ideas rather than attack people; unfortunately, too many folks take the easy way out.

[Jeremy Pepper]

I disagree Scott. I don't think Russell was attacking people, but rather the way piss-poor ways he has been contacted by PR people. He didn't name names, he railed against what he saw as moronic behavior. And, went a little Maileresque with his title (who doesn't do that once in awhile? Heck, my title for the post about it is "Russell Beattie Hates Me" - and he doesn't hate me because we don't know each other).

Only until someone wrote a response on his blog that could be seen as a mocking tone, did Russell name a name. And, as any PR person will attest, it is inexcusable not to respond to an email from a pitch, which was the issue for Russell. That's just bad for all of PR, not just the person named.

It's nice of you to jump in and defend him, though.

[Jeremy Pepper]

Now a comment for Eric. :)

Nick Denton (Gawker King) noted in his NYT article that blogs are great for tearing down, not building up.

I have to go look at my blog and wonder, do I attack the idea or attack the person. I know that my Philosophical background was all about tearing down the ideas, and then getting in the personal snide remark at the end (well, that was just for fun), but I don't think many people can separate the person from the idea.

It's like I say - there are some people I like as people, but cannot stand in their other capacities.

[Eric Eggertson]

Don't get me wrong, Jeremy. I get into personal attacks, myself. But afterwards, I usually feel like I could have done better by showing the person how their thinking was flawed, or their behaviour was flawed.

As for poking fun at people who take themselves too seriously -- it's open season, in my book!