If your principles were used as a lever to undermine your principles would you still adhere to them?
You seem to be very principled but from what you have written so far you don't seem to acknowledge or understand that some people operate in bad faith. This comes across particularly when you state that people should operate within reddit's rules but neglect to take into account that reddit is not adhering to the rules themselves and that this is a breach of any ability to have a civil relationship. This is also frequently the case with the loud 'free speech' cries by 'bad targets'. Many of them have no intention of ever giving anyone who disagrees with them the same offer. How do you deal with people like that except to disregard them entirely?
> If your principles were used as a lever to undermine your principles would you still adhere to them?
That is indeed the point of principles. If you drop your principles as soon as the going gets tough, then they weren't actually principles to begin with.
> Many of them have no intention of ever giving anyone who disagrees with them the same offer.
Letting your opponents define your own principles is another mistake that unprincipled people often make.
Principles are important not because they help you defeat your enemies. They matter in and of themselves.
Something that is used to fight your enemies is called a strategy or a tactic. Thats completely different from a principle.
If you want to say that you don't care about principles at all, and are willing to do anything and everything that is the most effective to defeat your enemies no matter what it is, just say that instead of talking about principles or morals or values.
That way at least we'd be on the same page as to what the conversation is about.
> principles are important not because they help you defeat your enemies. They matter in and of themselves.
No idea matters exclusively 'for its own sake'. To think like that is to abandon utility and reason for dogma.
> If you want to say that you don't care about principles at all, and are willing to do anything and everything that is the most effective to defeat your enemies no matter what it is, just say that instead of talking about principles or morals or values.
When were you at all confused? I asked a specific leading question and gave a specific reason why the answer was what I lead it to be. Please let me know how I could have been more clear without being patronizing.
