Merely was my attempt to acknowledge how people may feel about my positions and what I do in my research. And to acknowledge that I don't think people are being absurd or unreasonable for taking their position. I did this because these are two things we lose quickly in online discourse: seeing other people have differing views and not treating them as "crazy" or "vile" or "unreasonable" for holding their views. Acknowledgement and understanding are important, these tell people you see them as humans and rational and worthy of regard, yet these do not imply agreement. I can understand and acknowledge and not agree. |