Hey, girls and boys!
It is all about labels. I hate labels and try my best to avoid them, not always successfully. I can honestly say that I don't understand the label, as changeling is using it, of "nice." I do NOT understand the idea that "nice" is considered "dumb" anymore than "intellectuals" are all considered "mean." It almost seems that Changeling is enviously referring to posters who are able to express their thoughts and feelings clearly and concisely.
I personally don't think people should be judged negatively because they happen to be facile with words. Duh! Writing is how I make a living, so I am not too charitable with those who put it down as some kind of ego-trip. THAT is ignorant and I for one, refuse to dumb-down to make someone feel okay about their poor self image.
Psychologically, a label puts someone in a box that does not consider that they (we) are all many things, in many different ways, at many different times. So, labelling someone as "nice" puts them in a box that does not acknowledge that they can also be "not nice" at times. Because THAT is the reality as I have observed it here at JWD. The "nice" posters can be every bit as brutal or moreso. In my observation, I categorically do not put them in the arena of "nice." They are at many times challenging, confrontational, critical, and castigating. There is a clear frustration that is visited harshly upon others.
Smart is good, dumb is not so good. There - I've been forced to use labels. Sorry that it cannot be softened any further than that.
