The email response greeted me with this first sentence:
“This site and its articles are extremely biased and on the verge of alt-right/tea party. It reminds me of Breitbart. I have a hard time taking much of what they say seriously. ”
I had sent a work colleague an essay about why the Swiss seem to encounter little to no terrorism in their country. The author had posted her thoughts on a conservative website (Townhall). Since this 8th-grade humanities teacher seeks to train his students to ask deeper questions, I thought he would appreciate the anomaly that Switzerland represents in a Europe menaced by terrorism.
I wasn’t prepared for his differing worldview, but I should have been given his youth and generational milieu and the fact that we teach in Asheville, NC. Taken aback at first, I carefully chose my response. Rewriting my comments in the form of questions (I reflected) might make it easier for him to read and accept my thoughts.
To his credit I realized he had indeed read the entire essay and given it some consideration. His comments bore that out. So I complimented him on that, but asked him the logical question all of us should employ initially: Why do you think that? (regarding his dismissive first couple of sentences)
Here is how I worded the rest of my response to his opening salvo: Why is that? Shouldn’t we judge ideas on their merit? I think that’s the genetic fallacy, to dismiss a viewpoint because of its source.
Continuing on gently, I spring-boarded off of his observations with some further thoughts. In the end, I repeated my acknowledgement of his generous use of time DESPITE his skepticism about the ‘validity’ of the point of view.
What I re-learned from this encounter was this:
- just as I and my husband and some like-minded friends believe the other side is ‘biased’, they also assume we are predisposed
- there is no cause for fear when someone tries to marginalize one’s beliefs and reasons. I probably know more than this young man. I read a lot more and I’ve been at this clear thinking/reasoning work for years now.
- asking questions is a safe and disarming approach in responding to what might FEEL like an attack
I’m grateful for the occasion to exercise some of my ‘logical gal’ skills.
Surprised by Logic 
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