Are You Really Listening?

Think you can't discuss something with another person because of the tone of the message? Here's something interesting I read over the on-going war of "Genderfail":

Someday people will figure out that the proper response to controversial suggestions made in an angry or snarky tone is to address the suggestions and either don’t address the tone, give it much less text, or address it in a different post. The tone argument wouldn’t be so annoying if its makers would stick to having one post for “your tone is wrong! catch more flies with honey! MLK is more well known than Malcolm X!” &c. and another post for actually addressing the substance of the argument. But when people address the one and not the other? It looks like a derailing tactic (which, you know, it is).

Really, if tone is what the argument is all about, I can actually shut down everyone I talk to with the coup de grace that is: "I don't want to talk to you. I don't like your tone." BA-DA-BING, BA-DA-BOOM.

You can read the discussion from which I sourced the quote here: