Re: Out-dated theory

John M Ward wrote:

In article <s4cl02dom12s7bo5nhakuh5kem7nf6pu6l@xxxxxxx>,
Nick Milton <nickspamtrap_milton@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
On Sat, 04 Mar 2006 17:41:45 GMT, "Kendall K. Down"
<webmaster@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

2. Pavlovian button-pushing.

And your reason for pushing people's buttons?

Ah, that expression again. Diana mentioned this to me recently, but
I did not (and still do not) understand what it means.

The idea is that people (or at least some people)
are (at least in some circumstances) like machines,
that can reliably be made to behave in a certain
way by pressing buttons. Specifically, some people
are allegedly so readily offended, or upset, or
excited, or whatever, by certain ideas that if you
mention (say) homosexuality, or the Iraq war, or
their ex-wife, they can be relied upon to get
worked up and rant in some predictable way. Thus:
you push the button, you get the response the machine
is set up to make. Like a jukebox.

In the presence of this phenomenon, some (other?)
people -- for reasons I don't understand -- find it
appropriate to push those buttons. I *think* the
appeal may be that it gives them a temporary sense
of superiority -- "see, look at me, I'm not irrational
and mechanical like that pharisee ... er, excuse me,
I mean, like that silly person over there". Or perhaps
it's a feeling of power -- "I'm so clever that I can
make her do this whenever I want to". I'm not sure.
I can't think of any reason for engaging in such
button-pushing that I'd expect a Christian to be
willing to admit to in public. But, well, obviously
I'm just missing something.

Wjy has it apparently become "necessary" to conceal one's meaning
within arcane expressions? Is it, like, totally awesome, or
something similar to that?

It's not an arcane expression; it's a perfectly ordinary
one that you happen not to have encountered.

--
Gareth McCaughan
..sig under construc
.