How often has someone actually given you grief for *questioning* something?

[Silent3]

And I mean just for questioning, and no more than questioning a policy, a plan, a system, an authority?

Other than a religious zealots who might get angry with you for questioning their dogma, dogma that they quite literally expect people to accept without question, and perhaps a few non-religious zealots who treat other political and philosophical issues with the same degree of fanaticism, I don't think this supposed offense of being giving grief for just asking questions really happens all that often.

What does happen more often, however, is that people pretty clearly state a point of view on a subject, have clearly reached what, for themselves, is a fairly definitive conclusion, they might even be talking about a plan of action based on that conclusion... and then, when someone disagrees with them, disagrees with their logic or their supposed facts, doubts the wisdom of their proposed tactics for achieving change, they disingenuously whine:

"What do you have against people asking questions!"?

"Why don't you want me asking questions!?"

"What do you have against questioning authority!?"

Please, people, just own it. Own what you say you stand for and believe in if you're going to speak out passionately about it. Don't pretend that something that's got you fired up to change the world, has already changed the way you live, has changed how you vote (or don't bother to vote), has changed who you trust or don't trust, is somehow "just asking questions".

[pipi_k]

1. A lot, actually...

It started in my childhood.

Back then, kids just didn't question their parents (or any other authority figure). Well, not in my family, anyway.

And if you did, you usually got, "Because I said so, that's why!!!"

Which, now that I'm older, I take to mean, "Because maybe my logic isn't so great and I don't know what the hell I'm talking about, but I'm the boss here, so you just shut the hell up and do what I say".

Although I've also noticed that some people don't like to be questioned because it would mean they would have to face their own ambiguous thoughts/feelings and they can't stand the mental conflict.

Anyway...this is even something I have to struggle with at times as I have to stop seeing questions as a challenge (to me or my intellect) and more of a search for information. Sometimes people really are looking for information...

[Silent3]

2. I mostly talking about the context of internet discussions.

After I posted, I did think about how authoritarian parents and teachers can be pretty intolerant about questioning, and thought about editing my OP to add mention of that, but then I decided in might be more distracting than helpful, since the context of online discussions is, I hope, fairly clear.

[pipi_k]

9. Yeah, I did

get the reference to internet discussions, and perhaps even a veiled reference to what happened/happens here at DU.

Not so much now, but I recall a time when it was common for people to pipe up with sarcastic, "Thanks for your concern" stuff.

Or they would outright call someone a "concern troll".

Like they were on this little rainbow and lollipop floating bubble of belief and legitimate questions from someone would pop their nice bubbles and ruin their day.

So yeah...I did get it...

[ConcernedCanuk]

13. Myself, I do not get overly upset with internet discussions

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.
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If I hadn't read the thread I would have responded "Almost every employer I ever worked for".

If I believe the person I'm having a discussion with is baiting, or just plain ignorant (I don't mean rude - I mean they don't know wtf they are talking about) then I stop responding.

I may banter back and forth for one or two posts, but then that's it for me.

I enter a thread where I see 2 or more going at it - even if I believe I have a contribution to make,

I just stay the heck away.

Life has enough stresses without engaging in fruitless arguments.

CC

[Grey]

7. Same here, even today, people get angry.

It's amazing to me how saying "Why" will get me bullied by people I thought were friends.
And to question their politics…… just ugly.

[PowerToThePeople]

3. Every day on DU.

Duh.

[Silent3]

4. Can you give an example?

Where it's the questioning itself that's being attacked?

[PowerToThePeople]

5. Not at this time

I have not had enough coffee to do a search yet. There are several issues where I could probably find examples. Maybe later I will feel motivated to find examples for you. If/When I do I will post them in this thread.

[Silent3]

6. Even if you do manage to find an example or examples, the main point of the thread...

...is the disingenuous use of the word "questioning" by people when they're doing a lot more than merely "questioning" something, and the absurdity of feigning that one is "just asking questions" when one is clearly doing much more than that.

[PowerToThePeople]

8. I may have misunderstood the meaning of your OP

As I said, not much coffee yet. Typically if I were "questioning" it would be much more than questioning. I would be standing in opposition to the statement.

[LWolf]

10. Yes, it does.

I've question policies at work on a regular basis. There are consequences. I just shut up these days and watch everything go to shit.

[ChisolmTrailDem]

11. Wanna try an experiment? Ask a question about what really happened on 9/11. n/t

[Silent3]

12. That's exactly the kind of thing I had in mind.

I've seldom seen anyone who responded to a disagreement with "Why are you against asking questions?" who was truly just asking questions... except perhaps of the "When did you stop beating your wife?" style of question.

To use an example not likely to raise hackles on DU, take climate change deniers as an example. When one of them asks something like, "If the earth is getting hotter, how do you explain snow falling on the pyramids in Egypt!?" (this did happen a couple of weeks ago), you could try to explain how climate change leads to wilder weather conditions, not just uniformly more heat everywhere, but you know damned well that person isn't going to listen to you. Their question is a rhetorical question, delivered with the smug assumption that you don't, and can't possibly, have a good answer -- certainly not an answer that's going to be good enough to satisfy them.

These people are pretty much always stating conclusions, and their passion belies any pretense that they're really reserving much doubt that they could be barking up the wrong tree.

[treestar]

14. Sometimes one is just asking

The other day on DU.

Poster: Definite assertion with no support.
Me: So why do you think that?
Poster: So you agree with the extreme opposition of my assertion?

There are people who immediately jump to the conclusion you disagree with them (and not only that, hold to the most extreme unreasonable opposing position they can describe) just because you asked them what they based their assertion on.

There are several DU subjects on which question of any kind is presumed to be opposition. Question why we should oppose the TPP and you are assumed to be in favor of it and further are a corporatist. All because you asked the rabid anti-TPPer what support there is for their position. Like you could even help their argument without understanding it.