A wooden leg on the fire

Years ago I read an anecdote by the famous American journalist and revolutionary John Reed, about a discussion he took part in as a young man.

Among those debating intensely was an old and passionate socialist worker, a crippled man with a wooden leg.

It was a very cold night, but the discussion had been heated and very interesting. Since it had dragged on, and the temperature kept dropping, everyone had agreed that the meeting would end as soon as the fire keeping them warm went out.

The agreed moment came, the fire was dying, but the old worker still had something to say, so he tore off his wooden leg and threw it on the fire to keep the discussion going! There was still a point to rebut!

My memory of Reed’s anecdote may not be entirely accurate, but I think it captures its essence. I imagine the impression that act must have made on this young idealist, who was just starting out in the old art of arguing.

Lately I’ve had a few arguments over twitter. Unfortunately I use twitter when I’m on the move (on the subway, in a taxi), which is why I never answer Twitter’s question, “what are you doing?”, because I’m almost always traveling!

For me Twitter is a place where you say what you feel, or think, at a given moment, where you share a link, or answer some silly thing, or play with words, or strike up a brief dialogue with someone who hangs out there, without much depth. It’s like walking into the bar in Cheers, having a drink, cracking a joke, and leaving.

It’s not a suitable place to discuss any topic in depth. It’s hard enough to sustain a discussion on a mailing list, let alone on twitter, with its 140-character limit.

If you really want a serious, deep discussion about something, the best way is face to face, the way those old American communists did it, around a good fire, or over a drink. These electronic media are not the right place to settle the important or interesting matters.

Even so, I think the best alternative, when personal contact isn’t possible, may be blogs.

For me, this blog is the wooden leg I throw on the fire, to continue those discussions that start on a mailing list, or more recently on twitter.

I hope to move some of those discussions to this personal bonfire soon.