Posted by Lindenblüte on September 28, 2006, at 8:57:31
In reply to Re: How do you develop witty comments » rjlockhart, posted by Deneb on September 27, 2006, at 23:37:08
Matt,
sometimes you don't have to come up with a witty comeback. That jerk's actions speak for themselves. No one will begrudge you not defending yourself in class. They will probably admire you because you were controlled enough not to lose your cool. And they will think that he's a jerk, and generally try to avoid getting in his way in a discussion.I have been an instructor for many classes with a discussion group. Inevitably there is one or more harsh discussants, who either hijack the discussion, or belittle their peers, or are just generally antagonistic and stubborn. After a few weeks, people just give them a little space, and don't really give a crap what they say anyways.
So, I think you did EXACTLY the right thing in this difficult situation. Seriously- your comment was relevant to the discussion, even if you didn't manage to defend your ideas to this jerk (you probably couldn't have changed his mind anyways, he's pretty stubborn)
take care, and enjoy the sociology...
-Li
p.s. I only have witty comments about a third as often as I say something completely idiotic or idiosyncratic. Inevitably we are our own harshest critics-- most people won't remember this event for very long at all!
poster:Lindenblüte
thread:689707
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20060922/msgs/689889.html