RE: I Used To Be A Fan But I Am Now Shocked, Disgusted And Appalled With Sam Harris
March 23, 2018 at 11:53 am
(This post was last modified: March 23, 2018 at 12:03 pm by Edwardo Piet.)
Apologies for the necro, but I finally found someone who has explained exactly how I feel about Sam Harris on this matter, and like myself had the same reaction and is also a big fan of Sam Harris in basically ALL other areas. To this day this one podcast episode still remains the only time I've pretty much ever disagreed with or been disgusted and disappointed in Sam Harris. I'm not the only one who reacted in shock like this.
Here is the article: https://warmlittlepond.wordpress.com/201...am-harris/
I couldn't put it better myself. I added the bold myself though.
Here is the article: https://warmlittlepond.wordpress.com/201...am-harris/
Quote:Hi Sam,
I’m a big fan of your work, and think what you’re doing is immensely important. You are quite often a bastion of clear thinking on so many topics, and it’s a pleasure to hear you speak and think.
Because of my high opinion as you as a thinker, I was a bit shocked to hear part of the conversation you had with Douglas Murray in your last podcast episode. I agree with him a lot regarding the regressive left, etc., but then he decided to go on this ignorant and angry tirade about transgender issues. He mocked the idea of letting people identify themselves as transgendered, made fun of the fact that a transgendered person may or may not decide to undergo sex-reassignment surgery (as if that would somehow illigitimize their identity) and thought people coming out as transgendered was all due to politics. This was quite disturbing to hear, but even more disturbing–to me–was the fact that you just sat by and laughed with him, and seemed to sympathize with what he said. This was shocking to hear. Granted, you didn’t say any of those hateful things yourself, but silence on your part seemed to speak volumes in this case, especially given your reputation for fearlessly confronting what you perceive to be bad ideas. You certainly didn’t seem to object to anything he said, and thought his comments were, in your words, “hilarious.”
Perhaps you did not want to be combative with your guest early on in your podcast, and instead wanted to move on to other things. But, if you disagreed with him, you could have simply stated “I don’t agree with much you said on transgender issues, but I would like to switch our focus to another topic.” Or something similar. But you made no indication that you disagreed with anything he said. I would really like you to clarify your position on transgender issues, and let us know whether you were in large agreement with Douglas Murray in your podcast when he ranted against transgendered people. This is very concerning to me, as I constantly defend your views from distortions, and this would be more difficult for me to do should you in fact hold such a disturbing position.
Kind regards,
Colin
I couldn't put it better myself. I added the bold myself though.