Maybe it’s the circles I run in.
Can You Scream A Little Louder?
Lately, I’ve been reading blogs in the RE.net both here on Agent Genius and elsewhere where both blog posts and comments seem to be getting shriller and shriller. A post may start out innocently enough. The subject might be Raising the Bar, Duel Agency or maybe even a bone to pick. Sometimes the author is reasoned and even insightful. A lot of times, not so much.
Then, put on the Kevlar®. The comments start coming in and, one wonders, if the commenters even re-read their stuff before hitting the Submit button. All kinds of accusations and assertions are made. Not the “Kind Sir, I believe you may be mistaken about your point of view.” type. Nah. We start calling each other unethical, uneducated, uncaring, criminal conspirators or — my favorite — morons.
Conversation at a New Level
All of this takes the conversation to a new level. Unfortunately, it’s not a higher level. It reminds me of the word games some teenagers play about your Mama (“You’re Mama is so ugly the mirror cracks when she puts on her makeup.”). Sometimes these start out in the spirit of fun but, many times, they rapidly disintegrate into arguments and bad will where none existed before.
It also reminds me of many real life transactions where one Realtor starts screaming at the other when one aspect of a transaction doesn’t go exactly according to plan. Sadly, this seems all too frequent.
I know I’m engaging in a lot of wishful thinking. It’s a fantasy of mine that the level of discussion in the real estate blogosphere can be both interesting and civil. Who knows? Maybe some day.
In the meantime, I’ll share I line I heard on Prairie Home Companion last night (we liberals love our NPR):
“You must’ve been conceived at home. That’s where most accidents happen.”
Take that!
