Getting a Point Across

I have observed, throughout my life, that when a person is unable to answer a question in a debate coherently, rationally and with due attention to previous discussion then they usually don't have much of a point to make. Either they don't understand the subject under discussion or they don't understand their own opinion on the matter.

Internet forums and message boards have made it possible for all manner of people to get involved in public debate that may not have had the chance were the internet not such a fantastic tool. People who have never been involved in a formal debate before are mixing with those who have. People who have never had to argue their opinion in a coherent manner before are mixing with those who have given their opinions careful consideration and discussed them openly many times.

I don't claim to be an expert at debate. I'm not. I represented my house in the school public debate competition once and not very well. I made a speech as part of mock-election week for the 1997 general election, which I enjoyed but my well thought out, pre-written and impassioned speech didn't go down too well with my a-political classmates.

On the rare occasions that I have gone up against those who are genuinely expert at debate (usually guys with quite forceful personalities) I have crumbled and utterly failed to get my own point across. Their arguments may be utterly abhorrant, they may only be arguing for the sake of it and not really because they believe the position they are putting across, but if they are well-practiced in the basic skills then I stand no chance.

But I, like many people, like talking about my own opinions and I do this on the internet with regularity. Mostly I find myself the superior debator, despite my lack of experience. I know some of the theory and I do give my opinions a lot of thought, therefore I often come to a debate well armed with my own, reasoned thoughts.

I do, however, tend to get passionate about the things I care about. And that gets in the way. I find myself falling out with people from time to time, simply because the discussion becomes personal.

But recently, I have been getting quite agitated by a long-running discussion because I have not become impassioned, I have remained balanced and rational throughout. However a couple of posters have taken my comments incredibly personally and have taken to slinging mud. No matter how upset I get in one of these discussions I never stoop to insults or "I know you are but what am I"- style arguing. If I get too involved, if I take offense I tend to withdraw and let the discussion go on without me.

I am farely knowledgable about this subject, it being one I have studied on my degree and in my leisure time. So it infuriates me when people come to the discussion just to throw insults and stamp their feet without any consideration for the rational, serious discussion taking place. They misunderstand, misquote and generally make themselves look silly and wind me up because I feel like I am doing a poor job of getting my point across.

But there is no rationalising with those people. They will never understand a point of view contrary to their own so I mustn't get stressed out about it. This blog entry serves as the venting of my frustration. Hopefully now I can get on with my life.

Gigs - The New Root

Allflaws/Red Vein/The New Root – 14th November 2007 – The Louisiana, Bristol

The night opened with rap-duo Allflaws, sadly not to this reviewer's taste. The second performance came from Red Vein, who provided a more inspiring set of lyrically and musically interesting tracks. They set the mood well for the main attraction; The New Root.

However, I find myself at a slight loss for words as I try to begin this review. What can I say that I have not said before? Am I a fool for having praised TNR so highly in the past? I ask that not because I have ever had any doubt that they deserved my praise, but because I find myself struggling to describe just how amazing they were on this occasion. Having given them such glowing reviews in the past there are very few more rungs on the ladder to go up to and in this case they really need more rungs.

I have always been a Rooter, I have always enjoyed their gigs; loved their songs, revelled in their performances and come away glowing with pride. But this night was different. This night they were headlining, they had a longer set and the biggest audience. There may have been nerves there, but I didn’t see them, all I saw was excitement and joy from the band. It was evident that they were enjoying themselves more than ever and that showed in their confidence and stage presence.

They opened their set with my old favourite, Cruel. This Rooter was overjoyed to see the return of this song to their set. It has been slightly rearranged, the acoustic guitar has been replaced with electric and Trish now plays the key part as well as singing, the whole song has a little more oomph than it did before, and it was always one of their more pounding songs, so that is saying something.

The treatment upon the band’s older material from newest band members Joel and Tony has brought a heavier, more edgy sound, more appropriate for moshing to than previous versions. And mosh we did. Regular Rooters took up position at the front and much vigorous dancing ensued throughout the set, with quiet pauses for Still Near and Crazy.

Other returning track Tell It Like It Is went down well as did their newest track with its irregular rhythms and slamming guitar. In a recent conversation with Dave and Trish Boothby, they said that they wanted to be able to take the audience on an emotional journey in their gigs and that certainly happened with this longer set. We were set up marvellously for the very emotive Crazy, drawing a tear from more than one audience member's eye and the set was brought to a fantastic climax with So Alive.

The Rooters weren’t going to let the band get away without playing crowd-pleaser My Truth, though and calls for an encore were, thankfully, given into by the venue, who gave the go ahead for another song.

Their would-be closing track says it all really, this gig made me feel so alive. I left the venue with friends, all bouncing merrily in the street, elated and exhausted at the same time from all the dancing. TNR have reached a new level in excellence. More confidence, I believe is the key, they pulled off a tight performance and were engaging to watch. As ever, I came away feeling very positive about the future success of the band.