Cpompare and contrast these two sets of comments.

Christians, Muslims, and Jews are different. We do not often abide by the same values or share common practices in the way we approach life. But we all are prone to reacting emotionally when it comes to our race or religion. Without our senses of humor intact we certainly won’t come close to settling our differences.

Some groups have a greater number of reactionary and intolerant individuals than others. Unfortunately, they will always threaten those who are inclined to avoid brute force. Since there isn’t much we can do get rid of these killjoys, at the very least shouldn’t we be allowed to make fun of them without the threat of death or banishment? After the controversies in Sweden and Denmark regarding cartoons depicting Muhammad, I guess the answer is a resounding NO. Muslims do not have a sense of humor when it come to their religion, and neither do Jews when it comes to Israel. These days, their relentless defensiveness is verging on tyrannical, and I am tired of this ongoing war that has spilled over into my territory.

via Too Sensitive For Our Own Good – Taki’s Magazine.

And

Last week, Hawaiian libertarian had an interesting article up about conversational narcissists. These are people who constantly try to steer conversations back to themselves. I do this sometimes, so I’m going to try to improve that aspect of my personality, but what I found most interesting was the connection between conversational narcissism and ideological narcissism.

What’s that, you say?

An ideological narcissist is a form of reductionism combined with a lack of empathy. The ideological narcissist:

• believes that his ideology is flawless and applicable to every situation.
• thinks that anyone who disagrees with his ideology is stupid, ignorant, or in denial.

Traditional Catholicism (Alte) Ideological Narcissists

Alte’s place is fun. She’s got a sense of humour. But the polite space of public discourse has become where one converses in a kind of paraniod doublespeak that obscures any frank discussion.

This double speak needs to be subverted… if not by humour, then by scorn.