Sunday, January 3, 2010

The Hazards of Going Off Half-Cocked

We're all guilty of misstating the facts from time to time. Most of the time, it's unintentional and the damage is negligible. But sometimes it's blatant and motivated simply by a desire to fit in, to be part of the crowd or at least the conversation. It's a dangerous practice though. Some people make life-changing decisions based on information they hear from what they consider trusted sources and without bothering to research or confirm the information themselves. The ripple effect of false or unverified information can have devastating results.

These are serious times and I think when serious subjects are being bantered about, we should take extra care to do our research and get our facts straight before we state them as such. If you want to reference an event in order to make a point, make sure you know what you're talking about. Having someone tell you such-and-such happened does not necessarily mean it did. The person who told you may have been told by someone else ...who was told by someone else ...we all know how the old game of Post Office went.

Part of the prepper mentality is to always be mining information from a variety of sources. We love to find and share new information. That's one of the things I love most about the prepper movement. I'm just suggesting that we should all take very seriously our responsibility in gathering and sharing information. If you discover something new, check it out before you share it on your blog or in one of the chat forums. Research the information itself, research the source of the information. Make it your mission to prove or disprove the information. Only when you are completely satisfied should you share it.

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10 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Do you think that this happens on our chat site HB ? And if so who do you think is doing it? FK

January 3, 2010 at 4:11 PM  
Blogger HossBoss said...

I think it happens just about everywhere in life, FK. As I said, it is unintentional and without malice most of the time. But I believe that there are so many people on the edge right now that the wrong misinformation falling on the wrong ears at the wrong time could set off a chain of events that would have serious and devastating consequences for many. If a spark is ignited and I believe it will be at some point, I hope it would be for just cause and with plenty of rational thought invested.

January 3, 2010 at 4:58 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

You know I have observed at times there are people on chat that are talking about subjects that I have dealt with and at least have a rough idea of how it works or whats involved. Sometimes I know that they are full of it. When you call them on it usually it causes problems that are not fun to deal with. FK

January 3, 2010 at 6:19 PM  
Blogger HossBoss said...

I know, I agree. But sometimes we have to speak up. How many anonymous guests and newbies pop in and out of the chatroom but don't stay long enough to get to know the regulars or get to hear the end of the conversation? There's certainly enough REAL STUFF to be upset about in this country these days. We don't need to have the facts embellished by somebody who just wants to be in the spotlight (chatlight?) for a few minutes ...and then have that misinformation passed along to others, who may embellish it themselves before they pass it along. I think now more than ever, we need to choose our words and check our facts. ME included! : )

January 3, 2010 at 6:42 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Only because I follow you fairly regularly do I comment on this particular subject in this manner;

The risk of bearing false witness runs rampant when we do not verify our sources. I will leave this search for your edification. I was enlightened by it and hope you will be also.

It IS a serious matter and bears consideration.

http://www.blueletterbible.org/search/translationResults.cfm?Criteria=false+witness&t=KJV

January 4, 2010 at 7:57 AM  
Blogger HossBoss said...

AKA, haven't heard from you in a while. Yes, the scriptures are clear about bearing false witness but the texts all seem to imply an intentional misrepresentation of the facts. That's bad, of course. But I was mostly referring to the unintentional perpetuation of false information that happens when we just don't research things for ourselves. The term 'sheeple' is bandied about in reference to apathetic believe-whatever-the-government tells you ...but we are also sheeple if we automatically believe everything we tell each other ...without verifying it ourselves.

Both are WRONG in every sense of the word. Whether we bear false witness intentionally or because we don't bother to check our facts before we pass them along ...we are equally wrong. But it's easier in my opinion to avoid the obvious sins (malicious intentional evil) than the sneaky little we-were-just-too-lazy-to-check sins. Am I making any sense?

I tried to go to your blog and couldn't get there. Did you shut it down?

January 4, 2010 at 6:13 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

You're making perfect sense, I only bring it up as food for thought. It should be taken to the depth you can live with.

I added the scriptural references because to me personally they are germane to the thread of thought you introduced.

I had a personal epiphany about repeating any false information be it intentional or accidental and believe we are responsible for what we put forth. It is why I despise gossip and try to curb it in any conversation. My point being, a falsehood, unintended or intentional does the same damage, and lessons the credibility, when found out, of the bearer as well.

Excuse my street vernacular, but where the rubber meets the road, If your source talks shit to often their believability dwindles exponentially.

No finger pointing involved here, just a glimpse of how I see things.

Concerning my blog, I had it down for awhile because I was unable to edit some of the widgets. It is once again up, just not posted regularly.

January 4, 2010 at 6:44 PM  
Blogger HossBoss said...

Ah, now that makes perfect sense to me. You put it better than I did, I agree. The damage is the same.

I drilled into my kids to resist the temptation to exaggerate because ANY deviation from the facts is a falsehood and makes everything else you say suspect.

I will try again on your blog. Thanks for the comments. If you clarified it for me (and you did), then maybe your comments will have clarified it for other readers as well.

January 4, 2010 at 7:30 PM  
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