Writing an Insulting Article?

I write the opinion articles that I write with the view of expressing my opinion. I read all the comments to my articles because I see them as extension of discussion. Some of the comments are complimentary and I appreciate them. Some are not so complimentary, and others are just plain insults. I welcome them all. It is all part of discussing and learning. I cannot understand why people will write articles just to insult (often all Ghanaians) and think that they will achieve something rather than leaving their insults as comments to articles that offend them.

An article I read on Ghanaweb was laden with insult and the writer asserted that he was pumping something into the heads of those he didn't agree with. If you insult someone, you immediately put him or her in a defensive state and it leads to hardening of positions. The last thing you will do will be to get him or her to agree with you. Second, if you have to insult to make your point, you have pretty much conceded that you cannot argue your point convincingly.

If you have a point of view, the best thing to do is to make a convincing argument for that point and accept that some people will agree with you, some will be neutral to your point of view and some will have a contrary point of view. No amount of insult will change this. Your insults will never pump anything into anyone's head. It rather exposes your inability to make a convincing argument for your point of view as I have said and it surely does not make your article worth reading.

Tony Pobee-Mensah