Posted by Rick Denney on February 19, 2003 at 10:30:38:
In Reply to: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Mint Condition Yamaha Euphonium posted by Alan on February 19, 2003 at 00:10:57:
With all due respect, "with all due respect" means that I'm about to disagree with your position, but that I don't mean to attack you personally in doing so. It means no more and no less. It is a polite means of entering a disagreement.
We have lost the art of debate in this society so much that all disagreement either has to be a shouting match or an ad hominem personal attack.
I use those phrases often when I disagree with someone, because I want to argue against their position without undermining my friendship with them. If you can't argue, then this forum, which exists only for argument (using the correct definition of that word, and given that we have only words here), may prove a frustrating place. Nobody would come here if all anyone did was to pretend to agree with everyone else.
Remember that avoiding offense is the responsibility of both the speaker and the listener.
Rick "who believes that disagreement should not be offensive" Denney