#alternate IFRAME: //www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-9CS6 * Jobs + Findajob.ie + Search Jobs + Advertise a Job + Upload CV + Career Advice + Education & Training * Cars + CarsIreland.ie + Used Car Search + Car Dealers * Homes + Globrix.ie + Buy Property + Rent Property + Advertise Properties * Deals + Grabone.ie + Dublin + Cork + Galway + Limerick + Kerry + South East + GrabOne Escapes + GrabOne Store * Dating + TheMeetingPoint.ie + Mature + Gay * Death Notices + Announcement.ie + Deaths + In Memoriam + Book a Notice * Book an Ad + Book a Print Ad + Book an Online Ad * Facebook * Twitter herald Sunday 17 January 2016 Icon Hi °C | Lo °C Change * Athlone * Bray * Cork * Drogheda * Dundalk * Galway * Kilkenny * Limerick * Navan * Waterford * News + News + Weather * Courts * Sport + Soccer + GAA + Rugby + Horse Racing + Other Sports + School Sports Van Gaal denies 'in transition' United could suffer the same title drought visited on Anfield Griffiths helps Celtic go six clear Des Berry: Boy Racers up to speed on Bath A long way from Croker rout ... Ranieri wants Foxes to savour taste of success Arsene Wenger says Arsenal are more experienced this season to deal with Stoke Photo: Getty Wenger: we can cope at lofty Stoke * Staying In + Music + Film + TV & Radio + Horoscopes Daniel Radcliffe and James McAvoy open up about their Victorian 'bromance', gender pay gap and science Why Ryan Tubridy was 'moved to tears' at Toy Show rehearsals When I got to Ireland I instantly felt connected to it and the people - Mara 'Detective Dishy is best thing I've been called', says Red Rock's Chris Domhnall's Star Wars charity set to benefit Dublin hospice Tiger Woods and his ex-wife, Elin Nordegren 'I was to blame' - Tiger Woods explains marriage break-up to children * Going Out * Lifestyle * Opinion Search ____________________ (BUTTON) Go Herald.ie› Opinion› Columnists› Anton Savage: Disagree with the consensus? I hope you lose your job, you moronic idiot 04 June 2015 03:00 AM 0 Comments * Email * Print * Font Size Persuasion should be a subject taught in school; right now, there should be Leaving Cert students preparing to sit an exam on "How to change people's opinions". Because persuasion is clearly a skill being lost to mankind. The reaction to Bruce Jenner's coming out as Caitlyn Jenner proves this. The July issue of Vanity Fair features Bruce Jenner debuting as a transgender woman named Caitlyn Jenner, in a photo by Annie Leibovitz (Annie Leibovitz/Vanity Fair/AP) The July issue of Vanity Fair features Bruce Jenner debuting as a transgender woman named Caitlyn Jenner, in a photo by Annie Leibovitz (Annie Leibovitz/Vanity Fair/AP) Drake Bell Ryan Magee Woman with bottle of shampoo Social media did it's usual two-step process in response to the announcement. First, everyone split into the two cliched camps - moral majority and apparently bigoted minority. Second, the moral majority waited until someone in the minority said something stupid then pummelled them half to death (metaphorically). scapegoat In this instance, the person silly enough to become the scapegoat for all "wrong-thinking" people was minor actor Drake Bell. He tweeted: "Sorry - still calling you Bruce." As offensive statements go, it's bad, but it ain't exactly hate speech. Nonetheless, he was set upon with the inappropriate ferocity that's now common on social media - people calling him an idiot, ignorant, bigoted and wishing failure upon him. This is what now passes for discourse - looking behind you to make sure there's a mob, then roaring abuse at someone dumb enough to think 'wrong' thoughts. It gets no one anywhere. In Drake Bell's case, he first deleted the tweet, then tried to explain it, then hid. This is not how minds are changed. This is how people are intimidated into silence. In the old days, we mainly communicated with people we knew, or had met, or were members of our wider community, or who were people we might bump into again. Those loose connections put a brake on our desire to lean in a stranger's window and shout something derogatory at them. Now, much of what happens on social media is the outpourings of people who pay limited attention to the facts (why read up on something when you can jump to an ill-informed prejudice?), roaring their preconceived views at someone in the expectation of mass support or, even better, the frightened capitulation of the victim. Journalist Jon Ronson's book, So You've Been Publicly Shamed, looks at this process in detail, citing example after example of people on whom the mob turned for almost nothing. Two guys who lost their jobs for making juvenile jokes at a tech conference. A woman who was fired and humiliated for attempting satire on racism. A writer character-assassinated for making up a quote. This pattern keeps occurring, benefiting neither victim nor attacker. So let's make the syllabus teach kids a new way - persuasion, empathy, analysis and argument. [INS: :INS] Then maybe people will learn that if they think someone is wrong to call Caitlyn "Bruce" after her transition, explaining the experience of living a lie and feeling lost is bound to be more effective than screaming: "Oi, moron!" Congratulations, you've just won the lottery - and by the way, you're doomed 2015-06-04_opi_10103362_I1.JPG Ryan Magee Ryan Magee is an example of an old theory that may still hold true. The theory is that winning the lottery doesn't make you happy. Magee won £6.4m (€8.4m) on the Euromillions in 2008 and promptly did the kind of things lottery winners should do - he bought a Ferrari 458 and a house with a champagne bar. And he looked very happy. This was despite a study of winners of the Illinois State Lottery in the 1970s that showed that (after a brief spike) their long-term happiness was the same as someone paralysed with a spinal injury. It's not a new study, and more recent ones demonstrated that lottery winners show improved psychological well-being, so it seemed there might have been some hope for Magee. offences But this week he showed up in court. To be banned for driving offences. In a Ford Focus, not a Ferrari. Next, we discovered that he was on legal aid - having sold his house and car, he still hadn't enough money left in his accounts to pay a lawyer. Still, maybe it was possible he was still happy? Not according to his wife and solicitor. The former has left him and the latter told the court: "He has found himself not back at square one but several steps behind square one. He has appreciated somewhat late in the day his responsibilities to others, particularly in terms of his driving." The solicitor went on to say that in the case of his client "every silver lining has a dark cloud". Maybe there's still a lesson for us all. If Magee can win all that money, buy the dream house and dream car and still end up in misery, we should be careful what we wish for. Magee was one of 16 people who shared the £96m (€131m) jackpot. Wonder how they're getting on? It's not theft, I paid for this hotel room A survey by hotels.com shows the Irish are third on a list of nationalities most likely to steal from hotel rooms. Not big stuff (like the telly or the kettle), but also not terribly little stuff (removing unused shampoo was considered fair game, for instance). If you're curious, we're apparently not as bad as the Germans and the Argentinians. For some reason, we don't think it's stealing. Which it obviously is. I suppose it's just another of those examples of how reality gets twisted in hotel rooms. 2015-06-04_opi_10103787_I1.JPG Why, for instance, do we expect free shampoo but no shaving foam? Or free conditioner but no toothpaste? We should start a campaign for loads more stuff to be provided by hoteliers. Which we can then nick. Charity stunts are getting to be stupid Yet another stupid viral campaign has hit the internet. It's called "holdacokewithyourboobs". And in case you fear you're missing some subtlety, you're not. It's just women pinning cans of Coke between their breasts. This "raises awareness" of breast cancer, we are told. "Raising awareness" is the grown-up version of a kid pointing at a friend and saying they did something stupid "coz Billy did it". It means nothing, justifies nothing and explains nothing. This campaign is so daft that it actually started as a promotion for pornography that unexpectedly caught on, so someone grafted on a more socially acceptable cause. The best course of action is to it. And go film yourself eating a chilli pepper. Yup, that's a thing now too. Oh, lord. 0 Comments * Email * Print * Font Size [INS: :INS] * Most Read * Most Emailed * Most Shared 1. Man who tried to rob jailed gangster's home 'must have death wish' 2. 'He wouldn't stop stabbing me with the screwdriver' 3. Man who burnt his ex-boyfriend with a cigarette avoids jail 4. Children took photos of murder victim's body but were afraid to tell gardai 5. Roofer intimidated pensioner (84) in ‘despicable’ €3k scam 1. Man who tried to rob jailed gangster's home 'must have death wish' 2. 'He wouldn't stop stabbing me with the screwdriver' 3. Man who burnt his ex-boyfriend with a cigarette avoids jail 4. Children took photos of murder victim's body but were afraid to tell gardai 5. Roofer intimidated pensioner (84) in ‘despicable’ €3k scam IFRAME: //www.facebook.com/plugins/likebox.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook. com%2Fpages%2FThe-Herald%2F167882646558086&width=300&height=290&colorsc heme=light&show_faces=true&header=true&stream=false&show_border=true&ap pId=1390335914588500 Promoted articles Entertainment News Elaine Whyte of the ISPCA Appeal after dog shot dead and dumped The Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to... Holly Carpenter Holly Carpenter: 'I can’t understand people getting a thrill out of being so... In the past week, I’ve... Little angels: Children from St Joseph’s School, Dublin 8, meet live animals at the IFA crib in the Mansion House. Pic: Finbarr O’Rourke Top 10 things to do in Dublin at Christmas Oh, the weather outside is frightful… And you could... The Edge and Conor McGregor Champion Conor McGregor touches down in Dublin with The Edge It WAS a beautiful day... UFC fighter Paddy ‘The Hooligan’ Holohan takes down Herald reporter Ryan Nugent at the Straight Blast Gym on the Naas Road The day I became a UFC fighter, took on The Hooligan ... and lost As Conor McGregor said,... Bono gets the crowd going in Paris 'Tonight we are all Parisians', says emotional Bono Almost a month after the Paris terrorist attacks... Tiger Woods and his ex-wife, Elin Nordegren 'I was to blame' - Tiger Woods explains marriage break-up to children Tiger Woods says he has... NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 09: Actors Daniel Radcliffe (L) and James McAvoy attend the AOL BUILD Speaker Series: "Victor Frankenstein" at AOL Studios In New York on November 9, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images) Daniel Radcliffe and James McAvoy open up about their Victorian 'bromance',... Daniel Radcliffe and... Sir Bruce Forsyth is among the stars helping out for Text Santa Bruce Forsyth will miss Christmas Strictly after operation Bruce Forsyth has pulled... Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf at the Gaiety Theatre Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf at the Gaiety Theatre Little Red Riding Hood... By using this website you consent to our use of cookies. For more information on cookies see our Cookie Policy [cookie_bar_close.png] This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies. See our Privacy & Cookie Policy * News + Breaking News + News + Weather * Sport + Soccer + GAA + Rugby + Horse Racing + Other Sports * Entertainment + Around Town + Music + Film + TV & Radio + Competitions * Lifestyle + Health & Beauty + Motoring + Travel * Opinion * Jobs * Property * Directory * Cars * Follow us on Facebook * Follow us on Twitter * Add us on google+ * Download our apps * Subscribe to our newsletters * Sitemap * Contact * Terms & Conditions * Privacy Statement * Advertise with Us * Group Websites Search ____________________ (BUTTON) Go © Herald.ie Logo Inm A one pixel graphics