Quote:
Originally Posted by Victor
the English language construct in my post
"I would even say"
implies that I am not sure nor have any way of really knowing. it also implies that it is a provocative statement and that the writer knows this and is being, as the English say "cheeky."
I followed it up by saying "it was just a guess" to make it even clearer.
It don't think it necessarily implies either of those things. It can, but it relies on context to be read that way. "I would even say" is basically just another way to say "in my opinion" where you want to indicate that your opinion is going further than just contradicting the claim you're responding to.
Person A: "This pizza is just okay."
Person B: "I think it tastes good. I would even say, it tastes delicious."
"I would even say" implies neither cheekiness nor hesitance in this case.
Person A: "This pizza is awful"
Person B: "I think it tastes good. I would even say, it tastes delicious."
Provocative but not hesitant.
Person A: "This pizza is awful"
Person B: "I think it tastes good. I
might even say, it tastes delicious."
Provocative and hesitant.
When you say something like, "
in fact, I would even say the people in the soviet gulags caused
far more suffering than the people in American jails of the last couple decades."
Using phrases like "in fact" and "far more" in that statement provide a context of certainty of your opinion that renders the claim that you're indicating hesitance with the phrase "I would even say" as pretty absurd. Saying, "I
might even say" would be clearer but it would still be fair to ask you for evidence of "far more suffering". It wouldn't need to be conclusive, just an indication of what lead you to that feeling. You are of course being provocative as always, but that's not the part that matters.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Victor
and a further idea is that there is no reason the burden of proof should be on my side. why dont you proof that American inmates are worse than Soviet Gulagmates? is there something with the Russians where they are less criminal than Americans? well, maybe they were until recently if you read this board, which I do. but its not a statement that needs defending.
if you want to actually discuss this and not throw out gotchas and twist words then I may engage. but I kinda doubt you are interested in that.
The burden of proof is on you because you're the one who made the positive claim. I never made the claim that American inmates are more deserving of jail time that those in gulags, I only asked you to back up your claim. I'm not making gotchas, just observations. I was actually interested, even if doubtful, in hearing about what made gulag inmates likely to have caused far more suffering because I was under the assumption that many were merely victims of Soviet repression.