Deny Ignorance, well you can try, but I assure you...it's real, how about this instead?...

Deny - refuse to accept or believe

Addiction - being abnormally tolerant to and dependent on something that is psychologically or physically habit-forming

Denial in Addiction - a defense mechanism that those abusing drugs or alcohol will need to overcome in order to kick their habits. "Denial ain't just a river in Egypt" is a mantra often heard at 12-step meetings. This is because Step 1 of the 12-steps deals with overcoming denial and "admitting we are powerless …" - source

(above used for comparison)

Deny - refuse to accept or believe

Ignorance - the lack of knowledge or education

Denial of Ignorance - a defense mechanism that those empowered with knowledge will need to overcome in order to begin effectively educating those that are considered ignorant (by definition) on any given topic.

I have given this motto a lot of thought throughout my short membership here thus far on ATS. I think it goes without saying that ignorance as a whole and by definition will never fully be able to be denied. You can try, but wait 5 minutes and you can usually bare witness to some form of ignorance at any given moment in time. Ignorance is real my friends and I am afraid there is no denying it.

Now, imho a better motto for this site would be "Educating Ignorance" because in a nutshell, that is what we do here. A topic is presented, opinions are shared, facts are uncovered, members become educated. Although there is most often debate, this is generally how most threads ensue, barring all the occasional and seemingly purposeful incendiary posts within those threads. The amount of members who are educating ignorance should be more what the motto focuses on. Because that is why I am here, to be educated, and as an added plus, perhaps provided with the opportunity to educate.

In my existence on ATS I have tried my best to never deny my own ignorance on any given topic and chose rather to educate that ignorance with the many available resources on this website as well as the Internet. A lot of which was thanks to the top notch membership base and staff that make up ATS (you guys & gals Rock! btw).

Just a notion I was pondering, thank you for reading

"Exposing" Ignorance would be a fitting alternative as well. Perhaps a combination, because we do in fact do both pretty frequently here.

I had a little reflection on the motto myself early on here when I realized I was dead wrong about something I posted. I could not deny my own ignorance over that matter, before, but realized I was getting an education and self-examination after that incident.

The word choice seems awkward but in the end the results are those desired here at ATS.

Per the About Page:

This motto has life. It has purpose. It demands ATS members to think.

It is a state of mind.

It is a sense of purpose.

It is a statement against the paradigm.

It is a rage against the mindless status-quo.

The idea of "deny ignorance" isn't a goal that ATS hopes to accomplish. Instead, it's a challenge. A call to all those who come here to aspire to a higher state of awareness through informed discussion and debate.

Deny ignorance is what we do.

It's how we think. It's how we talk. It's how we listen.

Ignorance is the social disease of history. Is the evil that men do, the reason history repeats, and the cause of intolerance.

We deny it. it's not welcome here. Within these boundaries, it has no strength.

Here, ignorance is denied.

But in actuality and technically speaking, it is not being denied, it is in fact being what is mentioned in the OP, inadvertently or not, imo ignorance isn't being denied. As it should be, ignorance should be embraced as an opportunity to not have to deny the ignorance, but eliminate it entirely.

Ignorance is also in the eye of the beholder.

It's what both sides of the 9-11 debate accuse the other of...ignorance. They look at a piece of evidence like the top of the WTC crushing the floors beneath it as it falls rapidly and one side says "you're ignorant if you think gravity can do that" and the other side says "you're ignorant if you think gravity can't do that".

So personally I'd rather skip past who or what is ignorant, and get to the meat of the arguments...that is, in that example, specifically why gravity can or can not to that and let's see which arguments are the most convincing, and not worry about who's ignorant.

Ignorance is as ignorance was, and it's only a lack of knowing in one part thereof to be ignorant. Since we can't know everything we are all ignorant. Everything else is an accomodation.

reply to post by smurfy


Well said!

I hope the chemtrail fanclub reads this.................

When you take up arms against a threat, you may encounter a situation where it would be disasterous for your opponents to gain a certain strategic point , like high ground for instance. When you plan a battle with the intent of preventing your opponent gaining this ground, you are attempting to deny them that ground. I believe in framing the motto in this fashion, the owners of the site are perhaps attempting to put themselves in a position where the membership feel, because of the motto and other little things about the site, that the membership is actualy at war with, embattled with ignorance, and that preventing its spread is a martial excersize of the mind. A tactical and very militaristic approach one might think, and yet, very proactive, and positive. The general feeling one gets from knowing the truth of the worlds blackness and horror can sometimes be overwhelmingly depressing for those of a less than solid psychology. To prevent this being a turn off to some potential members, the owners appear to wish to have us believe that ignorance can be fought and beaten, thus removing some of the heavy oppressive weight from the metaphysical shoulders of the members.
Personaly , I have no problem with the motto as it stands. If you wish to deliberately misinterpret it, or fail to research the linguistic and grammatical potential in a set of words, thats your own concern, but rest assured , its use in the manner in which it has been applied here, is valid and positive, and does not show evidence of ignorance on the part of the person or persons responsible for its use.