"I probably will not buy this book"
Thank you for sharing that with everyone. /sarcasm.
As for alienating people, I can't forsee much common ground with someone who persists in discouraging others, based on some deluded notion that people are incapable of being reached. It's pure cynicism. Why should I respect that?
And, I am speaking from personal experience.
There are many, many times I was tempted to predict that certain moments of political activism would be a waste of time, money, and energy, but did I share those thoughts? I may have on occassion for a brief time, but then thought better of it later. I regret those few times I did.
And sure enough, there were times I was glad I kept my mouth shut. Because people achieved more than I had dared hope for at times.
I don't know about you, but I'm ticked off right now. We need to slap ourselves into focus and start accomplishing something, rather than wasting time discouraging others. You can console the ones throwing down their rifles if you want, but not until after I've given them a wakeup call. They should look at themselves, feel ashamed, and do something useful.
Response: shrugs [sarcasm] ;)