Lugging Vs. Forcing On a Manual Transmission?

I wouldn't say that one is better than the other. The first, adds a little stress to your transmission and clutch, but the second one make your car bog and use more gas to get back into it's RPM range. I would prefer the later (not the latter) since you usually find yourself shifting into 3rd immediately after engaging into 2nd anyway. Still it's just a matter of preference. There is no correct way to answer this.