I understand that the kind of people that fall for this stuff tend to be horrible in other ways, don’t get me wrong, but I guess I still find it hard not to find some amount of sympathy for anyone, even if I find them detestable. People aren’t born being bigoted, and while it’s absolutely understandable to hate people for thinking and acting that way, I certainly do myself, I’m not sure to what extent I can really see it being a choice. Like, what kind of person, who both understood what bigotry was and was not already in the grip of it, would actively choose it? I feel like those kinds of views are something one is taught, and once taught are difficult to unteach, because part of what they are involves suspicion against anyone that has a contrary message. Like the concept of garbage in ->garbage out that people use with computers, but applied to people instead.
Okay, but I was one of those bigots years ago, and surrounded by others that were the same way. I made the choice to listen to others and open my mind to other lines of reasoning. I educated myself, realized I was wrong, and changed as a person.
Being stuck in that place is no excuse. Everyone has the choice to listen to others, and if you actually listen to others, you will realize that their views and beliefs are wrong.
If I could be stuck in the middle of Texas in a hyper-conservative family, with conservative friends, immersed in that culture, and come out of it… So can they.
So no, I do not have any sympathy. They made their choice. And not only did they make their choice, they decided to triple-down and become violent extremists.
Making the decision to talk to other people with differing views and actually open myself to listening
That’s literally it. I made the choice to immerse myself in a diverse community and have conversations with differently minded people, and actually heard them out.
So, basically, the willingness to admit that maybe you were wrong, and willing to be convinced of that with adequate proof. Sounds like somewhere along the way you were exposed to critical thinking and/or open-mindedness.
I understand that the kind of people that fall for this stuff tend to be horrible in other ways, don’t get me wrong, but I guess I still find it hard not to find some amount of sympathy for anyone, even if I find them detestable. People aren’t born being bigoted, and while it’s absolutely understandable to hate people for thinking and acting that way, I certainly do myself, I’m not sure to what extent I can really see it being a choice. Like, what kind of person, who both understood what bigotry was and was not already in the grip of it, would actively choose it? I feel like those kinds of views are something one is taught, and once taught are difficult to unteach, because part of what they are involves suspicion against anyone that has a contrary message. Like the concept of garbage in ->garbage out that people use with computers, but applied to people instead.
Okay, but I was one of those bigots years ago, and surrounded by others that were the same way. I made the choice to listen to others and open my mind to other lines of reasoning. I educated myself, realized I was wrong, and changed as a person.
Being stuck in that place is no excuse. Everyone has the choice to listen to others, and if you actually listen to others, you will realize that their views and beliefs are wrong.
If I could be stuck in the middle of Texas in a hyper-conservative family, with conservative friends, immersed in that culture, and come out of it… So can they.
So no, I do not have any sympathy. They made their choice. And not only did they make their choice, they decided to triple-down and become violent extremists.
Fuck them, they deserve what they got.
What led you to start opening up and changing your mind?
Making the decision to talk to other people with differing views and actually open myself to listening
That’s literally it. I made the choice to immerse myself in a diverse community and have conversations with differently minded people, and actually heard them out.
So, basically, the willingness to admit that maybe you were wrong, and willing to be convinced of that with adequate proof. Sounds like somewhere along the way you were exposed to critical thinking and/or open-mindedness.