e1lI fucking hate political discussions / ""discourse"" on the internet. Nobody seems to be actually willing to discuss their position, it always devolves to either a rhetorical wankery debate or "lmao its just a meme bro". The left and right both practice their own version of groupthink, the left making a pariah out of anyone not following the One True Dogma, and the right dogpiling on 'idiots' and bullying people with 'stupid' opinions out.
"But that person was a racist/misogynist/whatever!"
It's sad how rarely this is true. Too often I see people that are just considering a position labeled an awful human being with nothing to back it up other than a hunch from one of the clerics and a poor word choice.
"They just couldn't handle the bantz."
Oh, I've also seen when others try to play by your rules, it's mostly a shitslinging competition at that point.
Most people may not even have an ideological purity police inside themselves, but the way drama tends to escalate just usually trickles down; you can't research and consider every issue properly, so you just agree with whatever in-group you're part of.
This is why I don't really want to be openly committed to a label. You might call me a coward for that, and you may have a point, but I don't really care. What I care about when it comes to politics is facts, ethics, and good solutions. Labels can be useful, but they way they're used is more of a dogwhistle these days. (I don't know about other times so can't comment on that).
Just to be clear, I don't think advocating genocide should be legal, or that your race/sexuality/gender should indicate how you're treated socially, legally or professionally. It feels really fucking bizarre to me that I don't feel safe posting this without stating that. (Especially as I lean more to the progressive left side.) Take a look at https://socialcooling.com/ , the effect works in many ways.
There's much more I want to say, especially regarding the Mastodon block stuff, but can't be bothered to write more on a smartphone and I actually have to do things now.
Bad people exist, but not everyone is bad. Try to see each other a bit more as human beings, and try to make friends instead of enemies. Discuss the subject, not the possibility that the other person is One Of Them.
"But that person was a racist/misogynist/whatever!"
It's sad how rarely this is true. Too often I see people that are just considering a position labeled an awful human being with nothing to back it up other than a hunch from one of the clerics and a poor word choice.
"They just couldn't handle the bantz."
Oh, I've also seen when others try to play by your rules, it's mostly a shitslinging competition at that point.
Most people may not even have an ideological purity police inside themselves, but the way drama tends to escalate just usually trickles down; you can't research and consider every issue properly, so you just agree with whatever in-group you're part of.
This is why I don't really want to be openly committed to a label. You might call me a coward for that, and you may have a point, but I don't really care. What I care about when it comes to politics is facts, ethics, and good solutions. Labels can be useful, but they way they're used is more of a dogwhistle these days. (I don't know about other times so can't comment on that).
Just to be clear, I don't think advocating genocide should be legal, or that your race/sexuality/gender should indicate how you're treated socially, legally or professionally. It feels really fucking bizarre to me that I don't feel safe posting this without stating that. (Especially as I lean more to the progressive left side.) Take a look at https://socialcooling.com/ , the effect works in many ways.
There's much more I want to say, especially regarding the Mastodon block stuff, but can't be bothered to write more on a smartphone and I actually have to do things now.
Bad people exist, but not everyone is bad. Try to see each other a bit more as human beings, and try to make friends instead of enemies. Discuss the subject, not the possibility that the other person is One Of Them.