Quote:
Originally Posted by gargamel
So accepting that you don't know these people or have any context and therefore might be attributing views to them that they don't really have isn't an option?
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Yeah.
I also really hate the mentality of talking past that person to crowd and taking isolated comment out of context to a completely different forum.
If you have a problem with something somebody said somewhere, say it to that person in that place. That's an equal reaction to an action. It's not that hard. So for example if somebody says something I think is offensive on a facebook thread or here on CP, I say it to that person in that thread. If you see something offensive in twitter, at least make your reaction a response to that person.
Besides, if you're just looking for a crowd of likeminded people to talk to, you're not actually standing up to that person. I get that sometimes people just want to complain about something without getting into a fight. Fights are tiresome. But then you should not be naming names, at least publicly.
If you're looking for a crowd to do your fighting for you, then you're just being either a coward or a bully, or both.
I think it's a major failing in many opinion tribes that there is too much willingness to put up with terrible behavior of people who happen to have the right opinions. Civility is it's own cause, and one that needs defenders too.
(Besides, and I'm speaking as someone with some insight into how to promote your political views. That kind of unquestioning acceptance tends to attract people who are just as likely to hurt than help the cause. More often than not those people just like to hang, and rarely actually contribute in meaningful ways. They are not the people who will get their workplace to adopt racism-preventing policies for example, or who will stand up to a racist comment made by a lecturer.)