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Closet conservatives (and other moral minorities) across the Valley are now virtually guaranteed to shut their closet doors even tighter. Post election, I reca
by hkmurakami 9y ago
Closet conservatives (and other moral minorities) across the Valley are now virtually guaranteed to shut their closet doors even tighter.
Post election, I recall my timelines erupt with emotion -- outrage, despair, betrayal -- then subdue to reflection. Some called for the need to truly reach out to those across the aisle and to listen and understand, earnestly lending an ear even to views that we strongly oppose.
Recent events will be a step back in such relations, as dissent has been dismissed demonstrably without such considerations.
When the people we must understand in order to reach bipartisanship go into hiding for fear of being outed, broadening our perspective becomes difficult.
- jubalfh 9y agoYes, we should compassionately comfort those, who think their peers are actually inferior to them. Or else.
- hkmurakami 9y agoDo you think this person will change his beliefs in light of what has happened? I would expect him to be defensive of his views and to even double down on his convictions. If we truly believe that our own positions are correct and we truly want progress, we must understand how others could become misguided and persuade them away from their errant ways. We get there by reaching out, listening, and understanding.
- jubalfh 9y agoFrankly, I don't care. What I actually do care about are the people who suffered because one pompous twat thought he has right to put slatestarcodex-style blathering on an internal message board.
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- meri_dian 9y agoThe problem is that reasonable political opinions motivated by nothing resembling hatred are being targeted as indicative of hateful thought. A perfect example is the stand one may take that 'Sanctuary Cities' are bad. Voicing opposition to sanctuary cities can get you labelled as a racist, which is ridiculous.
- hkmurakami 9y agoIn a separate thread I wrote this excerpt, which is related to what you are getting at: We've always conflated moral leanings with truth. Previously, "the truth" was right leaning; it is now left leaning. Unfortunately, many people find (and have always found) that all it takes to dismiss an opposing moral position is to point out that their opponent's position is untruthful, and the discussion (or lack thereof) ends there.
- meri_dian 9y agoWell said. The challenge is that good politics is not always nice. As a general principle, much of modern Western thought seems to be obsessed with minimizing any sort of discomfort in the present moment, regardless of whether that discomfort is a temporary and necessary phase one must pass through in order to reach a better future.