2 ms·

I hate being told what words I have to use. No it's not literal harm. But it's unpleasant. And it's not just my personal taste, but clearly the that of others.

I hate being told what words I have to use. No it's not literal harm. But it's unpleasant. And it's not just my personal taste, but clearly the that of others. So that's the empathy to show: for people who hate being directed how to think and express themselves by complete strangers. For free society in general. See how it goes both ways? Empathy is only a mode of thinking. You are demanding compliance. You're not even empathizing yourself, since you can't see past your own notion of how you want people to interact. "Inappropriate", "modern", "decent", "understanding" are all just passive-aggressive weasel words for your subjective norms. True understanding doesn't insist on others to perfect themselves to your comfort.

crazygringo 7y ago
> I hate being told what words I have to use. I get that. That's the root of your discomfort here. But the thing is, in society, we all have to work together. Getting along is important. Of course you're free to use the words you want. But then the rest of us are free to choose not to work with you and criticize your insensitivity. I'm arguing that people ought to get along with each other. That involves having empathy for each other. Having human sensitivity. You're arguing you should be able to do whatever you want, and if other people are bothered that it's their problem. You can call that many things, but you can't call it empathy. It's mainly called being selfish, not trying to get along.
DonHopkins 7y ago
Plus he's inconsistent in how he applies his rules of verbal behavior, and contradicts his own words. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21984273 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21984273 His stated position is that it's ok to criticize the R community's unwitting insensitivity, but not Apple's. Shouldn't an open community of people have at least as much freedom of speech as a giant corporation? Some people find it offensive and uncomfortable when other people make contradictory statements in the same conversation. Should we cancel hypocrisy and logical inconsistency, then?

crazygringo 7y ago

> I hate being told what words I have to use. I get that. That's the root of your discomfort here. But the thing is, in society, we all have to work together. Getting along is important. Of course you're free to use the words you want. But then the rest of us are free to choose not to work with you and criticize your insensitivity. I'm arguing that people ought to get along with each other. That involves having empathy for each other. Having human sensitivity. You're arguing you should be able to do whatever you want, and if other people are bothered that it's their problem. You can call that many things, but you can't call it empathy. It's mainly called being selfish, not trying to get along.

DonHopkins 7y ago

Plus he's inconsistent in how he applies his rules of verbal behavior, and contradicts his own words. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21984273 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21984273 His stated position is that it's ok to criticize the R community's unwitting insensitivity, but not Apple's. Shouldn't an open community of people have at least as much freedom of speech as a giant corporation? Some people find it offensive and uncomfortable when other people make contradictory statements in the same conversation. Should we cancel hypocrisy and logical inconsistency, then?