4 ms·

The stories are charming. I find the last sentence hopelessly naive.

TulliusCicero 6y ago
I don't. It's easy to be cynical, but the internet in particular has given birth to or allowed to flourish a number of...interesting communities. Not to mention tolerance on a number of dimensions, like race, gender, and sexuality, is way up. You could argue that it's not that we're nicer to "weirdos", but rather we've expanded the bounds of what's considered non-weird behavior, but at that point you've basically just used circular reasoning: "Niceness to weirdos is constant because I define weirdness such that niceness to weirdos is constant."
montenegrohugo 6y ago
Why so? For the most part, modern society doesn't really care about who you are and what you do. Most things have become very dehumanized, for good and for worse. You can order whatever food and food combinations you want, just make the order and wait for it to arrive. The driver won't judge you; he cares little and has probably seen weirder orders. It is also easier than ever to find people with similar interests and 'weirdness' as you: there's a zillion small (or not so small) communities that find each other on the internet. Furries, lgbtq+, or magic card collectors. There is still some judgment and negative social repercussions of course, but magnitudes smaller than what it used to be a hundred years ago.
- new2628 6y ago
  I meant that what is considered weird has shifted. What was weird before is easily accepted today. Some stuff that was accepted earlier has become a no-go.
  - Apocryphon 6y ago
    Social mores change, sure. But it does seem like tolerance for the weird has broadened much among the youth. And yeah, certain attitudes and behaviors in the past are now taboo. A good depiction of that phenomenon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSa368X1Z2w https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSa368X1Z2w
rattray 6y ago
I keep in touch with my high school teachers every now and then, asking about how "kids these days" are evolving. The biggest trend has been that socializing now occurs digitally – during breaks, classrooms are silent as students use snapchat. Another trend that's really stood out – not just at my school, but according to other educators I've talked to across the US – is much less bullying, and much more acceptance of kids who are different (especially those with disabilities). I'm lead to believe that the sort of kid who would previously have been a bully is now the type to really stick up for someone who is differently abled. Of course, having a "weird" preference of some kind – like a partner of another race or a long beard – is a different thing, but still, my impression is that most schools at least in the US are far more tolerant of differentness now than even 20-30 years ago.
- zeveb 6y ago
  > I'm lead to believe that the sort of kid who would previously have been a bully is now the type to really stick up for someone who is differently abled. Or who enjoys bullying a different outgroup now. That does raise questions about the nature of bullying. Do bullies see themselves as heroic protectors of the norm, whether that norm is white people in the 1890s or trans Eskimos in the 2020s? How do bullies experience their own bullying of others? Do they feel righteous? There has to be a literature about this.
- bambataa 6y ago
  How do educators keep track of bullying if it's nearly all online? Given that educators often struggle to detect bullying happening out in the open.
- ravenstine 6y ago
  I wonder if that's just because differences are simply more prevalent. When I was in school, I was the fat kid. Of course, this lead to a lot of bullying towards me. Nowadays, I see lots of kids whom are much fatter than I was, but there are enough of them at this point where it's probably just normal to be overweight or obese, which would make me suspect that they are bullied less than I was. If my past child self went to school today, maybe he wouldn't even be considered fat. The irony in that is that children shouldn't be getting fat in the first place, so this isn't necessarily a good sign.

I don't. It's easy to be cynical, but the internet in particular has given birth to or allowed to flourish a number of...interesting communities. Not to mention tolerance on a number of dimensions, like race, gender, and sexuality, is way up. You could argue that it's not that we're nicer to "weirdos", but rather we've expanded the bounds of what's considered non-weird behavior, but at that point you've basically just used circular reasoning: "Niceness to weirdos is constant because I define weirdness such that niceness to weirdos is constant."

montenegrohugo 6y ago

Why so? For the most part, modern society doesn't really care about who you are and what you do. Most things have become very dehumanized, for good and for worse. You can order whatever food and food combinations you want, just make the order and wait for it to arrive. The driver won't judge you; he cares little and has probably seen weirder orders. It is also easier than ever to find people with similar interests and 'weirdness' as you: there's a zillion small (or not so small) communities that find each other on the internet. Furries, lgbtq+, or magic card collectors. There is still some judgment and negative social repercussions of course, but magnitudes smaller than what it used to be a hundred years ago.

new2628 6y ago
I meant that what is considered weird has shifted. What was weird before is easily accepted today. Some stuff that was accepted earlier has become a no-go.
- Apocryphon 6y ago
  Social mores change, sure. But it does seem like tolerance for the weird has broadened much among the youth. And yeah, certain attitudes and behaviors in the past are now taboo. A good depiction of that phenomenon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSa368X1Z2w https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSa368X1Z2w

rattray 6y ago

I keep in touch with my high school teachers every now and then, asking about how "kids these days" are evolving. The biggest trend has been that socializing now occurs digitally – during breaks, classrooms are silent as students use snapchat. Another trend that's really stood out – not just at my school, but according to other educators I've talked to across the US – is much less bullying, and much more acceptance of kids who are different (especially those with disabilities). I'm lead to believe that the sort of kid who would previously have been a bully is now the type to really stick up for someone who is differently abled. Of course, having a "weird" preference of some kind – like a partner of another race or a long beard – is a different thing, but still, my impression is that most schools at least in the US are far more tolerant of differentness now than even 20-30 years ago.

zeveb 6y ago
> I'm lead to believe that the sort of kid who would previously have been a bully is now the type to really stick up for someone who is differently abled. Or who enjoys bullying a different outgroup now. That does raise questions about the nature of bullying. Do bullies see themselves as heroic protectors of the norm, whether that norm is white people in the 1890s or trans Eskimos in the 2020s? How do bullies experience their own bullying of others? Do they feel righteous? There has to be a literature about this.
bambataa 6y ago
How do educators keep track of bullying if it's nearly all online? Given that educators often struggle to detect bullying happening out in the open.
ravenstine 6y ago
I wonder if that's just because differences are simply more prevalent. When I was in school, I was the fat kid. Of course, this lead to a lot of bullying towards me. Nowadays, I see lots of kids whom are much fatter than I was, but there are enough of them at this point where it's probably just normal to be overweight or obese, which would make me suspect that they are bullied less than I was. If my past child self went to school today, maybe he wouldn't even be considered fat. The irony in that is that children shouldn't be getting fat in the first place, so this isn't necessarily a good sign.