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There is no difference. I've heard that Islam and Christianity, as religions, are good and forgiving. I've also witnessed the behavior of actual muslims and chr
by bilbo0s 5y ago
There is no difference. I've heard that Islam and Christianity, as religions, are good and forgiving. I've also witnessed the behavior of actual muslims and christians. I would not call these people good. I certainly wouldn't call them forgiving.
My feeling is that the poster is on the right track. Ideological groups, (not trying to pick on politics, but they are usually political ideologues), have become the new pseudo-religions. As people in the West have fallen away from church, we've witnessed the rise of ideologue communities on the right and left.
You can't argue with them. You can't question them. Some want to kill off half the people in the country. Others want draconian control over the other half.
And people are surprised that the only option available to a reasonable person is to opt-out?
If anything, I think people are being shortsighted in viewing the threat. For some people in the US, this ideology war is not only about a right to speech, it can come down to a right to live. Those people have to oppose the ideologues, or die.
I don't claim to know the solution, I do know that it's a tough, tough problem.
- UnpossibleJim 5y agoJust like with any belief system, there are many more moderates than zealots. The problem is, zealots help the leaders of those belief systems gain more power. Moderates, for the most part, just want things to keep working and not to feel the lash on their back. When the zealots can't let this happen and the powers that be lose control of the zealots, that's usually when revolution happens =(
- raxxorrax 5y agoI don't think they are capable of a revolution at this point. Their wrath can easily be redirected. You don't even have to put up a too convincing target, small overstepping of some arbitrary social rule is enough.
- PontifexMinimus 5y ago> I've heard that Islam and Christianity, as religions, are good and forgiving. I've also witnessed the behavior of actual muslims and christians. I would not call these people good. Of course not; the movement isn't the ideology. Whatever the ideology, the people in it will be flawed and fallible human beings.
- thu2111 5y agoWho is saying they want to kill half the population?!
- giardini 5y agothu2111 says "Who is saying they want to kill half the population?!" He's speaking of mostly apparent desire, not what people have explicitly said (although it is sometimes explicitly said, too). On the surface it would seem to be political suicide to say one wanted, for example, - all Trump supporters, or - all woke activists, or - all conspiracy theorists, or - all Democrats, or - all Republicans, or - all blacks or all whites or all LGBTQ+ etc. (pick a group) to be dead. But there is plenty of such talk going around and it is not always cancelled or censored by FAANG and it is sometimes even encouraged. I believe that the OP's observation is correct about a significant part of the population. Political affiliation and religious affiliation are both beliefs. Wars have been/are being fought over beliefs. There are plenty of quotes by various parties suggesting what should be done with unbelievers at all times through history. At bottom, isn't everything we know really belief?
- potatoineyes 5y agoYes, if you opt out you are fucked in the long run. It's use force on others so that you can live in peace, join them because you believe, or join them and just lie. There is no moderate option in a globalised internetworked world.
- bilbo0s 5y agoThere's also the possibility of the opt-out'ers just getting smart and offing the ideologues before the ideologues off them. Which, in my view, is the most reasonable course of action if too many of these nut jobs turn to violence.