3 ms·

This rings very true to me. The combination of Twitter and pandemic has been very revealing to me. I used to think most people agreed on fundamental human value

This rings very true to me. The combination of Twitter and pandemic has been very revealing to me. I used to think most people agreed on fundamental human values, and that political disagreement was about details like level of taxation, size of government, some moral judgements like abortion, that kind of stuff. Now I have the impression that we live in entirely different worlds / value systems, and that the correlation with politics is quite low. Also, not very many people support the fundamental values I took for granted, like equality before the law, the really basic stuff. PS. I’m in Sweden, so not part of the US political debate. This is probably a global phenomenon.

raxxorrax 5y ago
Don't base you view on the opinion of others on the content of Twitter or you will end up a supervillain that wants to destroy humanity. At least anyone with a heart would, ironically.
akudha 5y ago
I had a Swiss colleague (he grew up in France/Switzerland, settled in US in his 30s) who firmly believed that being poor is a choice. His argument is that he worked hard for what he has (which he did) but he conveniently ignored that fact that he was born in a wealthy country and was given all the opportunities. No matter how much I explained to him, giving examples (like a kid born in poor, drug ridden neighborhood and raised by single mother with father in prison etc), he simply refused to acknowledge his geographic birth lottery. He simply wasn't able to see beyond his bubble. Which made me think - do I understand, can I understand the issues faced by people who I have minimal/no contact, experience with? LGBTQ, physically challenged, mentally challenged, deeply religious etc? I don't know. I am terrified that I might say something stupid/offensive if I meet a transgender person, for example. Not because I am an arsehole, but because I simply do not comprehend what they are going through. These echo chambers are only going to get worse and worse. I wish we all talked less and listened more

raxxorrax 5y ago

Don't base you view on the opinion of others on the content of Twitter or you will end up a supervillain that wants to destroy humanity. At least anyone with a heart would, ironically.

akudha 5y ago

I had a Swiss colleague (he grew up in France/Switzerland, settled in US in his 30s) who firmly believed that being poor is a choice. His argument is that he worked hard for what he has (which he did) but he conveniently ignored that fact that he was born in a wealthy country and was given all the opportunities. No matter how much I explained to him, giving examples (like a kid born in poor, drug ridden neighborhood and raised by single mother with father in prison etc), he simply refused to acknowledge his geographic birth lottery. He simply wasn't able to see beyond his bubble. Which made me think - do I understand, can I understand the issues faced by people who I have minimal/no contact, experience with? LGBTQ, physically challenged, mentally challenged, deeply religious etc? I don't know. I am terrified that I might say something stupid/offensive if I meet a transgender person, for example. Not because I am an arsehole, but because I simply do not comprehend what they are going through. These echo chambers are only going to get worse and worse. I wish we all talked less and listened more