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I have no doubt that some people want to see others worse off. Some people seem to get angry about just about anything. Yet I suspect that most people respond
by II2II 5y ago
I have no doubt that some people want to see others worse off. Some people seem to get angry about just about anything. Yet I suspect that most people respond negatively for other reasons. A common case is they perceive it as a loss to themselves, even when there is no justification to that perception.
To choose a concrete example from pedestrian safety: curb extensions are often proposed to make crossing pedestrians more visible and to slow turning traffic. A common criticism is a loss of parking. That criticism ignores that curb extensions rarely impact parking since people are not supposed to park within a certain distance of a crosswalk.
- jdc 5y ago> A common case is they perceive it as a loss to themselves, even when there is no justification to that perception. This is symptomatic of an oppositional mindset IMO.
- anigbrowl 5y agoI personally think only about half of objections to any given proposal are sincere. Many people make arguments for strategic reasons rather than because of good faith belief. It's very noticeable on topics like climate change which yield many flame wars. Some people make asinine dismissals that seem rooted in ignorance, and when rejected to schooled switch to ever more specific and obscure arguments, attempting to one-up the other person by displaying superior technical knowledge. They get huffy if someone asks why such an expert person would lead off with a demonstrably specious argument.