3 ms·

Having known some veterans I can't cry for gold medalists.

feoren 5y ago
Can we be OK with comparing things without assuming they're being equated? GP never said gold medalists have it as hard as veterans. Comparison != equation. Taking someone's comparison and elevating it to an equation is a strawman. (This fallacy is so common it deserves its own name. Is there one?)
- golemotron 5y ago
  This isn't about argumentative logic, it's about proportion and perspective. When we feel we have it rough recognizing that others may have it rougher lends a perspective that leads to gratitude and less self-centeredness. People who suffer often find release from their suffering when they help others. A program where ex-Olympians volunteer to help veterans might do both some good.
  - Retric 5y ago
    It’s not about suffering. Olympians, Students, Soldiers, Prisoners, Widows, Retirees, and anyone else who goes from regimented patterns to increased freedoms are all to a greater or lesser degree cast adrift. It’s rare for people to only be facing a single issue, and the degree that any one issue is impacting them can very wildly. Still, dismissing similarities because of differences in intensity is counter productive. Grief counseling often involves encouraging people to go through their daily rituals, but all of those transitions can benefit from similar advice.
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
  - scott_s 5y ago
    > When we feel we have it rough recognizing that others may have it rougher lends a perspective that leads to gratitude and less self-centeredness. Sometimes, for some people. For some people, when they express their feelings, and the response they are met points out that others have it worse, they sometimes feel worse. It can sometimes feel like a dismissal, invalidating their feelings and experiences. I'm using qualifiers here, but I personally think most people want to feel validated.
    - golemotron 5y ago
      The question to ask then is: after validation, what's next? How do they build their sense of self-worth? Fortunately, that sensitivity can dissipate.
- dalmo3 5y ago
  Fallacy of relative privation?
  - golemotron 5y ago
    The fact that that this "fallacy" has just been coined in 10K years of human history should make us suspicious. The fact is, gratitude and volunteering are healing. Recognizing when others have it worse and helping is something we should all do more.
    - dalmo3 5y ago
      https://xkcd.com/2368/ https://xkcd.com/2368/ [Fallacy of appeal to xkcd]
zemvpferreira 5y ago
I hope one day you can find enough simpathy to feel sorry for any good person who commits suicide regardless of how hard you judge their life to have been.
- golemotron 5y ago
  But it's not about your feelings or mine, right? It's about their situation.

Can we be OK with comparing things without assuming they're being equated? GP never said gold medalists have it as hard as veterans. Comparison != equation. Taking someone's comparison and elevating it to an equation is a strawman. (This fallacy is so common it deserves its own name. Is there one?)

golemotron 5y ago
This isn't about argumentative logic, it's about proportion and perspective. When we feel we have it rough recognizing that others may have it rougher lends a perspective that leads to gratitude and less self-centeredness. People who suffer often find release from their suffering when they help others. A program where ex-Olympians volunteer to help veterans might do both some good.
- Retric 5y ago
  It’s not about suffering. Olympians, Students, Soldiers, Prisoners, Widows, Retirees, and anyone else who goes from regimented patterns to increased freedoms are all to a greater or lesser degree cast adrift. It’s rare for people to only be facing a single issue, and the degree that any one issue is impacting them can very wildly. Still, dismissing similarities because of differences in intensity is counter productive. Grief counseling often involves encouraging people to go through their daily rituals, but all of those transitions can benefit from similar advice.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- scott_s 5y ago
  > When we feel we have it rough recognizing that others may have it rougher lends a perspective that leads to gratitude and less self-centeredness. Sometimes, for some people. For some people, when they express their feelings, and the response they are met points out that others have it worse, they sometimes feel worse. It can sometimes feel like a dismissal, invalidating their feelings and experiences. I'm using qualifiers here, but I personally think most people want to feel validated.
  - golemotron 5y ago
    The question to ask then is: after validation, what's next? How do they build their sense of self-worth? Fortunately, that sensitivity can dissipate.
dalmo3 5y ago
Fallacy of relative privation?
- golemotron 5y ago
  The fact that that this "fallacy" has just been coined in 10K years of human history should make us suspicious. The fact is, gratitude and volunteering are healing. Recognizing when others have it worse and helping is something we should all do more.
  - dalmo3 5y ago
    https://xkcd.com/2368/ https://xkcd.com/2368/ [Fallacy of appeal to xkcd]

zemvpferreira 5y ago

I hope one day you can find enough simpathy to feel sorry for any good person who commits suicide regardless of how hard you judge their life to have been.

golemotron 5y ago
But it's not about your feelings or mine, right? It's about their situation.