3 ms·

"When was this hypothetical period in which anyone could express their opinions without the threat of them being labeled "ethically bad"?" I remember having de

"When was this hypothetical period in which anyone could express their opinions without the threat of them being labeled "ethically bad"?" I remember having decent discussions with people in the 2000s and being able to agree or disagree. It wasn't perfect by any means but I have noticed that in the last ten years with a lot of people it got increasingly more difficult to talk about an issue and developing thoughts while talking. It feels like you are either all in with "their" side or you get lumped in with the "other" side. Nuance not allowed. Just my persnal experiennce.

ruszki 4y ago
With exactly the same people? Because every space on the internet which I regularly visit becomes worse because the influx of new people. My country’s subreddit was awesome when we were like 10000. Then it become famous at home, and everything went south. Of course, it can happen also with the exact same person. For example, I wouldn’t have the same debates as 10 years ago. And also, when somebody say something which I disagree, I wouldn’t debate it, I would ask for a source, or just ignore it. Most of the time, I know immediately the source. But the only reason for this is age, and that in the past 20 years, I’ve already debated, and read a lot about basically every single topic which is politically important, and will be important in the next ~50 years.
andrepd 4y ago
Hmm, coincidence, you fondly remember with rose-tinted glasses a period which happened ~20 years ago. People always do. To give you an US-centric example: arguing against discrimination of Muslim Americans during the early 2000s got you the same kind of anti-establishment pushback you can get for, say, criticising gay marriage today.
- slg 4y ago
  Yeah, people absolutely were shunned for unpopular opinions in the 2000s. 9/11 and the War on Terror caused a real coalescing of American society that was incredibly difficult to push back against. For example, the Patriot Act originally passed the Senate 98 to 1. Many people had their careers irreparably harmed by opposing the invasion of Iraq with the Dixie Chicks being the first to jump to mind. And regarding your point about the treatment of Muslims, does anyone remember the "Ground Zero Mosque"? This type of behavior is nothing new and pretending otherwise is certainly remembering the past with rose-tinted glasses.

ruszki 4y ago

With exactly the same people? Because every space on the internet which I regularly visit becomes worse because the influx of new people. My country’s subreddit was awesome when we were like 10000. Then it become famous at home, and everything went south. Of course, it can happen also with the exact same person. For example, I wouldn’t have the same debates as 10 years ago. And also, when somebody say something which I disagree, I wouldn’t debate it, I would ask for a source, or just ignore it. Most of the time, I know immediately the source. But the only reason for this is age, and that in the past 20 years, I’ve already debated, and read a lot about basically every single topic which is politically important, and will be important in the next ~50 years.

andrepd 4y ago

Hmm, coincidence, you fondly remember with rose-tinted glasses a period which happened ~20 years ago. People always do. To give you an US-centric example: arguing against discrimination of Muslim Americans during the early 2000s got you the same kind of anti-establishment pushback you can get for, say, criticising gay marriage today.

slg 4y ago
Yeah, people absolutely were shunned for unpopular opinions in the 2000s. 9/11 and the War on Terror caused a real coalescing of American society that was incredibly difficult to push back against. For example, the Patriot Act originally passed the Senate 98 to 1. Many people had their careers irreparably harmed by opposing the invasion of Iraq with the Dixie Chicks being the first to jump to mind. And regarding your point about the treatment of Muslims, does anyone remember the "Ground Zero Mosque"? This type of behavior is nothing new and pretending otherwise is certainly remembering the past with rose-tinted glasses.