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There’s a similar problem I encounter from time to time: when I self-identify as “conservative” and express opinion C, many people assume I also hold opinions D
by philsnow 3y ago
There’s a similar problem I encounter from time to time: when I self-identify as “conservative” and express opinion C, many people assume I also hold opinions D, E, and F, because “that’s how all conservatives are”.
There are multitudes in every group.
- remram 3y agoThey are not many multitudes in the US. Good on you, but my experience is that most people stick with one group and regurgitate the party lines. I think this comes mostly from very polarized TV shows. Likewise, if you disagree with them, they instantly assume that you are with the other group. It is strange.
- nine_k 3y agoThe two-party system easily evokes the ancient knee-jerk reflexes. The millennia-old "us against them" tends to eschew any nuance and instill the war mentality. Either you are "one of us", and subscribe to the bulk of "our" views, or you are "one of them", and are assumed to subscribe to the bulk of "their" views. Pretty sad :(
- nine_k 3y agoThere's one great piece of advice: "Keep your identity small" [1]. (If people ask me about my political affiliations, I usually answer something like "Hamilton for president! Of maybe Jefferson."; this kind of statesmanship is hard to find now though.) [1]: https://www.paulgraham.com/identity.html https://www.paulgraham.com/identity.html (It's short, read it now.)
- Cthulhu_ 3y agoDoes that mean, instead of saying "I am conservative", you instead only answer about specific policies (e.g. whether you use vim or emacs)?