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There’s a real art to pulling people into conversation about their views without being cast as a caricature. People often frame their beliefs in opposition, and
by roughly 2y ago
There’s a real art to pulling people into conversation about their views without being cast as a caricature. People often frame their beliefs in opposition, and learning to recognize when you’ve suddenly been substituted with a straw man - when your counterparty is no longer discussing something with you, but arguing with Twitter/their parent/their own younger self - helps take some of the sting out of the troll accusation.
- al_borland 2y agoThis is the thing I have been seeing more and more which I was attempting to push back against in a lot of my conversations. If people are thinking for themselves and being honest, I don't think they can perfectly fit into the little boxes people are assigned by all the caricature designers. And you're right, once someone assigns a box to you, it is very difficult to break free of it, especially on the context of a one-off online conversation. I truly believe that most people want the same things, we just have different opinions on the best way to get there. If we can focus on those shared goals, and use those as a vehicle to discus the different options to get there, maybe it would help for everyone to start off with common ground and avoid casting anyone with a different opinion as a villain. I've probably been somewhat naive thinking this can change or I can help shift it, even if just with a few people, but I don't like the idea of giving up hope and accepting that this is just the way it is. I want to believe in the future we can openly discus different and unpopular ideas with the shared goal of finding the best solution to move us forward toward those shared goals. At the very least, I expect this of our politicians and leaders, and am continuously disappointed.