The first sentence you posted is exactly the thread that line of thought leads down. Disenfranchised people need to be talked to, met with empathy from the people they’ve been told are The Other. That’s the only way to destigmatize the two from each other.
You did see the part where I agreed with you, right? I’ve worked with disenfranchised people myself. Some you can talk to, some not so much.
Either case their value as a human being doesn’t change, it’s just that their way of thinking doesn’t exactly mesh well with an orderly society.
You are intelligent enough to know what the actual Nazis did to a lot of people, so why would their contemporary version behave any differently in the long run?
While history has a way of cropping up again, we (individually and societally) know a lot more about how these things work. The problem i foresee is further alienating the most vocal, and the good intentioned not-nazis pave the way to hell for them.
I agree with you again, alienating those that are on the brink so to speak probably simply pushes them over. Communicating properly there is incredibly important and we’ve gotten a lot better at it since the '30s.
Again though, some are very hard to reach, either because of their upbringing or other more personal circumstances.
That’s a good, and hard, question. I unfortunately don’t know. I’ve lost both friends and relationships (including my father) over blatant racism and no amount of talking helped in any of those cases.
I tried for years to talk any kind of sense into my father but he seemed impervious to any kind of sense regarding this. We haven’t spoken for years at this point.
At a certain point, a specific individual doesn’t want to change and there’s nothing you CAN do, except be there as a kind place to go when they decide it’s time. It takes a fucking lot to do that, but if you want to make a difference in the world, it’s one thing you as an individual can do. And keep talking.
If you cannot do that, then I’m going to be a bit dirty again, and ask: what do we do about your dad, your ex friends? Do we murder them? Do we exile them? Or do we hide from the unpleasant reality, ignore any actual solutions and hope they don’t just blow up?
I tried to reach him for years, but he also drinks, refuses any kind of help and he gets violent.
He messed up my spine by throwing me through a bookshelf the day my mother left, and that was 18 years ago. I tried to have some sort of discourse with him for almost 15 years after that, but after he threatened my wife I simply had enough and threw him out.
In his particular case I think the problem started with his parents dished out, and they’re long gone. Maybe all we really can do is foster our children to be better?
To that end my wife’s a teacher and I worked with disabled and disenfranchised people until my body gave up.
Man that sucks. First thing is safety for sure. If you cannot safely communicate with them, I’d absolutely recommend not personally trying to bear that burden.
It’s possible you’re right, racism, Nazi beliefs, all that shit is so often generational. We’re the products of the environment we were made in, after all.
Keep doing good work, keep talking, keep spreading messages about how utterly important it is to extend basic human rights unambiguously.
The first sentence you posted is exactly the thread that line of thought leads down. Disenfranchised people need to be talked to, met with empathy from the people they’ve been told are The Other. That’s the only way to destigmatize the two from each other.
You did see the part where I agreed with you, right? I’ve worked with disenfranchised people myself. Some you can talk to, some not so much.
Either case their value as a human being doesn’t change, it’s just that their way of thinking doesn’t exactly mesh well with an orderly society.
You are intelligent enough to know what the actual Nazis did to a lot of people, so why would their contemporary version behave any differently in the long run?
While history has a way of cropping up again, we (individually and societally) know a lot more about how these things work. The problem i foresee is further alienating the most vocal, and the good intentioned not-nazis pave the way to hell for them.
I agree with you again, alienating those that are on the brink so to speak probably simply pushes them over. Communicating properly there is incredibly important and we’ve gotten a lot better at it since the '30s.
Again though, some are very hard to reach, either because of their upbringing or other more personal circumstances.
I know it’s not easy, but real question, what’s the alternative? Exile, murder, or just letting it fester until we have another big Nazi thing?
That’s a good, and hard, question. I unfortunately don’t know. I’ve lost both friends and relationships (including my father) over blatant racism and no amount of talking helped in any of those cases.
I tried for years to talk any kind of sense into my father but he seemed impervious to any kind of sense regarding this. We haven’t spoken for years at this point.
At a certain point, a specific individual doesn’t want to change and there’s nothing you CAN do, except be there as a kind place to go when they decide it’s time. It takes a fucking lot to do that, but if you want to make a difference in the world, it’s one thing you as an individual can do. And keep talking.
If you cannot do that, then I’m going to be a bit dirty again, and ask: what do we do about your dad, your ex friends? Do we murder them? Do we exile them? Or do we hide from the unpleasant reality, ignore any actual solutions and hope they don’t just blow up?
I tried to reach him for years, but he also drinks, refuses any kind of help and he gets violent.
He messed up my spine by throwing me through a bookshelf the day my mother left, and that was 18 years ago. I tried to have some sort of discourse with him for almost 15 years after that, but after he threatened my wife I simply had enough and threw him out.
In his particular case I think the problem started with his parents dished out, and they’re long gone. Maybe all we really can do is foster our children to be better?
To that end my wife’s a teacher and I worked with disabled and disenfranchised people until my body gave up.
Man that sucks. First thing is safety for sure. If you cannot safely communicate with them, I’d absolutely recommend not personally trying to bear that burden.
It’s possible you’re right, racism, Nazi beliefs, all that shit is so often generational. We’re the products of the environment we were made in, after all.
Keep doing good work, keep talking, keep spreading messages about how utterly important it is to extend basic human rights unambiguously.