We have to agree where we ARE before we stand a chance to agree about what we do from here.

  • Cethin@lemmy.zip
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    1 day ago

    For an example of how this isn’t useful, my dad (a long time ago) bought the rhetoric against gay marriage. The reasoning was that it was a thing done by the church, because that’s the lie he’d been told. It was a lie, but he supported a bad thing because he’d been given a “good” reason. Once it was explained the church had nothing to do with it and it was a state issue, he realized it was wrong.

    I could have just called him a bigot and pushed him further down that path, as a sort of revenge. What good would that do though. It might have made me feel better for a moment, but that’s it. It wouldn’t have cause any real change.

    Your feelings, at the end of the day, matter little. Outcomes matter. If we can push some propaganda to get people who traditional vote conservative to vote liberal, that’s worth it. We don’t have to refuse to out of some backwards morality because they believed something in the past. It’s cutting your nose off to spite your face. It only hurts you in the long term, even if it felt ideal in the moment.

    We should focus on actually doing good and creating the best outcomes for trans people, the drag community, minorities, women, and everyone else. We shouldn’t care about how it makes us feel.

    • chemical_cutthroat@lemmy.world
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      1 day ago

      You make the argument that this is all a new concept for people. That the issue of gay marriage or whatever is on the chopping block this week, is something that is a new topic. These topics have been at the forefront of conversation for decades now. And even if you somehow haven’t been subject to the talking heads on every media outlet for the last 50 years, there is a level of common sense that I think is necessary to even walk upright that tells you, “Hey, these people should be able to marry whoever they want, because it has zero effect on my life.”

      Critical thinking is at an all time low. No one has been thinking for themselves in decades, it seems, and when there are consequences for their actions, they just think a half-assed apology is enough to get the job done, and they go one with their lives like nothing was ever wrong. I’m done with it. I’m done with the people that think that way. I don’t have a place for them in my world. I don’t want them near me, I don’t want them interacting with me, and I don’t want them to infect others with their disease.

      Everyone has a right to live and a right to think what they want to think, but if you are wrong, then you are wrong, and if you continue to be wrong despite all of the evidence to the contrary, then you are a detriment to this species, and your role has to be minimized. I’m not going to advocate for taking away the rights of people I don’t agree with, but I’m also sure as hell not going to welcome them with open arms when they finally decide to come around. They can continue to live their lives, and they can do the right thing from here on out, but being an asshole that suddenly gets it right doesn’t get a pat on the back. It get’s a shrug as I continue on my way. I’ve already wasted enough time and effort on changing hearts and minds. If they haven’t got it by now, then I don’t care if they ever do.

      There are others out there that need my help more than the hillbilly lifelong GOP voter. They can fend for themselves. I’m not going to waste a breath on them when I am too busy fixing all of the shit they’ve been breaking. If they want to do good, great, get a hammer and some nails and get to work. If they don’t, fine, just stop kicking out the supports we are trying to build to keep everyone else safe. Being a good person doesn’t get a participation trophy. It doesn’t even get weekends off. It’s the baseline. It’s the expectation. If they can’t meet it, kick rocks.

      • stickly@lemmy.world
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        13 hours ago

        …you are a detriment to this species, and your role has to be minimized.

        I’m not going to advocate for taking away the rights of people I don’t agree with…

        Lmao which is it?

        These people have a right to vote and live in the same society as you. What the fuck is your solution? Disenfranchisement? Balkanization? Ghettos?

        It’s hilarious because you could swap out a few talking points and the hillbilly voter would say the exact same thing

      • Cethin@lemmy.zip
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        19 hours ago

        The problem is they don’t have all evidence to the contrary, as you say. They’re told there’s a massive issue of trans people playing sports and making impossible for women to compete, and things like that. They’re given very impassioned reasons to believe that they’re believing the morally correct thing. They’re told it’s to protect people. You just refuse to accept that your “opponent” can have the same moral reasons for doing something as you do.

        There are others out there that need my help more than the hillbilly lifelong GOP voter. They can fend for themselves. I’m not going to waste a breath on them when I am too busy fixing all of the shit they’ve been breaking.

        Yeah, sure. I’m not asking you to. I’m asking you to shut the fuck up while other people try to do good. You don’t need to tell them they aren’t allowed in joining us to fix things, or to work to get them on side. You just need to sit down and not say anything. You seem to have plenty of time to waste telling them they won’t be accepted, which can’t work to do good.

        • chemical_cutthroat@lemmy.world
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          18 hours ago

          They are allowed to join in and fix things. They shouldn’t do it for an attaboy, though. You talk about the information that they’ve been given as though they only have the one source. Willfully ingesting poison is suicide. They keep going back to the same fear mongering news sources that spout the same shit. Why? Because fear and hatred feel so fucking good. Oh, god. Like an orgasm for the soul. I’m persecuted, but look at me, I’m still standing. So, yeah, I’ll shut the fuck up. This will be my last message. But don’t make it like these fucks are the victims. They are the ones doing it to themselves. Go read a Reuters article. Check out NPR. Give APNews a glance. OAN and Joe Rogan are fucking toxins. They have all the tools at their disposal, but they refuse to use them.

          • Cethin@lemmy.zip
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            18 hours ago

            When did I make it out like they were the victims? I pretty clearly said they aren’t I think. I said it’s more useful to turn them into allies if possible rather than ensure they remain enemies.

            I agree their news sources are toxic, but also like you said it’s addicting. I think we should try to assist addicts of all kinds, because it isn’t necessarily their faults, and even if it is fighting them doesn’t help. It only causes more harm. It’s better to help them get to a better place where they can be made to do good.