Different opinions

I didn’t want to hijack another thread about the VP and change the subject. But I’m just so frustrated.

When did it become ok to verbally and physically assault people who have a different opinion? We see it with politics all the time Now. We see it with Things like vaccines. We see it every day now. But now with covid I can not believe what I am seeing. My local moms page is filled with people attacking each other over decisions related to going back to school.

When did it become ok to publicly belittle people who don’t agree with you?! If my children ever name called or teased someone because they had a different opinion They would be reprimanded. Why is this ok with adults?!?!?!

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Different opinions

People feel protected by being behind the computer and being anonymous. It used to be that trolls were uncommon, but as time goes on, more people are feeling safe in saying whatever they want to strangers - especially if it's something we don't agree with.

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I am truly disgusted with how I see people act all over the news and social media with their opinions about the virus, vaccines, politics, schools...people should be ashamed of themselves. Thats why I dont take part in debates whatsoever on any platform. I have my opinion and I respect others opinions. I just dont respect the opinions of people who are malicious and have complete disrespect for the human race. I am so done.

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Couldn’t agree more. I think being behind a screen gives those who are usually only nasty behind closed doors a public voice.
In some ways I’m glad to see their true colors - in other ways it makes me sad for society and just another reason having not having kids probably wasn’t the worst thing for me after all

Different opinions

I think people don't understand uninformed/informed opinions and think spewing nonsense under the guise of "it's my opinion" as a catch-all excuse.

Re: Different opinions

There is also a HUGE difference between an actual verbal assault, like: "You are an insecure person who has no empathy for others."

...and a statement about the content of one's speech, like: "What you just said is a debunked conspiracy theory that originates with a now-incarcerated Holocaust-denier. If people listen to that advice, they will cause great harm to their children and to society."

(Just made up examples).

IMO, verbal assaults reveal the place of weakness that those who mount them come from. Where they are particularly virulent and baseless an/or directed at strangers, I tend to feel sympathy for the speaker. This is because it has nothing to do with the target, and everything to do with the speaker.

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I think in part, it is dues to what we see people in power do..

When the "leader" of our country, and supposed "leader of the free world" goes on tv daily and belittles, mocks, makes fun of, and name-calls everyone and everything, it becomes the norm. "If he can do it, so can we cause he's our leader and our representative" kind of mentality.

Before, outward signs of your most vile thought were not considered acceptable so people were careful in how they phrased things.

Now, everything is allowed and even cheered. it's one of the many reasons America has lots its status and its power and it is very very sad.

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Re: Different opinions

The lack of civility in our society is appalling.

Different opinions

Politics are an opinion. Sending your child to school (or not) is an opinion, based on one’s comfort level.

Vaccines are science, not an opinion. Evidence based facts.

Wearing masks is proving effective so I would put that in the evidence based facts category until proven otherwise.

An opinion that doesn’t take into account evidence based facts isn’t an opinion. It’s nonsense.

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Message edited 8/13/2020 4:33:29 PM.

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Re: Different opinions

Re: Different opinions

Posted by valentinesbaby

Posted by Mags1227

I think in part, it is dues to what we see people in power do..

When the "leader" of our country, and supposed "leader of the free world" goes on tv daily and belittles, mocks, makes fun of, and name-calls everyone and everything, it becomes the norm. "If he can do it, so can we cause he's our leader and our representative" kind of mentality.

Before, outward signs of your most vile thought were not considered acceptable so people were careful in how they phrased things.

Now, everything is allowed and even cheered. it's one of the many reasons America has lots its status and its power and it is very very sad.

That is ridiculous as we all have our morals and ethics and most of us don't follow how a president or anyone higher up acts to determine how we act.
I am so tired of the blame game and the majority of anything in this world is now Trump's fault.
God bless this man for putting up with all of this for no pay at all. I doubt many of you would be able to do it.

Re: Different opinions

Posted by Mags1227

Posted by valentinesbaby

Posted by Mags1227

I think in part, it is dues to what we see people in power do..

When the "leader" of our country, and supposed "leader of the free world" goes on tv daily and belittles, mocks, makes fun of, and name-calls everyone and everything, it becomes the norm. "If he can do it, so can we cause he's our leader and our representative" kind of mentality.

Before, outward signs of your most vile thought were not considered acceptable so people were careful in how they phrased things.

Now, everything is allowed and even cheered. it's one of the many reasons America has lots its status and its power and it is very very sad.

That is ridiculous as we all have our morals and ethics and most of us don't follow how a president or anyone higher up acts to determine how we act.
I am so tired of the blame game and the majority of anything in this world is now Trump's fault.
God bless this man for putting up with all of this for no pay at all. I doubt many of you would be able to do it.

So you ask when did it become ok to belittle and make fun of people for their opinions, I give MY opinion, and you call it ridiculous and roll your eyes at me.
What happened to an impartial discussion where we can all express ourselves and not be scared someone will be mean to us for what we think?

Re: Different opinions

Posted by valentinesbaby

Posted by Mags1227

Posted by valentinesbaby

Posted by Mags1227

I think in part, it is dues to what we see people in power do..

When the "leader" of our country, and supposed "leader of the free world" goes on tv daily and belittles, mocks, makes fun of, and name-calls everyone and everything, it becomes the norm. "If he can do it, so can we cause he's our leader and our representative" kind of mentality.

Before, outward signs of your most vile thought were not considered acceptable so people were careful in how they phrased things.

Now, everything is allowed and even cheered. it's one of the many reasons America has lots its status and its power and it is very very sad.

That is ridiculous as we all have our morals and ethics and most of us don't follow how a president or anyone higher up acts to determine how we act.
I am so tired of the blame game and the majority of anything in this world is now Trump's fault.
God bless this man for putting up with all of this for no pay at all. I doubt many of you would be able to do it.

So you ask when did it become ok to belittle and make fun of people for their opinions, I give MY opinion, and you call it ridiculous and roll your eyes at me.
What happened to an impartial discussion where we can all express ourselves and not be scared someone will be mean to us for what we think?

When I can come here and not be called a racist and need a muzzle.

Different opinions

People think they can write and do whatever they want hiding behind the computer screen. People feel the need to beat their opinions into anyone that disagrees and forgot the art of compromise. We live in a very sad time socially.

Re: Different opinions

Posted by Mags1227

Posted by valentinesbaby

Posted by Mags1227

Posted by valentinesbaby

Posted by Mags1227

I think in part, it is dues to what we see people in power do..

When the "leader" of our country, and supposed "leader of the free world" goes on tv daily and belittles, mocks, makes fun of, and name-calls everyone and everything, it becomes the norm. "If he can do it, so can we cause he's our leader and our representative" kind of mentality.

Before, outward signs of your most vile thought were not considered acceptable so people were careful in how they phrased things.

Now, everything is allowed and even cheered. it's one of the many reasons America has lots its status and its power and it is very very sad.

That is ridiculous as we all have our morals and ethics and most of us don't follow how a president or anyone higher up acts to determine how we act.
I am so tired of the blame game and the majority of anything in this world is now Trump's fault.
God bless this man for putting up with all of this for no pay at all. I doubt many of you would be able to do it.

So you ask when did it become ok to belittle and make fun of people for their opinions, I give MY opinion, and you call it ridiculous and roll your eyes at me.
What happened to an impartial discussion where we can all express ourselves and not be scared someone will be mean to us for what we think?

When I can come here and not be called a racist and need a muzzle.

i've never called you any names or commented negatively on anything you said.

you wanted an opinion and i gave one.

then you proceeded to do the very thing you were questioning and so against.

i think you've proven my point - being mean has been normalized and people do not consider the feelings of others. thanks

Re: Different opinions

I have strong lefty opinions and I think there is ample room for civil discourse. Plenty of things can be debated. I.e. how much gun control should we have?

Take foreign policy for example. Our relationship with other countries is almost always complex. There often aren't clear answers and there is plenty of nuance involved.

But willful ignorance when prevented with incontrovertible facts - nope. Opinions that are racist, sexist, xenophobic, etc. with no attempt to reflect and learn when confronted - nope, no respect.

My uncle posted a picture of Bill Clinton, Al Sharpton and someone else at a funeral. No masks and they were sitting quite close. The caption said the date of John Lewis's funeral. Right wing family members jumped on and said derogatory things about all of them, "do as I say, not as I do", etc.

I called it out and it was debunked shortly thereafter as being from 2015. No one retracted any statements and no one took it down. In defense, one commentator said "well it's my opinion that Clinton is a hypocrite and doesn't wear masks."

Ummm.... based on what? The pic was debunked. Hate Bill all you want, but base it on policies or proven actions. She sounded like a toddler stamping her feet "but I waaaaaant it!"

If it were a group of Republicans misrepresented instead, I would STILL have called it out and just as quickly. In the same vein, I have refrained from sharing things I agree with when the source was dubious.

For context, I loathe most Republican policies. Everything in the platform is useless at best and egregiously harmful to the most vulnerable of society at worst. But lies contribute nothing. Integrity matters, and Photoshop and BS conspiracy theories can make lots of things look not as they are. Frankly, it's not that hard to figure out, so when people knowing propagate that sort of stuff, I lose respect for their opinions eventually.

My uncle has done a few similar things. Another gem - this one much worse, actually - was a meme that said something about how Muslims love Biden which means we shouldn't. There are so many things wrong with that statement and I won't bother listing them. Again, called him out and nothing.

The past few years have taught me that you can love someone and not respect them. My uncle is dear to me, but I can't abide certain things.

I also feel that while reasonable people can disagree on how much of a safety net we should have, I do not respect certain opinions that devalue human life (i.e. people who think that health care is a privilege not a right.)

Re: Different opinions

Posted by valentinesbaby

Posted by Mags1227

I think in part, it is dues to what we see people in power do..

When the "leader" of our country, and supposed "leader of the free world" goes on tv daily and belittles, mocks, makes fun of, and name-calls everyone and everything, it becomes the norm. "If he can do it, so can we cause he's our leader and our representative" kind of mentality.

Before, outward signs of your most vile thought were not considered acceptable so people were careful in how they phrased things.

Now, everything is allowed and even cheered. it's one of the many reasons America has lots its status and its power and it is very very sad.

That is ridiculous as we all have our morals and ethics and most of us don't follow how a president or anyone higher up acts to determine how we act.
I am so tired of the blame game and the majority of anything in this world is now Trump's fault.
God bless this man for putting up with all of this for no pay at all. I doubt many of you would be able to do it.

Re: Different opinions

Posted by JennP

Posted by valentinesbaby

Posted by Mags1227

I think in part, it is dues to what we see people in power do..

When the "leader" of our country, and supposed "leader of the free world" goes on tv daily and belittles, mocks, makes fun of, and name-calls everyone and everything, it becomes the norm. "If he can do it, so can we cause he's our leader and our representative" kind of mentality.

Before, outward signs of your most vile thought were not considered acceptable so people were careful in how they phrased things.

Now, everything is allowed and even cheered. it's one of the many reasons America has lots its status and its power and it is very very sad.

That is ridiculous as we all have our morals and ethics and most of us don't follow how a president or anyone higher up acts to determine how we act.
I am so tired of the blame game and the majority of anything in this world is now Trump's fault.
God bless this man for putting up with all of this for no pay at all. I doubt many of you would be able to do it.

No pay at all? You do realize he's making millions from all the money spent at his properties from his gazillion golfing trips because of all the people who have to go with him and stay there, right?

The 400k is pennies compared to everything his corruption is yielding him.