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Alrighty. I saw a cartoon by Tom Preston (lovely artist here on dA, does "So You're A Cartoonist" and others, seems like a nice guy) and needed to get this off my chest. I'm so very, very tired of fanatical yahoos. The more I look around, the more I see them. It gets on my nerves when someone expresses an opinion, a belief, or a theory and it gets bashed into the ground without the person doing the bashing stopping long enough to consider it seriously. It happens ALL THE TIME. It doesn't matter whether we're talking differences in how you think traditional-style comics should be done or how a particular species evolved or if evolution is actually scientifically legit. There's always some jerk or somebody who's so scared by this different idea that they don't stop and consider it, or the person who posited this new idea in the first place.
It's particularly nasty in the politics and religion areas, but since I dabble more in religious debates than politics right now, I'm a bit more aware of the religious/anti-religious stuff. Personally, I like the different opinions. I like seeing people learn and grow and become more familiar with their own religions, faiths, and/or beliefs. Yes, it causes me a great deal of pain to see people believing things I believe to be lies or misconceptions, but I happen to believe in the pursuit of truth. You're not going to engage an idea or belief if someone forces it on you, are you? No, the automatic human reaction to that is to shy away from it or actively reject such ideas. Humans do not like being controlled or forced. That is not how we were made to live.
Sadly, people also have this thing with being challenged, especially if they aren't used to it. We do not like it when people say that one of our fundamental beliefs is false. It feels like we personally are being attacked, and the natural reaction to THAT is to lash out against the "attacker", even when they were trying to help or just say what matters to them. It's even worse when people try to debate things like this intelligently. Religion is a delicate subject because it forms the base of who we are, whether we accept religion, reject it, or are still deciding what to do with it. It should be handled with care and respect for the person, even if one cannot respect a certain belief or even an entire religion.
Even when handled with care, you will get people who react violently to an idea, before they have a chance to calm down and think it through (if they ever do). I think that I blame, in part at least, the lack of training in the thinking arts that a lot of us have. It wasn't until college until I got any real philosophy or psychology training, and I think that's probably not a good thing. People need to be taught how to use their intelligence, as individuals and as groups. Fear comes from having things crop up that we don't know how to handle. A good education in that order can head off a lot of the junk that is wrong with the world right now, including the freakout that comes along when people come across a new idea.
Of course, you will always have the jerks who insist upon flaming people or calling intolerance when you say "I don't like this" or "Have you considered this?" The hardheads are entitled to their opinions, too, but I'd like to reduce their numbers if possible, y'know?
(Note: The people in the above paragraph are different from those who consider an idea and then reject it as politely as possible. Some call "flamer" on them, too, but I consider those who call that to be somewhere on the fanatic end of the spectrum themselves.)
It's particularly nasty in the politics and religion areas, but since I dabble more in religious debates than politics right now, I'm a bit more aware of the religious/anti-religious stuff. Personally, I like the different opinions. I like seeing people learn and grow and become more familiar with their own religions, faiths, and/or beliefs. Yes, it causes me a great deal of pain to see people believing things I believe to be lies or misconceptions, but I happen to believe in the pursuit of truth. You're not going to engage an idea or belief if someone forces it on you, are you? No, the automatic human reaction to that is to shy away from it or actively reject such ideas. Humans do not like being controlled or forced. That is not how we were made to live.
Sadly, people also have this thing with being challenged, especially if they aren't used to it. We do not like it when people say that one of our fundamental beliefs is false. It feels like we personally are being attacked, and the natural reaction to THAT is to lash out against the "attacker", even when they were trying to help or just say what matters to them. It's even worse when people try to debate things like this intelligently. Religion is a delicate subject because it forms the base of who we are, whether we accept religion, reject it, or are still deciding what to do with it. It should be handled with care and respect for the person, even if one cannot respect a certain belief or even an entire religion.
Even when handled with care, you will get people who react violently to an idea, before they have a chance to calm down and think it through (if they ever do). I think that I blame, in part at least, the lack of training in the thinking arts that a lot of us have. It wasn't until college until I got any real philosophy or psychology training, and I think that's probably not a good thing. People need to be taught how to use their intelligence, as individuals and as groups. Fear comes from having things crop up that we don't know how to handle. A good education in that order can head off a lot of the junk that is wrong with the world right now, including the freakout that comes along when people come across a new idea.
Of course, you will always have the jerks who insist upon flaming people or calling intolerance when you say "I don't like this" or "Have you considered this?" The hardheads are entitled to their opinions, too, but I'd like to reduce their numbers if possible, y'know?
(Note: The people in the above paragraph are different from those who consider an idea and then reject it as politely as possible. Some call "flamer" on them, too, but I consider those who call that to be somewhere on the fanatic end of the spectrum themselves.)
Another rant. I have a less serious one involving fandoms and such, but I don't have enough energy to write that one after working all day, sitting through and doing presentations most of the night, and writing this one.
© 2012 - 2024 MyBrokenRoseUnfold
Comments1
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Yes, very nice. I like how you came up to the subject very delicatly (or am i just imagining that?) as not to offend anyone, and didn't single any one religion or philosophy out. It's nice to finally find somebody else that comes about the subject calmly and open-minded. It's alot different from this [link] , and is a welcomed breath of fresh air. You should feel proud. 