Then you need to alter your approach, because calling people wrong for liking their characters isn’t going to win people over to our side, it’s going to annoy them and push them away. You need to have at least some understanding and empathy for the way they think, because you’re making a lot of assumptions about them not liking the default.
After all, I’m a pretty strong ally, and as I mentioned I don’t have a big stake in the ground here, but even I was put off by your statement, and if I can, then I definitely understand why so many others are annoyed with us.
From their point of view, you have the liberal left who is very quick to demonize and tell people they are lashing out and label them, or you have the comforting right who smooths that all over and says “no we don’t think you’re wrong, come on over”. Then they of course get worse because their negative sides are reinforced.
Think about how you present these ideas to others. Understand that they have other opinions, and what you think they may be thinking may not actually be what they’re thinking.
I’ve thought plenty on how I “present to others”. Maybe go lecture them on how they present while they’re defending systemic racism and sexism. Or worry about your own look, jumping to their defense. I have no interest in coddling anyone that finds it “annoying” to see someone pointing out basic issues. If the past 100 years (hell, the past 20 years) have proved anything, it’s that constant compromise to not offend quote-unquote “centrists” (lest we “push them” into the arms of racists and bigots) only leads to validation of and shifting to the values of those racists and bigots. If being faced with their own prejudices and problems “forced” them to become hateful, then that’s what they were always going to end up as. That’s on them, not anyone else. And being an apologists for them won’t lead to any progress, only regression.
Then you need to alter your approach, because calling people wrong for liking their characters isn’t going to win people over to our side, it’s going to annoy them and push them away. You need to have at least some understanding and empathy for the way they think, because you’re making a lot of assumptions about them not liking the default.
After all, I’m a pretty strong ally, and as I mentioned I don’t have a big stake in the ground here, but even I was put off by your statement, and if I can, then I definitely understand why so many others are annoyed with us.
From their point of view, you have the liberal left who is very quick to demonize and tell people they are lashing out and label them, or you have the comforting right who smooths that all over and says “no we don’t think you’re wrong, come on over”. Then they of course get worse because their negative sides are reinforced.
Think about how you present these ideas to others. Understand that they have other opinions, and what you think they may be thinking may not actually be what they’re thinking.
I’ve thought plenty on how I “present to others”. Maybe go lecture them on how they present while they’re defending systemic racism and sexism. Or worry about your own look, jumping to their defense. I have no interest in coddling anyone that finds it “annoying” to see someone pointing out basic issues. If the past 100 years (hell, the past 20 years) have proved anything, it’s that constant compromise to not offend quote-unquote “centrists” (lest we “push them” into the arms of racists and bigots) only leads to validation of and shifting to the values of those racists and bigots. If being faced with their own prejudices and problems “forced” them to become hateful, then that’s what they were always going to end up as. That’s on them, not anyone else. And being an apologists for them won’t lead to any progress, only regression.
sigh