Yep… that’s the problem, the people being directly attacked are not even in this line of thinking… it’s as if there are some people who just straight buy into their dehumanization and resultant lack of agency… And that the moral failing is on the part of the people who fight for their own rights, and who refuse to accept that there is a “both sides” with regards to the people who embrace genocidal political views.
Yep… and I’m sure the direct victims are even more tired, so that means we keep going, because their vision is just really apocalyptic.
Have you tried suggesting to him that he treat others with respect? The fact that you describe him as racist tells me you either haven’t or that it didn’t work. To echo what’s been said many times over already, why is it the responsibility of people who want a decent society to accommodate racists?
And what you’re reading as “sneering mockery” is a lot of exhaustion and frustration from people who have tried to have good faith discussions with racists.
That said, there is also no reason why we have to coddle people who are willfully ignorant and harmfully anti-education. If they have no interest in listening to expert consensus or evidence, why do we in the reality-based community have to be nice about it?
It means they can pass tests and other requirements to graduate. I know many people that can regurgitate facts for an exam, even perform tasks such as writing a computer program, or contribute just enough work on a group project to get a passing grade. This does not mean they can reason, draw a conclusion, or extrapolate information from a partial data set. They therefore meet the criteria for “well educated” and even have the diploma to prove it.
Oh, they’ll never get it, because they (have to) believe that college brainwashes students. To accept anything else would mean they are out of touch with reality.
By the time I graduated HS I already knew there was something seriously wrong with the community in which I was raised (a very rural, heavily Christian, area.) I went into the military because it was the most expedient way to get out of what I recognized as a bad situation, even then.
I was always a voracious reader and learned as much as I could, feeling a strong need to hear from people with different backgrounds and learning their true stories, instead of what I had been told by the people around me. (Being stationed close to London was a great option – I got to meet different cultures in an “easy setting” environment!)
I didn’t even start on a college degree until several decades later; something I did for myself, instead of in a quest to get the vague promise of a better job. I know that having that and subsequent experiences made me far more open to getting a broader experience instead of just focusing on the immediacy of completing the degree and going to work. I was already fairly educated by the time I got there and knew I wanted more depth than what many of the more traditionally aged students wanted.
I attended a personal development course many years ago that had an insight-provoking question. The facilitator started the session by asking,“How many of you get up in the morning and think to yourself ‘Today’s a great day to be wrong!’” The contention was that if you can accept that something you believe is true or right may in fact be incorrect or wrong, it opens you to learning something new.
George Carlin had a Grade 5 education. Despite this minimal schooling, he was a keen observer of human behavior and had a very strong bullshit meter. I see this as an excellent example of the difference between education and critical thinking.
This is why I don’t just shut out people who hold conservative views. I believe that showing them evidence of the truth could open their eyes and let them change their minds. Yes, there are people who will be too stubborn to admit that you are right, but the truth will eat at them and eventually they might change their views.
I have had more than one friend who was hardcore conservative, thought that liberals were the epitome of evil who hated America. It didn’t happen overnight, but sharing my point of view with them and why I consider myself to be liberal/progressive helped them to see subjects from a different angle than the Faux News and talk radio propaganda. They did eventually change (a lot) of their opinions on political matters and now associate as liberals. Just as with this gentleman, people can change their minds and their hearts.
When you are the target, there is no time for some both-sides Debate Club. You talk to them, I still think they can go fuck themselves, because being a “conservative” is a choice.
