And again, I’m not interested in how my ideas and comments make the few dozen or so people who participate in these comment threads feel. The emotional reaction you have to reading my views is unimportant to me . I’m not coming here to be ‘liked’, or to be popular with a small group (or a large group, or any group). I do find it somewhat interesting how people have reacted to misreading my views, but that’s another story.
That’s not to say I don’t care about feelings, or that I’m some kind of psychopath. I’m a human just like you. I just have no interest in discussing or exploring them here in this forum, or in the context of this story. I’m not interested in right or wrong, good or bad, or judging either side. If what Gianforte did falls under the category of assault under Montana law, the courts will decide that. You may think he’s an asshole and Jacobs is a good guy, or the other way around. That’s fine. I don’t care one way or the other.
What I am interested in is understanding the underlying reasons for why people do what they do, and act the way they act. On both sides. Primarily through a sociological and psychological, and most of all scientific lens. That means putting human opinions, biases, and feelings aside, and making observations, and trying to fit those observations into a larger rational framework.
None of my comments have been sexist or generalizing in any way. And if you read closely, I have intentionally chosen my words to not do that. But I can’t control how others react if they misinterpret my words and don’t seek clarification. I am not trying to justify or defend either side as being right or wrong, as I specifically do not care, and that is not what I personally find interesting (your opinion on that may differ, and that’s fine). I’m interested in rational discussion of the underlying mechanisms that caused both sides to act and react as they did, trying to see both sides’ understandings of the event, in as unemotional a way as possible.
