What if I said.

Flint · 04-14-2008, 04:41 PM

It's an interesting way to state the opinion. It's phrased in terms of I understand where you're coming from, and I don't blame you for being that way, so essentially he's characterizing a group or people for having a character fault, albeit an understandable one.

How divisive is that? It's condescending, of course, but is it harshly negative?

Maybe a necessary part of coming to terms with people that you disagree with would be by trying to understand where they're coming from. I don't think the final destination of that thought process would be filing them away under a half-baked stereotype, but I think it might represent the middle part of an ongoing attempt to understand something that is, by definition, not within your personal belief system.

Some other popular methods would be to dehumanize the opposition, to villify them and to characterize their beliefs as purposefully destructive.

He's not doing that.

04-14-2008, 04:41 PM	#11
Flint Snowflake Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Dystopia Posts: 13,136	It's an interesting way to state the opinion. It's phrased in terms of I understand where you're coming from, and I don't blame you for being that way, so essentially he's characterizing a group or people for having a character fault, albeit an understandable one. How divisive is that? It's condescending, of course, but is it harshly negative? Maybe a necessary part of coming to terms with people that you disagree with would be by trying to understand where they're coming from. I don't think the final destination of that thought process would be filing them away under a half-baked stereotype, but I think it might represent the middle part of an ongoing attempt to understand something that is, by definition, not within your personal belief system. Some other popular methods would be to dehumanize the opposition, to villify them and to characterize their beliefs as purposefully destructive. He's not doing that. __________________ **************** There's a level of facility that everyone needs to accomplish, and from there it's a matter of deciding for yourself how important ultra-facility is to your expression. ... I found, like Joseph Campbell said, if you just follow whatever gives you a little joy or excitement or awe, then you're on the right track. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Terry Bozzio**

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