Never mind. My apologies.
Turns out I cannot handle being accused of victim blaming so I am going to withdraw my idea.
Turns out I cannot handle being accused of victim blaming so I am going to withdraw my idea.
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What if?
- Thread starter Raven2Delta
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I think giving people the benefit of the doubt is important. I believe most people are decent. I also think increasing and developing empathy, particularly for people who don't immediately remind us of ourselves is critical if our civilization is to survive.
It's so easy to close ourselves off--to care most about the plights of those who most remind us of ourselves and assume people we regard as "other" bring misfortune on themselves, or represent greater threats. It costs nothing to be kind, and it risks very little to look up from our devices and engage more meaningfully with strangers in public places. And we should pay far more attention to the challenges and obstacles different people face.
I would add a note of caution, though. Not everyone faces the same risks when interacting with strangers. Women, LGBTQ people, people of color, and religious minorities are painfully aware that some random strangers do indeed mean them harm, and our society's laws and customs don't yet protect everyone equally. Those of us with the relative advantage of feeling safe in most situations should keep that in mind.
It's so easy to close ourselves off--to care most about the plights of those who most remind us of ourselves and assume people we regard as "other" bring misfortune on themselves, or represent greater threats. It costs nothing to be kind, and it risks very little to look up from our devices and engage more meaningfully with strangers in public places. And we should pay far more attention to the challenges and obstacles different people face.
I would add a note of caution, though. Not everyone faces the same risks when interacting with strangers. Women, LGBTQ people, people of color, and religious minorities are painfully aware that some random strangers do indeed mean them harm, and our society's laws and customs don't yet protect everyone equally. Those of us with the relative advantage of feeling safe in most situations should keep that in mind.
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Look, I'm all for compassion and opening ourselves up to new experiences, but this is straight-up victim blaming and is not appropriate.
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If you can't make your argument without victim blaming, you may want to revisit your argument.
It's fine. Was probably a stupid idea in the first place. I genuinely thought I was saying something good, turns out I was wrong.
The entire front page is filled with posts of misery, I thought I'd try to inject an idea that could prompt anyone interested in the idea to practice being better to people.
Turns out, I am an antiquated dinosaur from an age most people want to forget and clearly don't understand how to communicate with the current climate.
The entire front page is filled with posts of misery, I thought I'd try to inject an idea that could prompt anyone interested in the idea to practice being better to people.
Turns out, I am an antiquated dinosaur from an age most people want to forget and clearly don't understand how to communicate with the current climate.
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If you're willing to listen, you'll find a lot of people here on AW you could learn from. Many people here are quite articulate, and generous with their time.
And as a general rule, the past wasn't particularly nice to most people. Personally, though, I've no interest in forgetting it. Forgetting means we repeat the same mistakes.
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