Say something nice about people you disagree with politically

I'm a bit tired right now, so this will be a bit wishy washy but I'll try to write something about this. I'm from Sweden and, to put it bluntly, we get quite a lot of shit thrown our way in how we allegedly let immigration ruin our country. Many diverging thoughts, heated arguments and what not. There is a certain vileness in how we talk to one another over the internet, but I find that when we accept each others instead of refute with the same aggression that really lead nowhere we can actually have a discussion about it.

I too am at my wits end at times. The other day when someone here got banned I too thought of nasty things to say, but when it comes down to it it's quite petty.

For the people whose political views I disagree with, I don't think you are a bad person - not that it is in my power to dictate, of course. We have different perspectives, and we come from different places. It's a matter of colliding ideas, and sometimes values. How do you react when your house is on fire? Not to say that you should validate everything, but try to meet them on their concerns instead of being aggressive and you might get somewhere, even on just a personal level.
 
On occasion sometimes, not always... crazy people can smell nice.
 
Flavus Aquila said:
If that's true, it gives the impression that people dislike people, and only enjoy what is in agreement with themselves.
(Hating the chamber, but loving the echo).

*Bleak*
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No, it just means that good qualities don't necessarily make up for bad qualities, and trying to force it is just contrived.

It's like saying that John Wayne Gacy was a nice guy, aside from being a murderer.
 
sprinkles said:
No, it just means that good qualities don't necessarily make up for bad qualities, and trying to force it is just contrived.

It's like saying that John Wayne Gacy was a nice guy, aside from being a murderer.
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It might be a typological difference, but if some part of a person is bad, it doesn't corrupt the whole person in my perspective.
 
sprinkles said:
Good/bad ratio of a person is irrelevant. What matters is their net effect on others.
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Is holding a certain opinion on politics a sufficiently bad quality to eliminate any good? E.g. a Doctor who voted for Trump, or someone who donated millions in charity voting for Trump?


Also, how willing are you to entertain the possibility that bad ideas might in fact not be bad? What would it take to flip you on them? Do you think others that think the way you do would flip as quickly/slowly?
 
In the Wings said:
Is holding a certain opinion on politics a sufficiently bad quality to eliminate any good? E.g. a Doctor who voted for Trump, or someone who donated millions in charity voting for Trump.
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No, but I don't typically include regular folks as political opposition in the first place.

Voting for Trump is not a big deal to me. BEING Trump is though.
 
sprinkles said:
Maybe because most traditional things to like about people are superficial.
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What she said. And that it would be too easy and not meaningfull to say it here (for me).

Flavus Aquila said:
It might be a typological difference, but if some part of a person is bad, it doesn't corrupt the whole person in my perspective.
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Aye, my point exactly. But does it go the other way around too? If a person who feigns to be morally incorruptable proves to be very corruptable in one minor way (e.g. an official who has been bribed with but did a terrific job on the whole) proves not to be so honest and upright, does your esteem-o-meter give extra weight to it? Because I tend to believe most people do.
 
Professor Snep said:
What she said. And that it would be too easy and not meaningfull to say it here (for me).


Aye, my point exactly. But does it go the other way around too? If a person who feigns to be morally incorruptable proves to be very corruptable in one minor way (e.g. an official who has been bribed with but did a terrific job on the whole) proves not to be so honest and upright, does your esteem-o-meter give extra weight to it? Because I tend to believe most people do.
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Also I wonder about the practical relevance of finding nice things to say. Personal feelings are largely irrelevant in a lot of cases.

For example with officials taking bribes, the unethical nature of bribery is in no way dependent on or related to their job performance, so the fact that they did a great job otherwise is a moot point, other than making it more painful to have to fire a talented person.
 
Professor Snep said:
Aye, my point exactly. But does it go the other way around too? If a person who feigns to be morally incorruptable proves to be very corruptable in one minor way (e.g. an official who has been bribed with but did a terrific job on the whole) proves not to be so honest and upright, does your esteem-o-meter give extra weight to it? Because I tend to believe most people do.
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What people do doesn't make me think less of them. I would have no issues with being friends with St Francis of Assisi, Stalin, Hitler, a Mass Murderer, a kindly homemaker, Trump, Sanders, etc.

What can get in the way of being able to dialogue is that both deliberate apathy and deliberate hypocrisy make me angry... I get an ambivalent like/hate attitude: I like the person, but hate the way they engage.
 
Flavus Aquila said:
What people do doesn't make me think less of them. I would have no issues with being friends with St Francis of Assisi, Stalin, Hitler, a Mass Murderer, a kindly homemaker, Trump, Sanders, etc.

What can get in the way of being able to dialogue is that both deliberate apathy and deliberate hypocrisy make me angry... I get an ambivalent like/hate attitude: I like the person, but hate the way they engage.
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Why is it important to be friends with people, especially when it is so easily done?

What is the practical significance? What does such a relationship accomplish?
 
I appreciate your desire to have no leader at all. Now more than ever.
 
sprinkles said:
Why is it important to be friends with people, especially when it is so easily done?

What is the practical significance? What does such a relationship accomplish?
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It's not important to me. I often wonder if I even want friends... but I guess the fact that I have friends sort of implies that I do. People are interesting to me: they're kind of awesome. The more resilient, insightful, simple, complex, passionate, etc., the more interesting they are to me. It can get to where I am fascinated with extraordinary people.
 
Flavus Aquila said:
It's not important to me. I often wonder if I even want friends... but I guess the fact that I have friends sort of implies that I do. People are interesting to me: they're kind of awesome. The more resilient, insightful, simple, complex, passionate, etc., the more interesting they are to me. It can get to where I am fascinated with extraordinary people.
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I understand. I think what you consider to be friendship is different from what I consider to be friendship.

I think some people collect other people, and view them externally, and call them friends because they are entertaining in some way. For other people that is not friendship. To those people that would be like being friends with a chair because it is comfortable, or because it looks nice.

For some people friendship is a deep spiritual bonding that is not easy to come by. It's not just being entertained at head level by what is visible on the outside.
 
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