I've seen people arguing on facebook about politics a lot; it seems that politics gets people's dander up, so to speak. Most of what I see are straight white men arguing that things aren't so bad, there's no war on women, and that people trying to call out issues in the world are idealistic/socialist/fascist/insult of the moment. I know that when I see these people posting, there's a bit of me that wants to tell them to sit down and shut up, but... I don't.
I can't tell if I don't because I think silencing dissent is bad or if it's because I don't want the confrontation. When and where I can, I'll argue the facts or defend an opinion...
I think telling someone to keep their opinions to themselves is, well, it's their right to be an asshole, and it's their right to not listen to dissent; I think doing so limits one's understanding of the world, creates an echo box and insulates ignorance and misunderstanding against the possibility of change. So in general, I'm against that.
I think so long as everyone involved in the discussion can be civil, and avoid personal attacks, then discussion is good, and telling people to be quiet and go away is just rude and bad manners, as well as perpetuating ignorance.
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chiming
no subject
Date: 2012-06-10 05:29 pm (UTC)From:I can't tell if I don't because I think silencing dissent is bad or if it's because I don't want the confrontation. When and where I can, I'll argue the facts or defend an opinion...
I think telling someone to keep their opinions to themselves is, well, it's their right to be an asshole, and it's their right to not listen to dissent; I think doing so limits one's understanding of the world, creates an echo box and insulates ignorance and misunderstanding against the possibility of change. So in general, I'm against that.
I think so long as everyone involved in the discussion can be civil, and avoid personal attacks, then discussion is good, and telling people to be quiet and go away is just rude and bad manners, as well as perpetuating ignorance.