Most people just want a good life. If we stopped seeing each other as the enemies the world could be better.
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I have been struggling with this lately. I am staunchly anti violence and anti war, and yet, I am conflicted on how far I truly would be willing to go to cull classism, fascism, racism, transphobia , homophobia, misogyny, and pedophilia from the world.
These things are abhorrent to me, and I wonder how much of my humanity I’d be willing to sacrifice in exchange for even one of these to no longer being in existence amongst the ranks of humanity.
How much help does pacifism give to the world? How much harm does it give.
Two scenes from media I consume have lately continually resurfaced in my mind. One is this scene from Vinland Saga, where the main character’s father confronts him when he finds his sword. The father is about to go off to war, and somberly asks his son who he wants to kill with his father’s sword. This culminates with the father, who again, is about to go off to war, that there is no such thing as enemies.
The other is this scene from Star Wars Andor, in which the leader of a burgeoning Rebellion is asked by a spy who wishes to defect to the Empire asks what he sacrifices for the fight against the Empire. The monologue he delivers is chilling, acknowledging he sacrifices all things that make him human, he becomes like his enemy in order to defeat them. When he reflects on the question, and asks, “So what do I sacrifice? Everything!”
That…is how I feel when I think on the fascist cancer that has once again metastasized in America. Having no enemies… if only. Truly. Having enemies robs me of my humanity. The thing I struggle with is…am I the one who makes them my enemies? Or are they? And if the only thing we can agree on is that we are enemies…then what choice do we have when they come for me and those I claim as my kin?
Idk one side wants to enslave, murder, and rape. The other does not.
Let’s just be friends as they take away my rights and everyone I love rights away, we shouldn’t be enemies as they hunt down and murder someone for “existing”
Maybe we shouldn’t be friends with the enemy and fight against the regime?
This is one of the was Nazis came into power, by manipulating the mass thinking “oh we should all be friends” and now look what happened.
-a trans non-binary disabled person
Idk one side wants to enslave, murder, and rape. The other does not.
Advocating for OP, that’s the learnt way they see how they can become comfortable.
Paradox of tolerance
Amen.
What the people who want to control us don’t want us to realize is that you have a lot more in common with the Chinese/Russian/Ukrainian/Mexican/Indian working class… Factory worker/programmer/hard-working house wife… Then you do with your own political leaders and billionaires. People with servants who don’t ever worry about bills. (Biden, Trump, Harris, Vance, Elon, Gates, Bezos, etc)… Don’t look at the foreigners as different and the enemy… Look at the Rich and the Politicians (who want us to blame the foreigners)
Yes, it gets problematic as soon as extreme positions and mentalities enter the equation. All extrem positions are toxic, extreme left, extreme right, extreme religious (any religion), extreme fans of a sports club, extreme anything doesn’t matter.
If we could find some kind of balance, some true middle ground without huge extremes, then the world would be a much nicer place.
Yup we’re all idiots
I think of people who vote for bad politicans as useful idiots.
The average voter actually believe trump will make things better. There are people to somehow still believe trump isnt a racist. I don’t know whats going on with their brains.
Like, of course there are those who are bigots and want more bigotry in government, but there are also many who are not exactly hateful racists or misogynists, they simply aren’t that smart and easily get swayed by social media posts.
Think of them as victims of a scam (well, except that this is a on a much bigger scale and have more serious consequences 🙁)
I mean I don’t expect people to forgive them for what they voted for, I mean I personally would have a hard time being around those types of people, but like, would you tell your grandparents: “It’s your fault you got scammed”
I feel like a hypocrite for saying this, because on an emotional level, I hate hate everyone who voted for the fascist. But then when I think about the situation with my rational part of my brain, I realize people are just idiots and fall victim to the fascist scam. Its not necessary the person, but its that this is what our species is. A biological machine that although capable of rational thought, can still be easily manipulated.
Yelling at a person and telling them that they are stupid isnt gonna get them out of the scam, but talking to them might.
We aren’t in a civil war yet, there might still time for dialogue.
If you prick us do we not bleed? If you tickle us do we not laugh? If you poison us do we not die? And if you wrong us shall we not revenge?
Actually, I’m special. The right told me my parents told me so.
I’m more special. I look down on you derisively.
Exactly what someone who’s just like everyone else would say tbh
I’m so much more like everybody else than you.
I’m not sure that’s true. One side has empathy. The other does not. I don’t want to be friends with someone who doesn’t have empathy.
The world is not binary like that. Your side is not all good and the other side is not all bad.
One would need empathy to see it that way ;)
Empathy is something that can be learned like any ability, it isn’t always a binary you have it or you don’t.
I kind of see your point there. My hope though is that maybe people could gain more empathy for each other by understanding that we are all human and I hope that one day people can understand each other’s struggles.
Some are fascists. Some are not. That’s a pretty big distinction.
And someone says they are a trump supporter and suddenly its all just calling everyone a fascist time.
You know what, you’re totally right. There’s plenty of other accurate single-word descriptions that could be used to add some more variety:
Shortsighted, dogmatist, sociopath, mysognist, bootlicker, Neanderthal, degenerate, cultist, egotistical, simpleton, supremacist, etc.
