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There are professional trolls/bots pretending to represent every point of view in American society & politics.
There are also genuine non-bot humans in EVERY political group who just happen to be huge jerks.
Being a jerk and/or coping with jerks is part of the human condition.
There are also genuine non-bot humans in EVERY political group who just happen to be huge jerks.
Being a jerk and/or coping with jerks is part of the human condition.
Personally no matter how much they upset me I try not to let the worst representatives of any viewpoint define that viewpoint for me. More importantly I try hard not to mirror the worst behaviors & tactics of my opponents in any debate.
Despite all this, sometimes I AM the jerk.
Despite all this, sometimes I AM the jerk.
Because I know all of us can be jerks sometimes, I can’t judge a campaign or ideology by whether some people who claimed to agree with it were being jerks.
I’ve met democratic socialists who were rude & cruel.
I’ve met Nazis who were friendly & polite.
I’ve been both ways myself.
I’ve met democratic socialists who were rude & cruel.
I’ve met Nazis who were friendly & polite.
I’ve been both ways myself.
When I see people dismiss an entire political subgroup not based on its ideology but on personal behavior of individuals who claim to represent it, I suspect those people have not done a lot of actual activist organizing IRL with other people.
“Hell is other people”-Sartre
“Hell is other people”-Sartre
Likewise, it’s dangerously naïve to favor an ideology because someone who claimed to represent it was nice, polite, helpful, kind... or our usual subconscious substitutes for those qualities: good looks, charisma or generosity to us personally.
Spiders are always nice to flies.
Spiders are always nice to flies.
Anyone with experience with groups of human beings knows that even the most high minded groups contain individuals who behave in socially unacceptable ways & even the most evil groups contain individuals behave and socially acceptable ways.
Likewise, we all have good & bad sides.
Likewise, we all have good & bad sides.
Villains can sometimes be kind
Heroes sometimes cruel.
All of us can be both.
When it comes to behavior, there is no perfect person.
When it comes to voting, there is no perfect party or candidate.
Power corrupts or at least corrodes.
Leaders are for challenging, not for trusting
Heroes sometimes cruel.
All of us can be both.
When it comes to behavior, there is no perfect person.
When it comes to voting, there is no perfect party or candidate.
Power corrupts or at least corrodes.
Leaders are for challenging, not for trusting
We can only win the policies we need when we’re willing to work with other humans, in all their ugly, inconsistent, hypocritical reality.
We have to challenge ourselves & others always to do better.
Leaders most of all.
Eternal vigilance is a pain but it does give life meaning!
We have to challenge ourselves & others always to do better.
Leaders most of all.
Eternal vigilance is a pain but it does give life meaning!
