Everything is a bias, everything is subjective, everything is open to interpretation. But most people think their own point of view is unbiased, no matter what it is. This is just a fact that naturally arises from believing in such a thing as unbiased information. It should be obvious. People want to hold whatever viewpoint they think is unbiased, so they do. People can be convinced to become racists, which necessarily implies that people can be convinced racism is unbiased. You didn’t think racists all knew they were biased, did you? They think they’re unbiased the same as you do, because you’re both humans who want to believe that you have the good opinions, and that good opinions are unbiased. And the fact is, you’re both equally correct on that front. You’re both equally biased. It’s just that you’re biased in favour of compassion and equality, while they’re biased in favour of hatred and supremacy. But the amount of bias is the same, because there’s no such thing as an unbiased viewpoint. You just think kindness isn’t a bias because you like kindness and you’ve been taught biases are bad things. Likewise, they think supremacy isn’t a bias because they like supremacy and they’ve been taught biases are bad things. And if you’re wondering if there’s an alternative to the way both you and this racist think? Yes there is, you can knowingly adopt good biases. I’m knowingly biased in favour of kindness, because I like kindness. I think choosing such a way of thinking makes me more capable of empathising with people I disagree with, understanding why they act the way they do, so I can attack the more foundational reasons for their belief effectively. It means I’m never surprised to see stuff like this. Because the thing is, they think exactly the way most people do. Just with different starting points.
Also, I’m a soulist. I recognise that all parts of our experiential reality are subjective and socially constructed. And right now, that reality is defined by the rich and powerful. You cannot fight a war while believing that your enemy’s weapons are natural and immutable. You cannot fight the rich from inside a reality they control and win. Even if you kill them all, you’ll still live in the world they created. You need to take power over reality for the people. That’s the only way anyone can ever be free.
The shepherd drives the wolf from the sheep’s throat, for which the sheep thanks the shepherd as a liberator, while the wolf denounces him for the same act as the destroyer of liberty, especially as the sheep was a black one. Plainly the sheep and the wolf are not agreed upon a definition of the word liberty.
WTF does the sheep’s colour have to go with liberty? Do black sheep taste better? I thought their colour only mattered to humans because humans like to dye their woolen garments. A wolf doesn’t need to dye clothes.
“Black sheep” I took to be in the sense of, you can throw a bunch of criticism at the person you’re oppressing and make it clear they’re an outlier from humanity and make it more palatable that you’re doing that and change the subject.
“You shouldn’t be killing Gazan children on an industrial scale” “But they’re monsters, look at how terrible was Hamas’s attack on our music festival!” Things like that.
If I was the wolf, I’d just point out that the shepherd eats lamb too, and is therefore just as much a murderer. The only difference is the amount of power in the equation. The wolf doesn’t need to be bigoted to make its point, there are much better criticisms against the way the shepherd deprives the sheep of liberty. I didn’t really understand why Lincoln was describing a foolish wolf who attacks the shepherd for bad reasons instead of readily available good ones. What the wolf says is pretty nonsense to me.
Everything is a bias, everything is subjective, everything is open to interpretation. But most people think their own point of view is unbiased, no matter what it is. This is just a fact that naturally arises from believing in such a thing as unbiased information. It should be obvious. People want to hold whatever viewpoint they think is unbiased, so they do. People can be convinced to become racists, which necessarily implies that people can be convinced racism is unbiased. You didn’t think racists all knew they were biased, did you? They think they’re unbiased the same as you do, because you’re both humans who want to believe that you have the good opinions, and that good opinions are unbiased. And the fact is, you’re both equally correct on that front. You’re both equally biased. It’s just that you’re biased in favour of compassion and equality, while they’re biased in favour of hatred and supremacy. But the amount of bias is the same, because there’s no such thing as an unbiased viewpoint. You just think kindness isn’t a bias because you like kindness and you’ve been taught biases are bad things. Likewise, they think supremacy isn’t a bias because they like supremacy and they’ve been taught biases are bad things. And if you’re wondering if there’s an alternative to the way both you and this racist think? Yes there is, you can knowingly adopt good biases. I’m knowingly biased in favour of kindness, because I like kindness. I think choosing such a way of thinking makes me more capable of empathising with people I disagree with, understanding why they act the way they do, so I can attack the more foundational reasons for their belief effectively. It means I’m never surprised to see stuff like this. Because the thing is, they think exactly the way most people do. Just with different starting points.
I’m biased towards paragraphs.
Otherwise, good point: understanding the other side is a good way to somehow being able to work together.
Also, I’m a soulist. I recognise that all parts of our experiential reality are subjective and socially constructed. And right now, that reality is defined by the rich and powerful. You cannot fight a war while believing that your enemy’s weapons are natural and immutable. You cannot fight the rich from inside a reality they control and win. Even if you kill them all, you’ll still live in the world they created. You need to take power over reality for the people. That’s the only way anyone can ever be free.
The shepherd drives the wolf from the sheep’s throat, for which the sheep thanks the shepherd as a liberator, while the wolf denounces him for the same act as the destroyer of liberty, especially as the sheep was a black one. Plainly the sheep and the wolf are not agreed upon a definition of the word liberty.
Quoted from Abraham Lincoln
WTF does the sheep’s colour have to go with liberty? Do black sheep taste better? I thought their colour only mattered to humans because humans like to dye their woolen garments. A wolf doesn’t need to dye clothes.
“Black sheep” I took to be in the sense of, you can throw a bunch of criticism at the person you’re oppressing and make it clear they’re an outlier from humanity and make it more palatable that you’re doing that and change the subject.
“You shouldn’t be killing Gazan children on an industrial scale” “But they’re monsters, look at how terrible was Hamas’s attack on our music festival!” Things like that.
If I was the wolf, I’d just point out that the shepherd eats lamb too, and is therefore just as much a murderer. The only difference is the amount of power in the equation. The wolf doesn’t need to be bigoted to make its point, there are much better criticisms against the way the shepherd deprives the sheep of liberty. I didn’t really understand why Lincoln was describing a foolish wolf who attacks the shepherd for bad reasons instead of readily available good ones. What the wolf says is pretty nonsense to me.
That Lincone guy who said it was a famous dude for being smart and shit. Could be hype eh?
“I looked at something Lincoln said, and it didn’t right away make sense to me. Clearly, then, this Lincoln guy needs to get on my level.”
He probably was drawing the analogy with the landowners exploiting black people.
And black sheep are rejected by the flock apparently.
Oh okay. So what does racists complaining that the government freed slaves have to do with soulism?
TBH I didn’t understand your soulism comment or how it is connected with your original comment.
I was really just supporting your original comment.
Oh, okay. Soulism expands on the fact that everything is a bias.