But the post is suggesting, "the reason the two characters in the cartoon appear to agree is that their positions are hypersimplified", and I have a hard time knowing how to read that other than as a call to be more open to hearing the full details about why someone is rejecting me.
I would point to "appear to agree" as the culprit there. I don't think they appear to agree. I think they do agree on the particular topic under discussion. Saying that there's only the appearance of agreement implies that if one digs enough, one finds that they don't actually agree... but that puts the burden on the person who chooses whether to go digging. If you take the hateful words at face value, you're somehow not playing your part in getting through or past the hate to the compassion and acceptance hidden underneath it.
The problem with that suggestion is that when it comes to certain topics, some people don't have compassion and acceptance hidden underneath; and even if they do, walking away from the veneer of hate rather than digging through it is a perfectly reasonable, acceptable choice. If a radical feminist and a conservative Christian want to sit down and hash out whether to bond over transphobia or get into a screaming disagreement over abortion, that's up to them. You, as the third party observer, are not obliged to give them one minute of your time.
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regna
(no subject)
Date: 2007-07-30 04:21 am (UTC)I would point to "appear to agree" as the culprit there. I don't think they appear to agree. I think they do agree on the particular topic under discussion. Saying that there's only the appearance of agreement implies that if one digs enough, one finds that they don't actually agree... but that puts the burden on the person who chooses whether to go digging. If you take the hateful words at face value, you're somehow not playing your part in getting through or past the hate to the compassion and acceptance hidden underneath it.
The problem with that suggestion is that when it comes to certain topics, some people don't have compassion and acceptance hidden underneath; and even if they do, walking away from the veneer of hate rather than digging through it is a perfectly reasonable, acceptable choice. If a radical feminist and a conservative Christian want to sit down and hash out whether to bond over transphobia or get into a screaming disagreement over abortion, that's up to them. You, as the third party observer, are not obliged to give them one minute of your time.