RE: Making a Case for Reason Over Outrage
The sad thing is, people only want to hear what pleases them. They are not open anything that contradicts their perspective. I have met very few people who become sincerely interested in hearing other people's opinions when those opinions are in opposition to their own. Even I get my back up when contradicted, so I truly admire people whose interest is piqued, and not their anger.
As a society we ridicule ideas we don't like. I thought people who said 'Jesus wasn't a Jew' were nutters - and then I listened to what one had to say. To my surprise, their argument was based in complex genealogies, and made sense in a complex genealogical way. So, people dismiss things, label them crazy, and refuse to listen when others speak of things that they immediately think of as outrageous - and the fault is theirs for shouting others down without listening to the what they have to say first.
BTW, when someone clicks on the report/downvote option, it provides a list of reasons why the post is being reported. "Outrage" isn't one of them. So, if anyone downvotes because they are outraged, they are abusing the option. If anyone downvotes because 'everyone else is, and I'm following them', then they are an idiot who can't think for themselves - and there is no option for that on the downvote menu either.
Thank you both for the up-vote and your comment @ajdohmen. :c)
Indeed you are right. We 'all' like to hear what pleases us. It is the more intellectually mature and honest among us who evolve beyond this to also take "the opposition's" perspective into consideration.
And yes, even then we often hold an attachment to our perspective on a matter. Such makes us feel a little special and we can sometimes take it personally if somebody starts to poke holes in it. This is natural - and yes I admire a person who can consistently rise above it all, whether or not their perspective on a matter is ultimately shown to be superior. The process is at least as important as the product.
One's religious outlook constitutes a pillar of who one truly is. To have an aspect of a pillar challenged is to feel that one has been addressed upon a personal level - and so one is naturally more defensive. I commend you for listening (whether you accepted it or not).
I agree. Outrage is not a legitimate reason to flag/down-vote a post or comment. An unreasoning "me too" down-vote is not something that I had even considered possible. I shudder at the emptyheadedness that such would require. O_o
Thank you again for your comment! :c)