But I was told that I need to engage with those people and seek to understand them, and ask them questions, because they feel ignored or something, and I should be more empathetic.
I don’t think that approach should be discarded, but one needs to see the signs of when it’s not getting through. Don’t waste time on people who are fully in the cult and are lost, but still try to get to the ones who are listening to the Sirens but haven’t jumped overboard yet. And yes, it’s often not easy to see the difference. If they can’t dig themselves out (with questions meant to make them think past the soundbites), you aren’t going to pull them out.
And I’m as pessimistic as they come, but I’ll still throw a nugget of facts into the mix of a conversation if I feel it could make a person stop and think even for a second. I take a bit of pleasure seeing the cogs jam up when it works.
Before the election, I would have agreed with you. Now, not so much. If they can’t just see it now with their own eyes, my discussion efforts are going to accomplish nilch.
No, my own efforts are now better spent paying closer attention to the world right in front of me, and watching for opportunities to make fascists experience regret and fear.
You may be right, honestly. But I do think that there is a type of echo chamber (that we’re in) that assumes people are informed or aware of things that should be obvious perhaps, but they don’t see it for whatever reason. It’s probably futile as you say, but I do like to at least leave the door cracked for the few that maybe just haven’t gotten the right information yet. And you may ask, rightly so…how the hell can anyone be that ignorant in the 21st century? I submit that it’s still very possible to have blinders on and make bad choices if your life has other priorities than what is deemed common knowledge.
It’s frustrating, regardless of which viewpoint you take. We (society as a whole) could be so much better.
But I was told that I need to engage with those people and seek to understand them, and ask them questions, because they feel ignored or something, and I should be more empathetic.
(Not pointed at you, Phil.)
I don’t think that approach should be discarded, but one needs to see the signs of when it’s not getting through. Don’t waste time on people who are fully in the cult and are lost, but still try to get to the ones who are listening to the Sirens but haven’t jumped overboard yet. And yes, it’s often not easy to see the difference. If they can’t dig themselves out (with questions meant to make them think past the soundbites), you aren’t going to pull them out.
And I’m as pessimistic as they come, but I’ll still throw a nugget of facts into the mix of a conversation if I feel it could make a person stop and think even for a second. I take a bit of pleasure seeing the cogs jam up when it works.
Before the election, I would have agreed with you. Now, not so much. If they can’t just see it now with their own eyes, my discussion efforts are going to accomplish nilch.
No, my own efforts are now better spent paying closer attention to the world right in front of me, and watching for opportunities to make fascists experience regret and fear.
You may be right, honestly. But I do think that there is a type of echo chamber (that we’re in) that assumes people are informed or aware of things that should be obvious perhaps, but they don’t see it for whatever reason. It’s probably futile as you say, but I do like to at least leave the door cracked for the few that maybe just haven’t gotten the right information yet. And you may ask, rightly so…how the hell can anyone be that ignorant in the 21st century? I submit that it’s still very possible to have blinders on and make bad choices if your life has other priorities than what is deemed common knowledge.
It’s frustrating, regardless of which viewpoint you take. We (society as a whole) could be so much better.