iâm sick as absolute fuck, had to get a fucking holter monitor (100% because yâall bitches are giving me heart attacks) and my shit hurts but anyway iâm sick of seeing the shittiest, most manipulative takes on the internet so i have to say something because you know i donât like to play nice and you know i will absolutely speak nothing but my entire mind. if i can follow it. letâs see.
today weâre going to be talking about a simple prospect.
this should not be a hard concept to understand.
every action, every argument, pretty much everything, has little distinctions. has details. even if theyâre emotionally charged, they have nuance. this means that
not everything is perfectly black and white. just about nothing is entirely, completely one way or the other.
This is because, especially when it comes to discourse of any kind, there are not JUST two radical extremes, which is many times what both sides want there to be. There is a sliding scale and a spectrum of thoughts, opinions, and points of view. WHETHER YOU LIKE IT, OR NOT.
this means that, yes, when you leave out details and push your personal, two-dimensional opinion that this thing is ALLLLLLL the way down the other side of the road and should be hated and shunned (just so that your own point of view is not at risk of being compromised, mind you)
⨠you are being manipulative!! â¨
and no, people are not radically in the opposite direction nor are they evil just because you disagree with them!! pretending that is true is⌠let me get my megaphone againâŚ
MANIPULATIVE AND SEVERELY IMMATURE!!!
Letâs think about it this way. Iâll be using an example that will not be or represent any argument but its own, but that will represent a sliding scale of opinions based on it.
Opinions on vanilla ice cream.
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Notice the two opinions on either side of the far ends of this scale are extreme.
Theyâre not the only opinions that exist, though. If they did, things would be black and white. Itâs either all bad or all good to someone. It can be your favorite flavor in the world, or you can be disgusted by it.
But this isnât how people think, is it?
People have these lovely things, everyone has them, and theyâre allowed to have them! Theyâre called
Any thought-out opinion is going to have some sort of nuance to it. If it doesnât, especially with emotionally charged subjects, it may need to be explored or thought out more if you want to stay true to how you feel about it.
This means that despising this flavor of ice cream vs. having it as an absolute favorite isnât the only option.
You can fit anywhere in the middle, or further than the stretches of the ends.
I donât really like vanilla, but it doesnât make me sick or anything.
I hate vanilla, and I hate everyone who likes it. They make me sick.
I like vanilla! Itâs not my favorite for sure, I like strawberry better, but itâs pretty good!
I donât really feel any sort of way about it. I donât like it or dislike it.
I would eat it if it were put in front of me, but wouldnât choose it on my own.
I donât like the sourcing of vanilla beans. I like the flavor, but the way that itâs obtained isnât something Iâm okay with.
Iâm allergic to vanilla. I donât know if I like it or not.
I used to love vanilla ice cream, but one time I ate it and got really sick because of it. Not I canât even look at it anymore.
These are all opinions, valid opinions, on this subject. Itâs the same in many cases. So before you discourse, demonize someone, or say things that arenât true, remember this:
Arguments arenât black-and-white. You donât have to be radically on side or the other. A good argument is a nuanced argument, and all points should be considered if youâre wanting to form a good argument.
This has been a post towards both internet discourse in general and syscourse.
Iâm feeling like shit, so donât count on me to respond to shitty arguments if they come up. Iâm hoping not, considering that this is just advice on how things usually just are. Neutrally. This is how life is, many times, and if you take offense to it, youâre most likely not as mature as you think you are.