An open society that doesn't want the intolerant to undermine and topple it must be ready to defend itself - by reason and argument if possible, but these may fail because the intolerant reject reason itself. Force should be the last resort, but if all other means prove fruitless, it should be a resort still.
Look, I am a big believer in attempting to educate other people and better the world around you by trying to change harmful or hateful outlooks, but I also realize that some people cannot be changed. Trying to engage these types of people in real life is just putting yourself in danger. Engaging them online is fine but there's a limit to how long you should spend having dialogue with someone who could probably argue their irrational viewpoints for weeks on end without stopping.
But but my freeze peach!!1!21!
Woe, Tolerance Paradox be upon ye.
I appreciate this, I really do, but you do have to be careful not to end up like certain leftist Reddit subs where I got banned for the heinous crime of suggesting that voting for Harris might produce better outcomes than voting for Trump. Some level of discussion that goes beyond what the majority (or, lbr, the mods) think has to be allowed or you just have an echo chamber.
Granted, that isn't what is happening in the comic. The apologist here is genuinely advocating tolerance of Nazis. This situation is appropriate.
They're not really centerists, they're just trying to stir the pot. Jon Stewart had a really good podcast on all this on the Weekly Show. I could only find a youtube video on my laptop, I think it's the full thing by the time.
The apple fell somewhere completely devoid of apple trees and scientists could not trace it back to the tree of origin.
The rational debate is so the on the fence people see the problems with the bigots rather than just the bigoted opinions/“proof”
It’s about stopping the lies from spreading not changing an individual opinion. You could hardly call yourself a leftist if you don’t understand that
Tolerance goes both ways motherfucker
Violence against fascists isn't an answer, its a question and the answer is always yes
When you debate the bigots in the "Free Market of Ideas", you basically say that these bigoted ideas are "Just as valid as any other"
This is why you don't see Temu shit on Target shelves, but in shady grey market apps.
You all should see the shit going on in a post about Gisèle Pelicot where they are literally saying that the tiny fraction of women who commit sexual assault is an excuse for decrying the (absolutely understandably angry) women holding signs that say "NOT ALL MEN BUT ALWAYS A MAN".
I really fucking despise these false equivalencies.
This is such a braindead take. Humanity is networked. You can cut a link, but you can't disconnect someone from yourself unless you yeet them out of existence
Drive them into bigot echo chambers and someone has to deal with them thinking everyone is secretly as bigoted as them
Respond in kind - if they're rational, defeat them with reason. If they're a dumbfuck, quote then and mock how stupid their words are. If they're a troll, counter troll them
And when they feel bad for saying bad things, offer an olive branch. Highlight the path back to being a respectable person
You don't need to be equipped to do it all - I'm personally good at counter trolling and reaching out to those already verbally beaten down
We all have to live with these people - we all have a have a responsibility to do our part. Give them the social rejection they deserve when they say unacceptable things - people who don't learn from logic learn emotionally, so make them feel bad. It's ok to attack those attacking others unfairly - just always leave a path back to acceptance
Kill them or rehabilitate them - those are the only options that fix the problem
