How to deal with opinions you disagree with

[Colossal Spoons]

Ok, this is one topic that's actually best brought up on a message board since people are more likely to say absurd things here as opposed to real life. I apologize if this looks all rant-y

I was in a psych class last night and we were talking about homosexuality. This lady up in the front of the class starts rambling on and on about how homosexuals have a malfunction and her Bible says that it's wrong. She pretty much says every non-PC thing you can imagine about gay people. My class is pretty heavily populated by liberal women so they immediately jumped down her throat in defense of homosexuals, so much that the prof had to intervene. what the prof said is what this thread is really about and something I guess I need to reconsider about myself:

She said "This class is not about accepting anybody else's worldview or trying to change it. It's about respecting differing opinions because everybody has a right to one."

Here's where my problem comes in; I have a tendency to immediately spring into verbal combat mode whenever somebody says something absurd, ludicrous, or what I like to call "stupid". I seem to have a problem letting people get away with opinions that vary drastically from my own. Only on serious topics though; like racism, homosexuality, etc not their favorite cereal lol. I know a lot of you Hypsters are the same way b/c 90% of the arguments in the community start because somebody said something "stupid".

How do you and how should we deal with opinions we couldn't disagree with more?

 

[Kyalesyin]

I tend to flatly ignore the person and if it comes to it, pretend they don't exist. At least, for people that are really obnoxious about it. Like, most of my sociology class. Circumvents the whole issue.

 

[Killgore]

How do you and how should we deal with opinions we couldn't disagree with more?

With a swift kick to the hiney hole.

 

[Colossal Spoons]

I tend to flatly ignore the person and if it comes to it, pretend they don't exist. At least, for people that are really obnoxious about it. Like, most of my sociology class. Circumvents the whole issue.

I wish I could ignore them. The thing is; stupid is contagious. These people with crazy opinions never keep it to themselves and they contaminate other people. I'd feel like Spiderman and the robber that killed [BLACKOUT]Uncle Ben[/BLACKOUT] if I just let them continue being stupid.

 

[Fran]

Yeah, I'd probably call them out in real life, too. If it's something very extreme/rude/ludacris/etc.

 

[Lunar_Wolf]

Ok, this is one topic that's actually best brought up on a message board since people are more likely to say absurd things here as opposed to real life. I apologize if this looks all rant-y

I was in a psych class last night and we were talking about homosexuality. This lady up in the front of the class starts rambling on and on about how homosexuals have a malfunction and her Bible says that it's wrong. She pretty much says every non-PC thing you can imagine about gay people. My class is pretty heavily populated by liberal women so they immediately jumped down her throat in defense of homosexuals, so much that the prof had to intervene. what the prof said is what this thread is really about and something I guess I need to reconsider about myself:

She said "This class is not about accepting anybody else's worldview or trying to change it. It's about respecting differing opinions because everybody has a right to one."

Here's where my problem comes in; I have a tendency to immediately spring into verbal combat mode whenever somebody says something absurd, ludicrous, or what I like to call "stupid". I seem to have a problem letting people get away with opinions that vary drastically from my own. Only on serious topics though; like racism, homosexuality, etc not their favorite cereal lol. I know a lot of you Hypsters are the same way b/c 90% of the arguments in the community start because somebody said something "stupid".

How do you and how should we deal with opinions we couldn't disagree with more?

Well my manager put up a notice one time saying because the canteen is dirty our free film passes, drinks and canteen will be taken away. I said to someone this is stupid. Our canteen should be taken away if left in such a mess not our perks. He told the manager what I said so the manager said to me I heard your not happy with the new notice. I told him how I felt and he basically shot down my opinion. He said I should not be telling people what I think about the rules and that no one will like me if I voice my opinion on rules. I was about to burst into him on how ****ing stupid he sounded saying that sentence, but I didn't, I walked away so he could bask in his own stupidity. For him to think like that is ridiculous. What a steaming **** tard. But I do find myself raising my opinions in the real world more throughout the past 2-3 years since talking to people on the Internet for some odd reason. Best thing to do is let him/her have an opinion, then have yours. If you don't agree then not much more you can do. If you know your right let the person be stupid.

 

[AndThePickles]

It's like your professor said- everyone has a right to differing opinions. Thus, YOU have a right to express your opinion that differs from the dumb person. I see nothing wrong with presenting an argument towards someone that you disagree with. If you both go home with the same opinion after it, so be it. But there's nothing wrong with debating.

 

[kane9321]

ignore them as best as you can

 

[Kyalesyin]

Everyone is entitled to my opinion...

 

[Colossal Spoons]

If you don't agree then not much more you can do. If you know your right let the person be stupid.

That sounds like sound advice when dealing with strangers, But suppose it's a close friend of yours with an absurd opinion. I'd feel like a bad friend if I didn't at least try to figure out how they came up with that.

It's like your professor said- everyone has a right to differing opinions.

Take racists and homophobes for example. They have the right to be those things. Not the quiet ones who act the way they do in private, but the ones that are vocal about it and have demonstrations and marches. Should they be ignored or combatted?

 

[jaguarr]

I think the problem with most "stupid" thoughts is that the people that have them are usually so damn insistent and persistent about perpetuating their verbalization of them over and over again. They're also often very "holier than thou" about their stance as well which, quite frankly, is irritating as hell. And, they very rarely respect the rights of others to have the views and opinions that they do, so they continually bring it up or attack those people for their beliefs. This often results in people becoming annoyed to the point that they feel compelled to remind the person with the "stupid" thoughts that they aren't the only people on the planet and that they should at the very least respect the views of others and allow them that. In effect, they become sort of forced to either ignore the person or engage in a type of self-defense because they're essentially being attacked. Witness this woman who you said went "on and on" about how evil homosexuals are. She couldn't just say "I disagree with their lifestyle." and leave it at that. She had to profess that she was right because God said so and that's the way it is so nobody else's views matter, blah, blah, blah. That just pisses people off and really isn't respectful or fair to anyone else but the "stupid" person. It's selfish and small.

I see this all the time on these boards. People aren't content to just state their opinions or beliefs, they have to continually push them in the face of people they know don't like it as if they will evangelize them to their way of thinking if they just keep it up. This is particularly true over hotbutton issues like religion, politics, sexuality or morals. It's one thing to have an insightful exchange of ideas with someone who's viewpoints are different from our own, and that does happen here enough to keep people interested in trying. But there are many people, and I think we've all fallen into this trap at one time or another to varying degrees, that are so damn intent on "proving" they are right and convincing everyone else that they are wrong that it just turns into a pissing match that no one will ever win. It does however make for some entertaining threads.

jag

 

[Colossal Spoons]

I wish Calvin and Blind_fury were online and Paladin hadn't gotten banned. They'd make this discussion friggin awesome

 

[AndThePickles]

Take racists and homophobes for example. They have the right to be those things. Not the quiet ones who act the way they do in private, but the ones that are vocal about it and have demonstrations and marches. Should they be ignored or combatted?

Did you read the rest of my post? I said you SHOULD combat them.

 

[Erzengel]

I remember being in psychology class and this girl was like Star Wars was sexist and my friend went on a verbal tirade about Princess Leia, Mon Mothma and won. Stupid girl.

 

[Colossal Spoons]

Did you read the rest of my post? I said you SHOULD combat them.

To what end though? I've never once gotten a racist or a homophobe to see the error in their ways. But I've gotten my friends to agree that Terrence Howard is a crappy choice for War Machine.

 

[Machx72]

You could let her know that the Bible was a document created by men to control people.

And then you can kiss the dude sitting next to you in class.

 

[AndThePickles]

To what end though? I've never once gotten a racist or a homophobe to see the error in their ways. But I've gotten my friends to agree that Terrence Howard is a crappy choice for War Machine.

Well, that's why it's up to you to choose whether you combat people or not. You have to go through life knowing that what you say won't always make a difference. But, you can't predict whether it will. You never know, eventually those racists and homophobes may change their opinion due to something you told them AGES ago and you'd never know. I think it's important to confront people if you disagree. If nothing else, it will help make someone firm in their argument. If you're gonna be a homophobe, at least have a strong reason for it, or be prepared to look like an idiot when someone confronts you (which I think people do regardless, but that's "my opinion" )

 

[Colossal Spoons]

You could let her know that the Bible was a document created by men to control people.

And then you can kiss the dude sitting next to you in class.

1. I wasn't in the mood to argue and besides, the chicks in my class took care of her

2. Hahaha funny you should say that, the guy who sits closest to me came out to the class last night in the middle of the arguing. This promtly led to this homophobic lady turning bright red.

 

[Colossal Spoons]

Well, that's why it's up to you to choose whether you combat people or not. You have to go through life knowing that what you say won't always make a difference. But, you can't predict whether it will. You never know, eventually those racists and homophobes may change their opinion due to something you told them AGES ago and you'd never know. I think it's important to confront people if you disagree. If nothing else, it will help make someone firm in their argument. If you're gonna be a homophobe, at least have a strong reason for it, or be prepared to look like an idiot when someone confronts you (which I think people do regardless, but that's "my opinion" )

Woohoo, that's like 5 Jesus points

 

[jaguarr]

Well, that's why it's up to you to choose whether you combat people or not. You have to go through life knowing that what you say won't always make a difference. But, you can't predict whether it will. You never know, eventually those racists and homophobes may change their opinion due to something you told them AGES ago and you'd never know. I think it's important to confront people if you disagree. If nothing else, it will help make someone firm in their argument. If you're gonna be a homophobe, at least have a strong reason for it, or be prepared to look like an idiot when someone confronts you (which I think people do regardless, but that's "my opinion" )

I think it's just been clearly illustrated who the smarter one in ATP and Spoons' relationship is.

jag

 

[BRUTAL]

Racists and Homophobes are different from those who have an actual opinion. Racists and Homophobes put faith in stereotypes and make no efforts to learn about individuals. They hate based on preconceived uninformed notions and that's not really them forming a certain opinion about a group of people, it's more like the opposite. Herd mentality combined with blatant ignorance. Ignorance SHOULD be combated no matter what.

 

[jaguarr]

Racists and Homophobes are different from those who have an actual opinion. Racists and Homophobes put faith in stereotypes and make no efforts to learn about individuals. They hate based on preconceived uninformed notions and that's not really them forming a certain opinion about a group of people, it's more like the opposite. Herd mentality combined with blatant ignorance. Ignorance SHOULD be combated no matter what.

I applaud this post....nay....I applaud YOU, sir! *slow clap*

jag

 

[redmarvel]

I wish Calvin and Blind_fury were online and Paladin hadn't gotten banned. They'd make this discussion friggin awesome

True.

When Paladin disagreed with someone vehemently he would start referring to them as "Sparky" (electrical short in the brain?) Then he would try to bash down their opinions with his own point by point. He tried it with me and I basically started laughing at him (in my own mind) and then refuted each of his arguments with my own. On some things we never could reach any kind of consensus or agreement (gun control), but he was always great fun to argue with (at least for me, but that may be because I am a flirt).

Basically I have two ways of dealing with differing opinions:

Ithe people aren't ones I have to deal with often or if I know they are too set in their ways, I do my best to ignore them.

If the issue is an important one to me or if I actually hope that the person's opinion may be swayed then I research my argument, get all the facts I can to support my opinion and try to lay out for the person, logically, why they are wrong.

 

[Colossal Spoons]

I think it's just been clearly illustrated who the smarter one in ATP and Spoons' relationship is.

jag

That's it! You. Me. Argument in the hall. ASAP

 

[BRUTAL]

I applaud this post....nay....I applaud YOU, sir! *slow clap*

jag

*salutes*