{"id":8080,"date":"2017-10-29T01:19:04","date_gmt":"2017-10-29T05:19:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/intramuralist.com\/?p=8080"},"modified":"2017-10-29T01:19:04","modified_gmt":"2017-10-29T05:19:04","slug":"they-are-dumb","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/?p=8080","title":{"rendered":"they are dumb"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rarely do we simply post another\u2019s editorial, but the truth is we learn from each other \u2014 never solely from one and never wisely, solely from the likeminded. Hear the wise words of New York City writer, Sean Blanda, written well over a year and a half ago, in a piece entitled \u201cThe \u2018Other Side\u2019 Is Not\u00a0Dumb\u201d<\/strong>\u2026 [Note: all emphasis is mine.]<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a fun game I like to play in a group of trusted friends called \u2018Controversial Opinion.\u2019 The rules are simple: Don\u2019t talk about what was shared during Controversial Opinion afterward and you aren\u2019t allowed to \u2018argue\u2019\u200a \u2014 \u200aonly to ask questions about why that person feels that way. Opinions can range from \u2018I think James Bond movies are overrated\u2019 to \u2018I think Donald Trump would make a excellent president.\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n

Usually, someone responds to an opinion with, \u2018Oh my god! I had no idea you were one of those people!\u2019 Which is really another way of saying \u2018I thought you were on my team!\u2019<\/em>
\nIn psychology, the idea that everyone is like us is called the \u2018false-consensus bias.\u2019 This bias often manifests itself when we see TV ratings\u2026 or in politics\u2026 or polls\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

Online it means we can be blindsided by the opinions of our friends or, more broadly, America. Over time, this morphs into a subconscious belief that we and our friends are the sane ones and that there\u2019s a crazy \u2018Other Side\u2019 that must be laughed at \u200a\u2014 \u200aan Other Side that just doesn\u2019t \u2018get it,\u2019 and is clearly not as intelligent as \u2018us.\u2019 But this holier-than-thou social media behavior is counterproductive, it\u2019s self-aggrandizement at the cost of actual nuanced discourse and if we want to consider online discourse productive, we need to move past this.<\/em><\/p>\n

What is emerging is the worst kind of echo chamber, one where those inside are increasingly convinced that everyone shares their world view, that their ranks are growing when they aren\u2019t. It\u2019s like clockwork: an event happens and then your social media circle is shocked when a non-social media peer group public reacts to news in an unexpected way. They then mock the Other Side for being \u2018out of touch\u2019 or \u2018dumb\u2019\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

When someone communicates that they are not \u2018on our side\u2019 our first reaction is to run away or dismiss them as stupid. To be sure, there are hateful, racist, people not worthy of the small amount of electricity it takes just one of your synapses to fire. I\u2019m instead referencing those who actually believe in an opposing viewpoint of a complicated issue, and do so for genuine, considered reasons. Or at least, for reasons just as good as yours.<\/em><\/p>\n

This is not a \u2018political correctness\u2019 issue. It\u2019s a fundamental rejection of the possibility to consider that the people who don\u2019t feel the same way you do might be right. It\u2019s a preference to see the Other Side as a cardboard cut out, and not the complicated individual human beings that they actually are.<\/em><\/p>\n

What happens instead of genuine intellectual curiosity is the sharing of Slate or Daily Kos or Fox News or Red State links. Sites that exist almost solely to produce content to be shared so friends can pat each other on the back and mock the Other Side. Look at the Other Side! So dumb and unable to see this the way I do!<\/em><\/p>\n

Sharing links that mock a caricature of the Other Side isn\u2019t signaling that we\u2019re somehow more informed. It signals that we\u2019d rather be smug a$$holes than consider alternative views. It signals that we\u2019d much rather show our friends that we\u2019re like them, than try to understand those who are not.<\/em><\/p>\n

It\u2019s impossible to consider yourself a curious person and participate in social media in this way. We cannot consider ourselves \u2018empathetic\u2019 only to turn around and belittle those who don\u2019t agree with us.<\/strong><\/em>
\nOn Twitter and Facebook this means we prioritize by sharing stuff that will garner approval of our peers over stuff that\u2019s actually, you know, true. We share stuff that ignores wider realities, selectively shares information, or is just an outright falsehood. The misinformation is so rampant that the Washington Post stopped publishing its internet fact-checking column because people didn\u2019t seem to care if stuff was true\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

Institutional distrust is so high right now, and cognitive bias so strong always, that the people who fall for hoax news stories are frequently only interested in consuming information that conforms with their views\u200a \u2014 \u200aeven when it\u2019s demonstrably fake.<\/em>
\nThe solution, as [author Fredrik] deBoer says, \u2018You have to be willing to sacrifice your carefully curated social performance and be willing to work with people who are not like you.\u2019 In other words you have to recognize that the Other Side is made of actual people.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

But I\u2019d like to go a step further. We should all enter every issue with the very real possibility that we might be wrong this time.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Isn\u2019t it possible that you\u2026 like me, suffer from this from time to time? Isn\u2019t it possible that we\u2019re not right about everything?<\/strong> That those who live in places not where you live, watch shows that you don\u2019t watch, and read books that you don\u2019t read, have opinions and belief systems just as valid as yours? That maybe you don\u2019t see the entire picture?<\/em><\/p>\n

Think political correctness has gotten out of control? Follow the many great social activists on Twitter. Think America\u2019s stance on guns is puzzling? Read the stories of the 31% of Americans that own a firearm. This is not to say the Other Side is \u2018right\u2019 but that they likely have real reasons to feel that way. And only after understanding those reasons can a real discussion take place.<\/em><\/p>\n

As any debate club veteran knows, if you can\u2019t make your opponent\u2019s point for them, you don\u2019t truly grasp the issue. We can bemoan political gridlock and a divisive media all we want. But we won\u2019t truly progress as individuals until we make an honest effort to understand those that are not like us. And you won\u2019t convince anyone to feel the way you do if you don\u2019t respect their position and opinions.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

A dare for the next time you\u2019re in discussion with someone you disagree with: Don\u2019t try to \u2018win.\u2019 Don\u2019t try to \u2018convince\u2019 anyone of your viewpoint. Don\u2019t score points by mocking them to your peers. Instead try to \u2018lose.\u2019 Hear them out. Ask them to convince you and mean it. No one is going to tell your environmentalist friends that you merely asked follow up questions after your brother made his pro-fracking case.<\/em><\/p>\n

Or, the next time you feel compelled to share a link on social media about current events, ask yourself why you are doing it. Is it because that link brings to light information you hadn\u2019t considered? Or does it confirm your world view, reminding your circle of intellectual teammates that you\u2019re not on the Other Side?<\/em><\/p>\n

I implore you to seek out your opposite. When you hear someone cite \u2018facts\u2019 that don\u2019t support your viewpoint don\u2019t think \u2018that can\u2019t be true!\u2019 Instead consider, \u2018Hm, maybe that person is right? I should look into this.\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n

Because refusing to truly understand those who disagree with you is intellectual laziness and worse, is usually worse than what you\u2019re accusing the Other Side of doing.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Respectfully\u2026 of all sides\u2026
\nAR<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rarely do we simply post another\u2019s editorial, but the truth is we learn from each other \u2014 never solely from one and never wisely, solely from the likeminded. Hear the wise words of New York City writer, Sean Blanda, written well over a year and a half ago, in a piece entitled \u201cThe \u2018Other Side\u2019 … <\/p>\n

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