I have a lot of people on my social media who are quite outspoken about their political leanings and beliefs. I frequently see them clash with other ideologies and usually it just escalates to a point where anger and a need to be right start running the conversation rather than reason and level-headed logic. One of the topics I saw today was how white people don't like discussing race. Which I largely agree with and the person who posted it is someone I tend to agree with most of the time. And while I do agree with him on this statement, my full response is much more nuanced than that and I think offers some insight as to the "why" that comes after making a statement like that. So here it goes.
People don't like to be demonized. Period. It really is that simple. Our natural reaction to being demonized is defiance and hostility. Wouldn't you agree? If I walk up to a random person and start calling them racist, whether they are or aren't, they will become defensive and start involuntarily defending themselves against those demonizing claims. They will distance themselves from the accusations as much as possible. It is how humans tend to be wired by default.
So if you translate that to a random white person who just wakes up every day and goes to work to provide for themselves and/or their family or someone who grew up in a smaller town with few or no minorities and who doesn't follow politics or social issues and start telling them that they are pieces of shit unless they agree with this concept that they may not have really thought about too much their first reaction to that demonization (which to them is coming out of nowhere) is going to be defiance to whatever it is you're accusing them of.
Yet those who study these political or social issues every day and have become so familiar with the concepts just can't fathom why they aren't wallowing in shame and coming over to your side without question and adopting your views. After all, you told them 100 years of facts in 30 seconds, how could they not understand what it is that you're saying to them? My point with all of this is that I agree with your concepts, but I disagree with your delivery methods. Overbearing chastisement of something people had no hand in choosing will not spark a rational discussion and change. It will create division and it will further drive the wedge between you making it even harder for someone to stop digging in with their defiance. It could even drive them in the opposite direction if the only interactions they have with the topic are like this. There is a divide that needs to be bridged before information can start flowing properly between the two parties, and I feel like that's what is missing. Not that there is a growing group of racists trying to seize power.
People don't like to be demonized. Period. It really is that simple. Our natural reaction to being demonized is defiance and hostility. Wouldn't you agree? If I walk up to a random person and start calling them racist, whether they are or aren't, they will become defensive and start involuntarily defending themselves against those demonizing claims. They will distance themselves from the accusations as much as possible. It is how humans tend to be wired by default.
So if you translate that to a random white person who just wakes up every day and goes to work to provide for themselves and/or their family or someone who grew up in a smaller town with few or no minorities and who doesn't follow politics or social issues and start telling them that they are pieces of shit unless they agree with this concept that they may not have really thought about too much their first reaction to that demonization (which to them is coming out of nowhere) is going to be defiance to whatever it is you're accusing them of.
Yet those who study these political or social issues every day and have become so familiar with the concepts just can't fathom why they aren't wallowing in shame and coming over to your side without question and adopting your views. After all, you told them 100 years of facts in 30 seconds, how could they not understand what it is that you're saying to them? My point with all of this is that I agree with your concepts, but I disagree with your delivery methods. Overbearing chastisement of something people had no hand in choosing will not spark a rational discussion and change. It will create division and it will further drive the wedge between you making it even harder for someone to stop digging in with their defiance. It could even drive them in the opposite direction if the only interactions they have with the topic are like this. There is a divide that needs to be bridged before information can start flowing properly between the two parties, and I feel like that's what is missing. Not that there is a growing group of racists trying to seize power.
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