@augustlan I try to argue against ingrained, outdated beliefs or behaviors through logical discussion.
There are outdated and/or illogical ideas you still hold dear, of which I have observed here in other threads, thought I can generally remember only one.
I also use a lot of ‘empathy simulation’ for lack of a better phrase. If I’m talking to someone who believes gay people shouldn’t be allowed to get married, for example,..]
There are a lot of issues other than the ”gay issue” in which logical understanding from the perspective of those involved would give the situation a whole different outcome.
@LostInParadise While it is not possible to come up with an objective standard for right and wrong, such matters do reduce to the interpretation of two general principles.
1. Do not harm other people
2. People must be treated equally and fairly
That is good in theory, but given the visceral reactions on threads dealing with the latest terrorist attacks, some would think it good business to wipe these people out; hardly equal treatment or treating them as they would themselves, even if the persons in questions are not adhering to it themselves. That is one reason why when the US people found out there was torturing going on in the Gitmo gulag in Cuba many remained silent, others tried to redefine what torture was. The prevailing thought if breaking the arm of one of them animals saves 100s to 1,000s of innocent lives, then it was justified; doing harm to one of a few.
I would like to believe that the rule of reason will continue to gain on narrowmindedness.
The mistake is to think all old thinking or preconceived ideals revolve around some form of bigotry. A lot of antiquated ideas has no face, or is not per se directed at anyone but a process, way of life, or way of looking at life. That is why in many ways it happens and/or is perpetrated by a person subconsciously, for instance the idea that a woman wearing a micro mini with a sun top and no bra will be raped quicker than a woman in a power business suit. I am sure if one crunched the numbers of all the rape cases in a given year only a small portion would have been wearing a mini at the time of their attack. Yet, the idea somehow is still believed as a truth with no definitive supporting facts.
@Cruiser In today’s day and age where a Law Enforcement Officer has to enforce our laws knowing each and every person they engage may very well be out to harm or kill them…]
In today’s age I think people are more aware of what has always been a part of what police do; profiling. In the interview I read with the President Elect of the American bar Association, she mentioned that shortly before the interview she had moved into a new upscale neighborhood, she was in her Benz late at night with her grey hoodie on. A cop stopped her (more than not because he thought she was a black male), but when he found out she was a woman and a senior woman to boot, his whole demeanor changed. Why is that, shouldn’t cops be treating everyone as a long-awaited friend? Just as you say the cop has to anticipate everyone they stop will try to do them in, if you are in the hood, you have to anticipate any cop rolling through there will jam you up to go on a ”fishing expedition” to see if he can catch you ”dirty” or with some type of warrant. The cops already see you as some criminal (why would they be stopping innocent people minding their own business? Would they do that uptown in the “burbs?) they just have to find the goods to prove it. If you are telling the truth but not what they want to hear or expect, then you are not only a criminal, but a lying one, which causes them to get more caustic since they have the guns, Tasers, and power to deny liberty.
[…ask yourself why is he/she standing towards the rear of my car window with their hand on their gun and you may better appreciate the threat ANY person they engage poses to them because of the many ambushes police have lost their lives to.
Using that criterion if one has a shop in a high crime area any woman who enters with a large stroller or diaper bag can be tailed in the store, stealthy or openly because she could be a potential shoplifter. Yeah, being a cop can be a hard job, which is what they signed on for. Do they get to reduce everyone in a given situation to a criminal? Maybe not the best application of to protect and to serve.