[hyperdunc]

Postmodern relativism has encouraged viewing all knowledge on an equal footing, which is ridiculous, because the application of knowledge has varying consequences.

If you care about what's real and you care about progress, scientific explanations are better than traditional ones. But when one's identity is partially composed of traditional explanations, contradictions are seen as an attack on identity itself.

In other words, some people find comfort and meaning in the familiarity of relative ignorance, especially when that ignorance is culturally shared. Processing new and contrary information is uncomfortable.

But no one has the right to insist that others validate their own ignorance, which is effectively what equating skepticism with violence is. And these days, at the extreme, you may even be accused of trying to "erase" someone if you question their cherished ignorance.

And yes, everyone is ignorant, although not equally. One true mark of a person is how they navigate and synthesize new information. Seeking better knowledge is directional, even if it's also asymptotic.