[DontForgetMe]

Absolutely no way are people arguing here that being targeted for one's race, religion, sexuality etc, or being the personal victim of a targeted campaign of harassment and / or violence, is 'just as stressful and distressing' as being targeted by ads.

Surely I must be misunderstanding this thread.

[nis0s]

I do think being targeted for protected characteristics is stressful. But let’s examine two types of people: 1) a gay person with normal socioeconomic background, 2) a person with a normal socioeconomic background who becomes the target of group bullying.

Both people experience stress in their own way, only one of those people experiences distress due to a specific set of circumstances. Is the gay person’s lived experience of being discriminated against invalid? Of course not. Is it the same situation as the person who was the target of group bullying? Definitely not.

I am not trying to make any determinations about who has struggled the most, and is most deserving of sympathies. I am making a distinction between societal pressures and specific instances of harm.

[seba_dos1]

...and I'm saying that it's a distinction without a difference for how it influences affected people.

[nis0s]

You’re simply wrong, if you can’t tell the difference then you’re unqualified to even say anything on this. Not because you don’t have lived experience or something, but because you cannot use simple logic and reasoning.

[seba_dos1]

No, you're simply focusing on the wrong things in the discussion's context. "There’s a difference between feeling targeted, and being targeted in actuality" - like, sure, obviously, there is a difference, they're distinct things. And it doesn't matter.

Now apply basic logic and reasoning to find out why.

[nis0s]

Okay I did, now let’s enumerate some similarities and differences.

Here’s the setting: A is gay, and B is hetero. Both exist in a secular, democratic society where the majority religion has a damning view about being gay, but there are anti-discrimination laws in this society, and there’s a subculture that’s welcoming to gay people.

A lives a normal life, and has a mix of positive and negative experiences, but is otherwise never bullied, abused, harassed or emotionally or physically harmed on a personal level due to being gay, but has seen gay people be bullied and harmed on social media. A can move to a new town, and no one would know that A is gay, or maybe even care about that if they did find out because there are allies and other gay people. A can change jobs and not worry about being discriminated against because there are laws that protect against discrimination based on identity. A can make friends in A’s subculture or with allies.

B lives a normal life, but has an overwhelming negative experience when B starts getting bullied by C and D (two new people for this scenario). C and D take a personal interest in B, and want to make B’s life a living hell because B rubbed them the wrong way, let’s say. C and D use their network of friends to do the following: 1) they hack into B’s personal phone and computer to get private information, 2) they use that information to steal B’s secret cooking recipes and start selling a best selling chef’s book under their own names from those recipes, 3) they find out who are B’s friends or enemies, and use that information to either socially isolate B from their circle by saying socially negative things about B, or by using gossip from enemies to drive new people away from B, 4) they pretend to be “concerned citizens” and email B’s employers about B’s character, 5) every time B starts something new, they try to get into that new thing to undermine B, or somehow disadvantage B on a personal level, at the same time helping other people like B, 6) they use their network to spread gossip about B, and undermine B’s work or achievements. So B cannot make friends or relationships of any kind, and does not have a support network. B cannot find employment of the kind B likes, and cannot move to a new town because it won’t make a difference since B is being targeted on a personal level.

Now tell me, are these two circumstances the same? One is societal indifference/discrimination, and the other is targeted bullying, stalking and harassment. If you say, yes, then explain how.

If you don’t understand, then put this scenario in ChatGPT and ask who is experiencing more stress, or is it the same level of stress.

[seba_dos1]

Putting the logical fallacies you just committed aside, now imagine that E is a schizophrenic who believes that everyone out there is conspired to bully, abuse, harass and emotionally or physically harm him due to being straight. E cannot make friends or relationships of any kind, does not have a support network, can't find employment, may receive some health care or not.

It really doesn't matter whether this feeling is imagined or not. Even merely a threat that never gets actualized may be enough of a stressor to cause serious issues.