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by frumplestlatz 36 days ago
If you find yourself with a view of reality that massively differs from others, you have two options.

(1) Assume they’re irrational, uninformed, and wrong, or

(2) Reconsider your priors and attempt to understand why they think the way that they do.

Let’s take the “island of garbage”. It was said by a comedian during his set. The Trump campaign stated “this joke does not reflect the views of President Trump or the campaign”.

The way that you framed it, however, was very careful to be true while also being misleading.
1 comments
saulapremium 36 days ago
I think the viral quote "Dear America: You are waking up, as Germany once did, to the awareness that 1/3 of your people would kill another 1/3, while 1/3 watches." is probably pretty apt. The IRGC also has real support among the Iranian population. Putin clearly has strong support in Russia.

Generally, a lot of people are just not good people.

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embedding-shape 36 days ago
> Generally, a lot of people are just not good people.

Worth remember, no one sees themselves as the "bad people", in each one of those 1/3's point of view, they're the "good people".

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saulapremium 35 days ago
..maybe?

I mean, I would have said something exactly like that a few years ago. But first of all, history is full of atrocities committed by humans. They may all have considered themselves good people, but if they were/are objectively not, what does that matter? And secondly, I have encountered people who appear to think that decency is for sissies or something to that effect. Those people seem seriously emboldened lately. Do they think that being a good person is something to aspire to? I don't think so.

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embedding-shape 35 days ago
> but if they were/are objectively not, what does that matter?

It matters less for them, and more for you. Yes, we see them as horrible, but also yes, they see us as horrible people. In the end we're all humans, and we all work towards what we think is better, but the method and goal what "better" actually is obviously differs.

> Do they think that being a good person is something to aspire to? I don't think so.

Yes, of course they do, but their definition of "good person" differs between you and them. For you, decency is "good person", for them, ignoring decency is "good person", so of course they aspire to being a good person, whatever that means for them.

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