“I’d far rather be happy than right any day."
“And are you?”
“No. That’s where it all falls down, of course.”
― Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
I’m trying to take a cue from Trevor Noah (I didn’t like his time on the daily show but I still think he has some good takes):
Read the news only a few times a week. That’s enough to be informed. We created a 24 hours news cycle that makes us more anxious, angry, and scared than we need to be. Live your life, focus on those around you, stop yelling at people on the internet who have made up their mind.
It seems like a good balance of self care and being informed. You have to set boundaries.
Great plan.
Anybody who doesn’t know the difference between outrage addiction and being informed isn’t qualified to weigh in on what counts as being informed.
It’s a tough lesson to learn though and you got to get through it.
I’d also like to add, be charitable when reading comments. I fucking hate how people ACTIVELY look for stuff to argue about because they are purposefully attributing malice to a comment.
IE: I think this issue is complicated. OMG SO YOU THINK GROUP X SHOULD BE BURNED IN AN OVEN???
I see it all the time and it immediately makes the whole thread / post toxic. It just takes one dipshit to go off to ruin it for everyone and get everyone angry.
While this post is talking about the internet, in general it is important to talk about “politics” with people (what is “political” ?).
If you don’t talk to people about why racism, sexism, transphobia or something else is bad, they will bring that conversation to people who don’t have the choice to ignore the conversation. They will harm and harass minorities.
I agree that the internet might not be the best place to change people’s minds, but it is important to name and argue against bigotry when encountered.
You should of course still be mindful of your own mental health <3
Agree. But if you’re not going to argue in good faith, if you’re not going to discuss with an open mind, if you’re going to add toxicity…then best to stay silent. Shouting your opinion at other people (no matter how ignorant their opinion is) is never going to change their mind.
I can see where you come from, but as a gay man, I would go crazy if I had to enter every homophobic encounter with an open mind.
Also, entering an argument might not change the other persons mind, but it might change the mind of bystanders
Most of the time when I get into an argument with someone on Lemmy (formerly Reddit) it was for the people who may read it more than the other person. The best outcome in those cases is civil disengagement, not changing their mind. But the goal is to reveal some faulty logic and dismiss some disinformation for random strangers.
Open mind to racists, homophobes, …? Are you serious?
Yes, I’m serious. Depends on if you want to actually change minds, or if you want to try to take a punitive approach to try to shout down narrow minded people (which doesn’t really achieve anything).
If a black man can convert high ranking KKK members through conversation alone, then it certainly is possible. Daryl Davis was directly responsible for between forty and sixty, and indirectly over two hundred people leaving the Klan. Or if you want to hear detail about the process then there’s a podcast episode about this as well.
I think what you mean with “open mind” is not what I think of. To me that would include (the possibility of) accepting their way as “correct”, so to accept their concept of reality. Like in a debate about how much wine is good (if) and when it starts to be bad. But objectively wrong things are not something I need to be open about. I can discuss it with someone without dismissing their view etc. but I would never be open minded about it.
Posted a list of 20 non-political active communities on !newcommunities@lemmy.world if people are interested
That’s why they say, would you rather be happy or right?
isn’t the monks response inherently political? are we to assume he himself is not happy?
The aesthetic lifestyle is one of divorcing oneself from the world in order to achieve the nirvana of oblivion.
It is less the secret to happiness and more the secret to the absence of sadness.
Think like a scientist and you can have both. Being happy to learn you are wrong because otherwise would be inconclusive.
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Me not posting about politics makes everyone happy, because I despise and criticize Trump. I also despise and criticize the Democrats.
So you’re welcome.
