Originally Posted by
ChronoRogue
If it sounds like I'm sanitizing the words, that is on purpose. Of course I don't agree with any hateful rhetoric, but you need to not weaponize your words or you just shut the other person down from listening completely. They enter defense or fight mode, which defeats the purpose of communicating in the first place.
I work in mental health, I talk to many many people who holds different views and beliefs from me. My job isn't to say "your views are stupid, illogical and wrong" and expect them to change like that. No one wants to hear that and no one is going to try to change like that. You need to open them up with some civility and kindness first, before you challenge any beliefs later down the line. And many people that go into those channels aren't even there mostly willing court-ordered but can still change if you put the work into it.
It's a looong process, but undoing decades of prejudice and discrimination doesn't happen in one conversation. Or even generations, as many countries have shown. It's a painful and awkward process.
No, people are not required to be polite if they're facing hate-speech or feel unsafe.
You are completely free to defend yourself if you feel threatened and I myself wouldn't want to just sit there are let someone be hateful to my face either. Victims of prejudice are not robots, they're human and will respond if you hurt them emotionally or physically.
All I'm saying is with communication channels, like social media or forums, it's usually not constructive to fight hate with hate. This is a medium where you can regulate and control what you see, thus control your actions better. It's not the best way to communicate, but at least it's one of the least dangerous if you want to share thoughts and feelings. If anywhere else, it's here we should be trying to bridge the gap better and not respond in kind.