Right or Wrong?

How many threads are there on the forum where peoples opinions are attacked as being right or wrong?

I understand that people defend their beliefs and don't see anything wrong with that.

It seems if you fail to conform to the either/or then you are often labelled as a "lefty do gooder" or "an apologist" or any other patronising label.

Wouldn't we all benefit from trying to see anothers point of view a little more often, or trying to at least learn something about their opinions before totally dismissing them as C**P most of the time.

It seems to me that if we all made the effort to look into others' ideas it would open the debates up a lot more also. It just gets tiring reading "you are wrong, I am right" all the time.
There are many shades of grey in life and those who are so stuck on theirs being the right answers, instead of sometimes admitting they don't really know and looking into it, will fail to grow as a person.

Lets face it, you thought you were right in your teens and you knew it all......................how wrong was that!

I hope I never stop learning and that I am flexible enough to accept it into a ripe old age.

Originally posted by Titian

Wouldn't we all benefit from trying to see anothers point of view a little more often, or trying to at least learn something about their opinions before totally dismissing them as C**P most of the time.

It seems to me that if we all made the effort to look into others' ideas it would open the debates up a lot more also. It just gets tiring reading "you are wrong, I am right" all the time.
There are many shades of grey in life and those who are so stuck on theirs being the right answers, instead of sometimes admitting they don't really know and looking into it, will fail to grow as a person.

Lets face it, you thought you were right in your teens and you knew it all......................how wrong was that!

I hope I never stop learning and that I am flexible enough to accept it into a ripe old age.

Good point, very often I start reading a thread and I think straightaway, oh I agree with that person, but when I have read a few more posts I sometimes change my opinion or a least start looking at it from a different point of view.

Sometimes by the time I have finished reading I am no longer sure which way to think because I have been forced to re think my attitude. In these cases I don't post until I have had time to have a proper think about it.

I think sometimes people do post their immediate thoughts without thinking about other avenues.

I accept that sometimes you will not/can not change the way you think, but a lot of other times seeing things from others points of view can make a big difference, not only on SF but in real life too.

People talk about 'Lefty do gooders', where does this phrase come from? Iam as leftwing as they come and cant stand the bleeding heart liberals.
I believe in the death penalty, banning of trail by jury, renationaliising of all privatised industries and the removal of all profits people who bought into them may have made, nationalisation of all banks etc., abolishing private pension funds and health care, introduction of a standard wage rate for everyone, the list goes on,
This is true left wing philosophy, not tree hugging and vegetarianism.

Most issues have grey areas. Some issues are controversial and/or emotive, and so will provoke extreme reactions. For example, although their will be disagreement about how paedophiles should be dealt with (and so bringing out the bleeding-heart liberal and the string 'em up comments), I doubt if there will be any who disagree that the people who commit the crimes are monsters.

Other issues, such as religion, where belief outside the realm of verifiable evidence is the norm, also provoke extreme responses. In this case, though, I think it's definately a case of each to their own. However, if religious belief strays into the scientific arena (debates about evolution etc), the debate will be long and lively.

In a debate about an issue where both sides are able to produce verifiable evidence to support their claims, the debate is likely to be long and lively too. As it should be :).

Originally posted by artisan
not tree hugging and vegetarianism.

Tree hugging??? and associating vegetarianism with anything other than left wing?

Kind of adds weight to my point if you meant the terms in a derogatory way. If you didn't please explain what a tree hugger is.

Originally posted by artisan
...This is true left wing philosophy, not tree hugging and vegetarianism.
What are you on about? Why are you including vegetarianism in a rant about political issues? Also, trees are wonderful; they're vital to the environment and you should never miss a chance to give one a hug whenever you can.

I mean that those things are a red herring, following that root will not solve the main problem of the class war viz capilatism versus the rest of us

Originally posted by artisan
I mean that those things are a red herring, following that root will not solve the main problem of the class war viz capilatism versus the rest of us

Just as eating meat will?