Ideas for helping to reduce and counteract the ravages of human nature

[Jim]

I think that sometimes the damage is not so much from the acts of cruelty. It’s from the malice, or worse, the lack of any personal feelings at all. You’re not a person to the person or the people who are violating you. They have no feeling for you as a person at all, one way or another. You’re nothing but an instrument for their own self-gratification.

 

[Jim]

in an earlier post I said:

Now I’m thinking of what I want to discuss here as being about psychological damage from human behavior including cruelty, subjugation and popular stereotyping. It’s about helping to reduce and counteract that damage. I’ll be studying some materials on websites about bullying, abuse and domestic violence, and posting some of my thoughts from that here. I think that more awareness and better understanding about those issues might help with reducing and counteracting cruelty, personal attacks and other toxic behavior in Internet discussions. I think that might be part of what will help reduce all kinds of cruelty, violence and oppression, online and offline, at all levels from child abuse to global violence.

I’m not sure if or when I will continue with this. For now I just want to post an idea for anyone who wants to help stop cruelty, personal attacks, and stereotyping in Internet discussions. If you see a post criticizing or disparaging what someone in the discussions is saying or doing, no matter if you like it or not, or if it’s about you or someone else, stop and think about it before you respond to it. Is it cruel? Is any part of it about the person’s character, capacities, motives or intentions? Does it associate that person with some group or category of people? If it is or does, or if you aren’t sure, then don’t respond to it in any way. Don’t even mention it, not even to object to it.

 

[Jim]

I’ve seen people being stalked and harassed in these forums, and I think that people are being vilified and disparaged in dozens or maybe even hundreds of posts every day, only because of what people think they believe and don’t believe. That kind of online behavior might not lose any of its popularity in less than a few more generations, but maybe anyone who wants to can help reduce and counteract its effects on people and on the discussions. One way that I’m thinking of is by not responding at all to those posts, with ratings or comments, especially not to protest or argue argue against them. Another way is with friendly and helpful posts to people when they are targets of that behavior.

 

[Jim]

It might be helpful to point out some tactics that are used to excuse and camouflage insults and personal attacks. One example is intermingling insults and personal attacks with disagreements with what a person is saying. Then if anyone objects to that, the person posting insults and personal attacks pretends that the only reason for objecting is because of them disagreeing.

 

[Jim]

I think that all the good that happens in Internet discussions would be better for everyone in them and for the world around us, without the insults and personal attacks. Those might not lose their popularity any time in the. next few generations. In rhe face of that popularity, I don’t think that there’s anything any administrators or moderators or anyone else can do to stop them from happening. I think that anyone who wants to can help reduce and counteract their harmful effects on people and on the discussions. That’s what I’m discussing in this thread.

 

[Jim]

One way I’m thinking of to help reduce and counteract the harmful effects of some kinds of behavior on people and on discussions is with friendly posts to targets of that behavior. Sometimes it happens without anyone being aware of it. Sometimes even the target of it is not aware of it or how it’s affecting them. Even the person doing it might not be aware of it. It might look very friendly to everyone.

One example is making a person feel isolated, thinking that everyone is against them.

 

[Jim]

I see people on all sides of all divides continually displaying approval and admiration for insults and personal attacks, I would not want to post in any forums without continually making efforts in collaboration with some other people to help stop that from happening, and to help reduce and counteract its harmful effects on people and on the discussions.

I need to know if there is anyone else here who is continually making efforts to help reduce the popularity of insults and personal attacks, on all sides of all divides, or to help reduce and counteract its harmful effects on people and on the discussions.

 

[Jim]

I got obsessed with this for a while, but it doesn’t mean that I don’t see anything good happening here, or any discussions that could interest me. I do.

 

[Jim]

I think that when people are using insults and personal attacks, arguing with them about it does nothing to stop it or to keep from happening. All it does is give them more reason and more of a platform to continue, and help them derail the discussion.

 

[MNoBody]

ideas.....hmmm...
abstinence [as a general principle] {avoidance}
and tolerance [a developed quality based on innate character]

 

[Jim]

I see something happening that is testing my idea of not responding to harmful and distracting behavior. A person continually starts threads vilifying some group or category of people, masquerading that as complaining about some kind of behavior. I think that arguing and protesting against that, in those threads, will only give that person more reason and more of a platform to continue vilifying those people. Still, I feel impelled to try to do something about it.

Part of what I’m doing about that behavior is not rewarding and encouraging it. Another part is learning to be a better friend to more people. I don’t think that I’m in a position to do anything more to change that person’s behavior. Apart from that, I want to help reduce and counteract its harmful effects. Those would be from misunderstandings and misinformation about those people who are being vilified. My idea for responding to misunderstandings and misinformation is to do my own research on a topic, and post about what I’m learning.