People who claim to be open-minded and tolerant...

[greybeta]

are most often the least open-minded and tolerant people you'll ever meet.

How do I know this? Because I'm the type of guy who tests people's open-mindedness and tolerance.

When I'm around my liberal friends, they get indignant when I start mentioning that the faith of a candidate might be important for some voters. When I'm around my conservative friends, they get indignant when I start mentioning that better sex education and more birth control might be a good thing.

As for me, I don't claim to be open-minded or tolerant. Oh, I'll listen to you, but I'll mercilessly point out your flaws whether you are my friend or my foe. I'll pick you apart until you are to the point of tears and go beyond that.

Um, D2, in that case, who would want to be your friend?

People who are my friends, both on LJ and in real life, are those who appreciate a viewpoint that differs from theirs. They appreciate someone who can think from the other side. They appreciate someone who will challenge their beliefs and ideas.

Hoewever, in order for me to work, my friends can't get caught up in their emotions. Once you get caught up in your emotions, no amount of logic I use will be able to convince you. Do you know why? The following quote sums it up best:

"When dealing with people, let us remember we are not dealing with creatures of logic. We are dealing with creatures of emotion, creatures bustling with prejudices and motivated by pride and vanity."
~Dale Carnegie

Comments

[culculhen.livejournal.com]

I'm very open minded but reasonably intolerant. I'll consider everything as long as people can show that it works, and I can't torerate it when people try to push things that have shown not to work.


How's that?

[greybeta.livejournal.com]

Sounds like we can be good friends! ^_^

[hummingwolf.livejournal.com]

Oh, I'll listen to you, but I'll mercilessly point out your flaws whether you are my friend or my foe.

Heh. There's a reason I've got "open-minded skepticism" in my LJ interests list. I don't pick people's ideas apart so much as I used to in college, though, in part because illness has made my favorite kinds of analysis more difficult and in part because I wanted to learn how to balance the hypercritical parts of personality with other character traits.

[greybeta.livejournal.com]

I like the term "open-minded skepticism". I'll have to use that one sometime.

[renough.livejournal.com]

I think being completely open minded is a fairly silly concept. I can understand being somewhat open minded, but when you're completely open minded, people can put whatever they want in there... ;) Gotta have some ideas of your own, or at least hold on to them.

[greybeta.livejournal.com]

Well, yes, it's impossible to be completely open-minded. That's why I say someone should never claim to be an open-minded person.

[meopta.livejournal.com]

Having a lot of RL drama at the moment?

I have to say in my experience, it's a common conservative theme - the whole tolerance and open minded thing. while I don't paint your views this way, it often breaks down to them wanting me to be tolerant of their putting their values on others. Since I don't pretend to sign onto a belief in anyone being more correct than myself, I don't get the hypocrisy brush aimed at me - but I find is just as annoying when they slap others with it. Both sides have their crazy folk, and never the twain shall medicate.

[greybeta.livejournal.com]

Actually, I just lost another LJ friend. This tends to happen when I call out someone's B.S. and they refuse to admit that what they're doing is B.S. I don't back down, and I would rather lose an LJ friend then go contrary to my principles, which boil down to one principle: I speak my mind.

Oh yes, I come off as even more arrogant in real life. And yet that's what precisely endears people to me, the fact that I say what they only dare to think.

[meopta.livejournal.com]

And modest. No, I asked cause you kinda have a theme going and so I thought you might be playing it out at the moment.

I've lost many a cyber pal over refusing to cosign their reality. It is what it is.

[iceofpluto.livejournal.com]

And this is why I love you. :D

[greybeta.livejournal.com]

Luv ya too! ^_^