Quote:
Originally Posted by rblackbird
Well, this is interesting.
Starting off:
You seem like a respectful individual, judging by the way you've phrased your posts in here so far. I have some other replies that came to mind regarding evolution and religion, but I agree. It's not the point of this thread. If you're interested, I'd love to talk about it further through PMs. Though, I *am* curious as to why this English judge saw it necessary to ask that question. By the way you phrased it, it seems like bait, to me.
As for the rest, I'm not sure how to attach a user name to each quote, so I'll just say what's on my mind and, if it applies to what you posted, feel free to reply.
There is a difference between condemnation and hatred. People who disagree with homeschooling could be said to condemn it, from the definition of "disagreeing and not taking part, not referring it to others." Hatred is completely different, but they can go together. I could condemn the fact that a friend of mine is gay, but that won't stop me loaning them money if they need it, taking care of their cat, etc...
People get defensive when people disagree with them. True maturity lies in "ok, so you disagree. I don't, and I'm not going to let you affect me if I don't really want you to." It's a far cry from "You disagree? HOW COULD YOU HATE ME SO MUCH?!"
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I really couldn't tell you much more about the case in the UK. I've had to force myself to watch as little news or news-related things as possible, because I watch the news like people watch football...with lots of yelling and swearing at the screen and throwing things. All I remember is that a couple (they look to be in their 60s at the youngest) who wanted to adopt children were asked if they would treat the child the same, and they said no, so the court refused them. And I support the court's decision because the couple basically said with no apologies or qualifications that they would NOT love a homosexual child as much/the same as a heterosexual child, which brings into question their willingness to unconditionally love and care for a child.
That said, I hold a lot of unpopular or dissenting opinions about things, and a lot of my political views run on opposite sides of the fence from one another. I'm not interested in party politics, I'm interested in specific issues.
The thing is, you will learn more from a dissenting opinion, if you choose to listen. It's hard sometimes, and sometimes it's just going to be about something people aren't willing to listen to because they're not willing to budge on their stance. I'm just as guilty of this as anyone else, but I also tend to shy away from pointed political or religious discussion, because those are issues, especially when you get into specifics of this or that, where people are the most likely to get upset and then discussion becomes arguing (not to be confused with an argument, which is the practical manifestation of a logical statement. [if a is b, and b is c, then a is c is an argument in terms of logic] and that quickly degenerates into fighting...where the issue at hand is completely lost to personal attack and defense strategies, instead of people coming together to discuss their various views on things and defend their positions in hopes of at least fostering a sense of understanding in people who hold dissenting opinions. Again, I'm as guilty of it as anyone sometimes, we all lose sight of the point occasionally. But I try to address things as politely as I can, because my goal is to learn, not to hurt people's feelings.