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LonelyJar
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14 Apr 2019, 3:16 am

You know how a good number of young people these days unironically act like overbearing social justice warriors? Well, my younger brothers have had enough of that kind of behavior... and decided to act like the polar opposite of SJWs. I'll admit, there are a good number of typically left-leaning groups that really grind my gears (radical feminists, black nationalists, Islamic apologists, hard green activists, etc.), but my younger siblings seem to have decided to react to moon-battery with wing-nuttery. They're reminding me of a good number of obnoxious groups that are typically right-leaning (hard Christians, neo-atheists, really uptight straight edge advocates, etc.) and I don't know what to do. Can someone please help me out here? I fear both for my brothers and for anyone unfortunate enough to meet them.



BeaArthur
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14 Apr 2019, 8:52 am

It's hard enough to advise a forum member what to do about their own behavior. At least you have the right to change your own behavior. Changing someone else's behavior? That's a stretch.

Probably I'd tell the brothers their rants make me uncomfortable and more than that, I'd stay out of it. YMMV.


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15 Apr 2019, 3:44 pm

How old is he and is he autistic?

I went obsessed with Republican ideology when I was younger (left wing, Irish)

What changed me wasn't Unionism. That didn't work at all, pulled me more towards the IRA stuff I was getting online. It was being slowly drifted away into other interests then when I came back to it I saw things were a bit more 'grey areas' than I had thought they were.

So don't give him SJW ideology or even centrist. His mates will say he's being brainwashed. Take his mind off politics for a while with some other discussion.



SecretOpossumCabal
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16 Apr 2019, 7:20 am

LonelyJar wrote:
You know how a good number of young people these days unironically act like overbearing social justice warriors? Well, my younger brothers have had enough of that kind of behavior... and decided to act like the polar opposite of SJWs. I'll admit, there are a good number of typically left-leaning groups that really grind my gears (radical feminists, black nationalists, Islamic apologists, hard green activists, etc.), but my younger siblings seem to have decided to react to moon-battery with wing-nuttery. They're reminding me of a good number of obnoxious groups that are typically right-leaning (hard Christians, neo-atheists, really uptight straight edge advocates, etc.) and I don't know what to do. Can someone please help me out here? I fear both for my brothers and for anyone unfortunate enough to meet them.


Ah, a boy after my own heart, tell him "Deus vult" and then high five him.



CockneyRebel
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17 Apr 2019, 10:55 pm

You could talk to them about things other than politics.


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nick007
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18 Apr 2019, 7:10 am

TUF wrote:
How old is he and is he autistic?

I went obsessed with Republican ideology when I was younger (left wing, Irish)

What changed me wasn't Unionism. That didn't work at all, pulled me more towards the IRA stuff I was getting online. It was being slowly drifted away into other interests then when I came back to it I saw things were a bit more 'grey areas' than I had thought they were.

So don't give him SJW ideology or even centrist. His mates will say he's being brainwashed. Take his mind off politics for a while with some other discussion.
I was straight edge & had some other hardcore right beliefs for a while after me & my 1st girlfriend broke up. I was pretty upset & frustrated with things & I misdirected my anger & blame at "problems" with society. The more others tried to push me in the opposite direction, the more frustrated I became & the harder I clung to my new beliefs. I started to care less about that stuff as my depression got better & I slowly realized the things I saw as problems & faults really had nothing to do with my realtionship or breakup or if they did it was the specif way it affected her & NOT the way it affects everyone else. Nowadays I'm more than alittle left leaning but I try to stay out of political discussions/debates cuz I know from my own personal experince that you cant change others minds/opinions/beliefs by pushing yours onto them.


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LonelyJar
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17 Oct 2021, 1:36 am

SecretOpossumCabal wrote:
LonelyJar wrote:
You know how a good number of young people these days unironically act like overbearing social justice warriors? Well, my younger brothers have had enough of that kind of behavior... and decided to act like the polar opposite of SJWs. I'll admit, there are a good number of typically left-leaning groups that really grind my gears (radical feminists, black nationalists, Islamic apologists, hard green activists, etc.), but my younger siblings seem to have decided to react to moon-battery with wing-nuttery. They're reminding me of a good number of obnoxious groups that are typically right-leaning (hard Christians, neo-atheists, really uptight straight edge advocates, etc.) and I don't know what to do. Can someone please help me out here? I fear both for my brothers and for anyone unfortunate enough to meet them.


Ah, a boy after my own heart, tell him "Deus vult" and then high five him.

Should I bother replying how my family's Jewish? Also, for those curious, my brothers haven't changed a bit.



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19 Oct 2021, 5:21 am

I think its important that you keep challenging them, not with views of the polar opposite extreme but with considered discourse. Even if you don't get any response. As family you have an 'in' that others don't.

The problem today is that its very easy to slip into circles where our beliefs are not challenged, but echoed back to us. This can give the unfortunate impression that all people think the same, or at least all straight-thinking people, and anyone who doesn't is simply wrong and can be discounted.

I believe people are gravitating towards these poles of thought because the world is seeming increasingly volatile and messy. We're living under under the threat of declining living standards, economic instability and societal unrest. There is very little sense that the future is exciting or positive, indeed the problems facing us are so complex we may not be able to effectively address them. It's pretty scary stuff, even if its only the vaguest wafts of these messages that are reaching people, it's a creeping, background dread that's influencing behaviour.

Extreme ideologies offer simplicity, a tangible enemy, instructions for how to behave, what to say and a comforting sense of righteousness. Its not really surprising that people are retreating into their tribes, but for those of us who can see it happening, we have an obligation to try to keep the channels of communication open and remind the convinced that there are other ways of thinking, other types of people, and there's far more that we have in common than things that make us different.


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