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The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Debate & Discussion > Odd question, but how do you hold strong political opinions.
 
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wateroverfire
Jul 3, 2010

CircleBoy posted:

But seeing that just makes me wonder more and more. How do these people hold such strong opinions on issues? My stance on almost every major issue is "it's complicated and I don't know". Be it politics, economics, ethics, it's all so complex. And it's not from lack of interest. When something like this comes along I read up on it, but that just seems to make the matter even more complicated and hard to hold a view on. Combine that with the fact that almost every piece of information on a controversial subject is framed with bias to one side or the other and I just wind up more undecided than when I started whenever I try to read into things.

This is a reasonable way to approach complex topics. When you're talking about anything real the specific overwhelms the general and the details really do matter. If more people would check their outrage and appreciate that, D&D and the wider world would be better for it.

edit:

Often strong opinions are things you don't arrive at rationally (which doesn't make them invalid - they're just not things you reason yourself into).

For instance you might have strong opinions on mental health because you've suffered (like Prester John) and that creates passion.

Or you might work with a population that gets the short end of the stick for various reasons and want to make things better for them in specific ways.

Or you might have internalized a narrative that conveniently places the blame for your perceived problems on some "other" group.

Or you might think you sort of ought to have strong opinions on things, so you do.

Or your privileged life might be so empty of real concerns that you have to manufacture outrage at some perceived social or economic injustice so you can feel like a warrior while you kill time on the internet waiting for the organic locally-grown groceries that you ordered on Amazon to be delivered.

There are lots of ways. Most of the people you meet with strong opinions about non-specific things are going to be arrogant, ignorant (except about Their Side of Their Thing) and insufferable twats, though, so keep that in mind if you're looking to get fired up.

wateroverfire fucked around with this message at 15:23 on Sep 29, 2014

* # ¿ Sep 29, 2014 15:04
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The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Debate & Discussion > Odd question, but how do you hold strong political opinions.