I sort of see it as, "Do I want to make the day better for someone who is a racist or a misogynist or a Qanon member?" And the answer is, no, I don't. I want their days to be miserable.
@WriterGF No joke, If a racist or misogynist is brave enough to willingly come within arms distance of me i will gladly cuddle them, I've found out that kindness is the easiest way to kill ignorant hate.
what's the purpose of this question? I respect anyone's right to ask anything on these forums but sometimes I think people have too much time on their hands, and no offense meant.
Yes, I would. I believe nature wired us up to serve different roles in our tribe and made some people inclined to be liberal and some inclined to be conservative. When we gathered around the fire at night, some would argue for change and others would argue for maintaining the status quo. We would point out each other's blind spots. Getting those arguments out there led to progress and an increased chance or survival. Conservatives and liberals need each other. Nature designed them as counterparts. Appreciate your counterpart. You need them to get by your own biases, and we all have biases.
@JohnfromVienna ~ I've never really thought of it like that. Thank you for this mindshift nugget to ponder.💓
quixotic_life, you're welcome. This is a Jonathan Haidt hypothesis. His work is brilliant. "The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion" should be required reading in high school. It would reduce the hate.
@NYCCuddler thank you for comment.
@NYCCuddler As @Syins said thank you for comment. I answered the question in this thread and have found the other responses interesting. And part of the reason I get involved in a lot of threads is indeed because I have too much time on my hands. Lol. I hope the pollen goes down and I get to be outside more and here less, even tho I value the forum.
@Munkg And I respect your position and have no doubt you have found that to be true. I have not.
Jonathan Haidt’s theory is merely an explanation of politics and religion through the lens of social Darwinism. It has been done before and while he did it well, it has aged badly since the elections of 2016 and 2020. Great reading though.
I think it would be pretty hard to find someone who saw eye to eye with you on every issue. A big part of cuddle therapy is just accepting people as they are.
@xandriarain Yep.
I second the yep. I can't imagine two people agreeing on everything. If they did I'd have to question the motivation and character of at least one of them. If something comes up that is uncomfortable, the subject can always be changed or just cuddle in silence for a bit. I'm not sure why people have to be talking all the time anyway, or at least I don't find the need to talk constantly.
@snugbuddy Yep.
@snugbuddy Awkward silence can be uncomfortable for some people... myself included... if there's just silence in the room I'm going to get uncomfortable and probably start talking to myself... usually not out loud cause I'm terrified how others would react if they heard me talking to myself but we gotta talk or turn a movie on or something. We don't have to talk as long as there's some kind of music or something playing.
Depends on the thing in question, how strongly I feel about it, how strongly they feel and whether or not they are trying to push it on me or something.
@KYtranspant
"But I'm an over-thinker anyway, struggling between sharing and shutting down. Sometimes it's a lousy place to be."
I struggle with this term of, "over-thinking." What if people don't think enough? You touched base on ideoloigies, but gave forgiveness to religious ideology. Why the hall pass?
@FunCartel
I've read that book.I loved it, but I feel it does create an ideology within itself when discussing polarization because it does kind of put morals into this subjective category instead of being objective. I'm on the fence of the different stages of development especially when usibng terms like, "Social Darwinism," because in reality, "Darwinism," is just a theory itself.
@Saysoh Because people believe what they choose to believe and how they choose to live.
Where I draw the line is when they try to force others to live and believe as they do.
And there are many that don't think enough. Something never occurs to them until it happens to them.
Meanwhile, I try to be prepared for the worst to happen. Always. And If things go right for a change I'm actually pleasantly surprised. But I'm a realist.
Religious echo chambers do actually this:
"Where I draw the line is when they try to force others to live and believe as they do."
No lie, I was at a BBQ at a park a couple of weeks ago, got approached by a random because he felt compelled to talk about Jesus. His name was Ernesto. A thirty-minute convertsaion ensued recorded by a friend. It wasn't my first time for sure and the same with politics. These two seem to be the most forgiving of ideologies, but the most polarizing.
@Saysoh I have answered you more in depth privately. No point sending a thread off the rails.