How do you deal with people who are extremist on either side of the covid debate?

[PurpleTree]

I met this woman yesterday while i was just taking a stroll who i knew from before.

So we had a drink and she was really going in on covid about all the a-holes who don't vaccinate and protest, how they're all marching with rightwing extremist groups and most of them are rightwing too.

This covid time even made her hate most yoga and hippie people (because many of them are critical about the vaccination etc.)

and she doesn't care about meditation anymore because of the lovey dovey stuff.

Personally i don't care if you're vaccinated or not, i'm pretty neutral on the subject. And the debate and conflict doesn't really interest me. Both sides have some decent arguments imo.

Sooo i just tried to change the subject  like tell me more about such and such country that you've traveled to before covid

[Tim R]

4 minutes ago, PurpleTree said:

How do you deal with people who are extremist on either side of the Covid debate?

Yeah just avoid the subject. There's no reasoning with extremists of any kind. You did the right thing?

[Opo]

Say shit is whack. 

[PurpleTree]

yea i'll often avoid conflict but i was reading this book "radical honesty" and now i'm not sure if that's a good thing

maybe conflict isn't that bad after all

but i just don't really care enough about the subject to get into a heated debate over it, even if i disagree with many of her points.

and there are not many subjects that are white or black to me, most is in the gray zone

 

some are black and white, like bullying etc. though imo

Edited September 14, 2021 by PurpleTree

[PurpleTree]

10 minutes ago, Opo said:

Say shit is whack. 

 

[Opo]

11 minutes ago, PurpleTree said:

 

Lol. 

I mean if you take those people seriously you already lost. 

[nistake]

I'm heavily critical of the vaccines/government/big pharma. I used to be quite outspoken about it and I managed to get into some confrontations, which were not exactly pleasant. 

Lesson learned though, nowadays I just keep it to myself. I see no point in debating since people tend to get triggered way too easily and sometimes they're really-really closeminded. I'm talking about either side.

 

[PurpleTree]

4 minutes ago, nistake said:

I'm heavily critical of the vaccines/government/big pharma. I used to be quite outspoken about it and I managed to get into some confrontations, which were not exactly pleasant. 

Lesson learned though, nowadays I just keep it to myself. I see no point in debating since people tend to get triggered way too easily and sometimes they're really-really closeminded. I'm talking about either side.

 

yea it's like these people are now on teams/tribes and it's war and they built their identity around it

i can only hope that the center grows stronger  

 

 

edit: the center is probably pretty strong but obviously not as loud as the extremes/fringes on either side

Edited September 14, 2021 by PurpleTree

[PurpleTree]

also what's funny about it is that fringes on both sides basically accuse each other to be nazis and fascists

the "antis" because the restrictions are basically fascism/nazism etc. and they make dumb holocaust comparisons

and the "pros" because everybody who doesn't want it is basically a nazi and far right

Edited September 14, 2021 by PurpleTree

[Opo]

3 minutes ago, PurpleTree said:

and the "pros" because everybody who doesn't want it is basically a nazi and far right

Hmm, first time hearing this. 

Could you show an example? 

[BadHippie]

How about trying some "techniques" to build an authentic-relationship? People love to talk about the topics they are concerned about, if you simply avoid it, it often turns into a bigger conflict - in my experience.

A therapist I got to know over the last year showed me an interesting technique, which is quite fun to do especially with women. 

1. You set a topic - can be anything
2. Set a time - e.g. 10 Minutes is fine
3. Then you discuss to your hearts content in that time - let your inner monster come out
4. Afterwards you set the timer for the same amount of time
5. Then you "discuss" again, but without talking

This will probably sound pretty stupid and kinda impossible to have a discussion without words, but it really helps to come back to simply being-together in harmony  

For me this takes the division, that the discussion most likely will create (if you have a different perspective) out of the relationship and also allows you to reflect on your own ability to discuss.

Edited September 14, 2021 by BadHippie

[PurpleTree]

Just now, Opo said:

Hmm, first time hearing this. 

Could you show an example? 

yea for example the woman i talked to yesterday said that.

and also when the first protests started the media portrayed the protesters all as right wingers

 

there is some truth to it in so far that there are many right wingers at the protests and the right wing parties are probably going to try to capitalise on the anger of the people who are critical of the vaccine and authority. just like trump capitalised on the anger of the people who voted obama and expected more change (yes we can) but there are apparently also many lefties at the protests and people from all races so it's just not the truth.

[Derek White]

11 hours ago, PurpleTree said:

Personally i don't care if you're vaccinated or not, i'm pretty neutral on the subject. And the debate and conflict doesn't really interest me. Both sides have some decent arguments imo.

Uuh... honestly she seems normal. Getting vaccinated and not liking those who spread false rumors is not extremism. If anything, you seem to be the one falling into the anti-vax trap. 

[PurpleTree]

5 minutes ago, Derek White said:

Uuh... honestly she seems normal. Getting vaccinated and not liking those who spread false rumors is not extremism. If anything, you seem to be the one falling into the anti-vax trap. 

she seems normal in your opinion. but she was very angry and overreacting, very easily triggered.

but i get it a little bit, she's very much into politics

also now she basically hates yoga and meditation and is especially critical of the people who practice it, while she used to like it.

well she doesn't hate all meditators she just thinks it's useless lovey dovey stuff 

Edited September 14, 2021 by PurpleTree

[Opo]

1 hour ago, PurpleTree said:

and also when the first protests started the media portrayed the protesters all as right wingers

 

there is some truth to it in so far that there are many right wingers at the protests and the right wing parties are probably going to try to capitalise on the anger of the people who are critical of the vaccine and authority. just like trump capitalised on the anger of the people who voted obama and expected more change (yes we can) but there are apparently also many lefties at the protests and people from all races so it's just not the truth.

I bet there were right wingers protesting George Floyd because almost everyone agreed that it was horrible.

But I would still call the protests left wing. 

It is generally understood that those statements aren't supposed to be taken literally. 

If they put some autistic person on the news that took everything literally they would have to explain themselves every ten seconds and it would be boring to watch. 

[PurpleTree]

3 minutes ago, Opo said:

it would be boring to watch. 

i'd prefer it if news were more boring and more truthful than the crap that you have now which is unnecessarily divisive and could cause a civil war at some point

 

 

let's come back to the center boys and girls f the fringes

[Opo]

56 minutes ago, PurpleTree said:

i'd prefer it 

You're a minority. 

If you want that go to Reuters or something like that but you can't assume the news will lose money and eyes just to please you. 

56 minutes ago, PurpleTree said:

and could cause a civil war at some point

No. 

56 minutes ago, PurpleTree said:

let's come back to the center boys and girls f the fringes

Truth is not at the center. 

[PurpleTree]

12 hours ago, Opo said:

Truth is not at the center. 

i'm going the middle/center path here, like buddhism 

 

if both sides are fighting imo the only sensible thing is to go to the center if you want peace and i don't care for this dumb conflict  

[Zigzag Idiot]

16 hours ago, BadHippie said:

How about trying some "techniques" to build an authentic-relationship? People love to talk about the topics they are concerned about, if you simply avoid it, it often turns into a bigger conflict - in my experience.

A therapist I got to know over the last year showed me an interesting technique, which is quite fun to do especially with women. 

1. You set a topic - can be anything
2. Set a time - e.g. 10 Minutes is fine
3. Then you discuss to your hearts content in that time - let your inner monster come out
4. Afterwards you set the timer for the same amount of time
5. Then you "discuss" again, but without talking

This will probably sound pretty stupid and kinda impossible to have a discussion without words, but it really helps to come back to simply being-together in harmony  

For me this takes the division, that the discussion most likely will create (if you have a different perspective) out of the relationship and also allows you to reflect on your own ability to discuss.

This reminds me of a practice that helps one with not identifying in which you agree with everybody for 1/2 of the day and then disagree with everyone for the other 1/2 of the day.

Identifying completely with ones own point of view it seems to me is at the heart of most conflicts and arguments. Unfortunately I still observe this tendency in myself on occasion.

 

How do you deal with people who are extremist on either side of the covid debate?

Practice non-identifying or non-attachment ???‍♂️

 

[Opo]

2 hours ago, PurpleTree said:

i'm going the middle/center path here, like buddhism 

 

if both sides are fighting imo the only sensible thing is to go to the center if you want peace and i don't care for this dumb conflict  

So if you were around nazis you would start shitting on jews just to avoid a conflict? 

And if you didn't care you wouldn't post about it on the internet.