I’m sure we all have the ability to reason on our own. Whether this ability or trust in reason, can be used a guiding light, to resolve different opinions is another matter.
Have you read CMB_2006’s posts? Obfuscating; tangential and elliptical thinking in order to avoid answering direct questions posted to him, form the basis of his hatred. Reason is too often eclipsed by rationalisation or intellectualisation when he attempts to use it with a little less grace than the incumbent BNP leader.
Many here call CMB_2006’ hatred an ‘opinion’. An opinion can be formed on ideas; as much as an opinion can be formed on feelings. Justification of hatred - should this be levelled as equal to others’ opinions? In English law, we do not accept this confusion between ‘inciting hatred’ (one extreme) and simply ‘expressing an opinion’, which is better stated, as ‘expressing one’s hatred’.
The question for me, is whether LB should continue to let CMB_2006 and others, express their hatred. How does that make you look, as members of this forum? How does it make you look, to car drivers, who might see the kind of racist drivel spouted here? Won’t it make them want to run you over? Driesie is correct in my view, in raising this question of: "How do I come across, if I associate myself, with a forum whose moral standard of behaviour, is complacent; indifferent, and fails to distinguish between ‘expressing hatred towards foreigners, refugees and vulnerable children’.
His question is fundamentally, one about social feedback: those of us who aren’t sociopaths, listen to what others tell us about us. We listen and modify or reflect on what others tell us, and we ‘fit in’ because reason (or compassion) makes sense to us.
This is not true for some…
Not everyone sees this clearly: I’ve already annexed the quotes from previous posters, who justify racist posts like CMB_2006’s as “an opinion”.
I wish I could agree with you that it doesn’t take much to see through such a guise, to detect the fomenting hatred underneath. Why is it, others on the board, justify his hatred? Have a look at the poll results; have a look at the anecdotal comments. Complacency and indifference, are currently riding high. The trolls on the opposite extreme, positively relish in making a joke of it (and happy Christmas to them in Troll Heaven too :P)
My point is that reason is not the guiding light for humanitarian behaviour.
Most of us adopt a position and defend it - by rationalising. Rather than using reason to explore and modify our behaviour. In that respect, you are correct to some extent, that I am suspicious of reasoning. Compassion is a better guide than reason, for telling us what our position towards the orphans and the widows should be.
I don’t have room in my heart to tolerate such hatred. Maybe spending over a decade of my life working for a charity taught me something about people which spouting from an armchair can’t. Maybe that is what compassion is: it stops us by shaping us from being the detached and self-centred little boy at the heart of the intellectual spouting who tries to elevate himself above others, because of his inner insecurities.
