If theres one thing I really dislike, its when people try to force their own opinion on others. Liberals do that all the time, for example when they come across someone who questions the supposed “Uighur genocide”.
But its not just liberals, a lot of leftists and communists online show the same behaviour. Except they hold the opposite view on certain questions. But when faced with someone who holds the “wrong” opinion, they are just as fierce in trying to force their views on others. Edit, I should add that I also used to do this a lot.
In my opinion, this kind of behaviour wont get us anywhere. Nobody will change their opinion because someone online said that they were wrong, and threw a dozen sources at them. Instead they will probably get angry, and strengthen their belief out of spite.
I think what we should do instead is try to accept that everyone is entitled to their opinion, even if we disagree. This leads to much more fruitful discussions, where we can get to know the opinions of others without anyone getting upset. And even if we disagree on some issues, there are surely others where we agree, and can work together to make something positive.
Rant over.
Agree, it can be really difficult at times, but we gotta try to find common ground, rather than talking down or being overly combative. Relevant Huey P Newton quote:
Definitely agree, and to add on to that I think that we’re still in nascent stages of left organization developng in the western world. Most people can’t define what socialism is, we don’t have any serious socialist parties, there is no worker organization, and so on.
A lot of the arguments people get into are purely theoretical, and bear no relation to any action that can be meaningfully taken at the present time. I think the current focus has to be on coming up with a socialist platform that enough people can get behind without becoming opportunistic.
And I think it’s more important to build up a movement that’s ideologically trained than try to create left unity. The focus needs to be on getting people who are willing to work together organized and motivated. People who insist on ideological purity or their version of socialism being the one true way to do things are just dead weight. It’s not worth the effort to try and convince them of anything.
I don’t argue online too much because I think it’s a waste of time but when I do I do it assuming that I am addressing the readers first rather than the person I am replying to. People are impervious to changing their opinion most of the time so it’s not worth it.
