Reply #5: Wow. Couldn't have said it better myself.

[RZM]

That is one thing that does trouble me about this place (and frankly, prevents me from becoming a donor).

A thread the other day pointed out that there might not be a whole lot of distance between 'let them die' and 'kill them.' And I think that poster had a pretty good point. Not wishing to get flamed, I refrained from pointing out that saying people are 'subhuman,' 'insane,' 'monsters,' and 'intent on destroying the country' can end up at 'kill them' just as easily.

Also, I think that namecalling like that sometimes stems from intellectual laziness. It takes work, time, and energy to actually figure out WHY people believe what they do. Dismissing them as 'insane' is often little more than a cop-out because it's so much easier to do than put in the required legwork.

As for solutions, I guess I would just argue that people should work hard to put themselves in the opposition's shoes and try to view them as humans like you and I in an effort to understand where they are coming from. Doesn't mean you should give up your own convictions one bit - that's not even required to understand where someone else is coming from. All it requires is little shift in perspective.