First, by "the most important things the community agrees on," I mean in a general sense -- groups like ontd_feminism are fundamentally pro-choice, pro-gay rights, anti-isms, and so on.
Sometimes people who are first-timers disagreeing do get yelled at. A lot of times it's because they say something really, egregiously offensive to people in the group -- shockingly, most people aren't going to bother taking the time to check whether someone is consistently a misogynistic asshole before they get offended, upset, or angry. Being a first-timer also doesn't give you a "pass" to freely upset and offend people. By "consistently" I didn't mean "in a number of posts" or something, I meant "whenever you come across an important issue, you disagree with the consensus" or something to that effect, you know?
I didn't say you had to change your mind, note. I said you should look at what you're thinking and why you think that way. Critical thinking is important. When people refuse to reexamine their own viewpoints in the face of evidence that they may be wrong about them, there's a problem. A serious, serious problem. And if someone is saying your viewpoint is wrong because it is offensive and sexist/racist/whatever, you should really shut up and see if what they're saying has any validity before you try to defend it. Assuming, of course, that the general "you" there accepts that being misogynistic/racist/etc. is a bad thing, which isn't always true, but I generally assume people understand it is.
Credits & Style Info
Talk Politics. A place to discuss politics without egomaniacal mods
"Clearly, the penguins have finally gone too far. First they take our hearts, now they’re tanking the global economy one smug waddle at a time. Expect fish sanctions by Friday."
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2/9/11 08:45 (UTC)Sometimes people who are first-timers disagreeing do get yelled at. A lot of times it's because they say something really, egregiously offensive to people in the group -- shockingly, most people aren't going to bother taking the time to check whether someone is consistently a misogynistic asshole before they get offended, upset, or angry. Being a first-timer also doesn't give you a "pass" to freely upset and offend people. By "consistently" I didn't mean "in a number of posts" or something, I meant "whenever you come across an important issue, you disagree with the consensus" or something to that effect, you know?
I didn't say you had to change your mind, note. I said you should look at what you're thinking and why you think that way. Critical thinking is important. When people refuse to reexamine their own viewpoints in the face of evidence that they may be wrong about them, there's a problem. A serious, serious problem. And if someone is saying your viewpoint is wrong because it is offensive and sexist/racist/whatever, you should really shut up and see if what they're saying has any validity before you try to defend it. Assuming, of course, that the general "you" there accepts that being misogynistic/racist/etc. is a bad thing, which isn't always true, but I generally assume people understand it is.