Shocked & Disgusted

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by alphagamzetagam

Is it the general feeling between parties that the people that voted for the opposite candidate are uneducated? I keep seeing "all those uneducated people that voted for Obama" or "all those uneducated people that voted for McCain."

I think, unfortunately, that it has become all too common among hyper-partisans in politics and elsewhere to make the assumption that people who disagree with them obviously do not understand how things really are. "Because if you really understood, you would obviously agree with me."

Not a helpful, or truthful, perspective at all. Just the opposite, actually.

[KSigkid]

Originally Posted by MysticCat

I think, unfortunately, that it has become all too common among hyper-partisans in politics and elsewhere to make the assumption that people who disagree with them obviously do not understand how things really are. "Because if you really understood, you would obviously agree with me."

Not a helpful, or truthful, perspective at all. Just the opposite, actually.

Exactly - to put it bluntly, calling the other side stupid is a very easy way to get in a criticism, without doing any actual thinking about the issues.

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by KSigkid

Exactly - to put it bluntly, calling the other side stupid is a very easy way to get in a criticism, without doing any actual thinking about the issues.

In my experience, when this kind of charge comes from the right the other side is often "stupid." When it comes from the left, the other side is often "unenlightened."

Personally, I always thought that a hallmark of being smart and enlightened is the awareness that one can be wrong.

[UGAalum94]

Originally Posted by MysticCat

In my experience, when this kind of charge comes from the right the other side is often "stupid." When it comes from the left, the other side is often "unenlightened."

Personally, I always thought that a hallmark of being smart and enlightened is the awareness that one can be wrong.

Yeah, but I think we all kid ourselves that the things we might be wrong about are complex and nuanced and require great insight even to grasp the issue, but people who actually vote differently than we do clearly base their votes on the most simplistic, self-interested, or bigoted reasons.