Post: #1

Yesterday I was riding in the car with someone who started into a monologue where he was bashing christian values and calling out catholics as 'hypocrites' (mainly using Germany's priest-boy-abuse-scandal as an example)

He just loved to throw that word around, apparently it was a new word he had just learnt. I did not have a good reply to his rant, and in this circle of acquaintances (local university students) I like to keep my cards close to my chest, so today I was thinking about potential replies I could have made without giving away too much about my thoughtcrime attitudes.

First, the wikipedia definition of hypocrisy:

Quote:Hypocrisy is the contrivance of a false appearance of virtue or goodness, while concealing real character or inclinations.

Obviously this behaviour is something that happens and it is a useful word when describing individual behaviour. But I only ever hear it when it is used as a tool to bash a group of people, especially conservatives or religious people.

What I thought of post-hoc was to start weakening his anti-conservative argument not by positioning myself on the conservative side, but by questioning the tool this leftist student used. For example like this "humans are not robots" approach:

Quote:I don't fully understand. Humans have weaknesses. If you had a weakness that you know is not a good thing, let's say, you regularly gamble away your money. But you can't stop it, even though you know it's bad. Just like most alcoholics can't just stop drinking. If you were in a position of moral authority though, wouldn't you denounce gambling?

or this "people are not homogeneous, even if they belong to the same group" approach:

Quote:But let's say murder is seen as immoral in France. And still, there are murders happening in France. Does that mean that 'the french are hypocrites'? Or does it just mean that the people who committed murder in France are hypocrites?

I guess the best thing to do is to just leave it. But most of the people I am in contact with work or study in academics, and I regularly hear their self-congratulatory, progressive bullshit - it is starting to get to me to leave it all uncommented, and sometimes when I try to question their line of reasoning, it's not as if my cover is suddenly blown. I believe there are ways to make them question more without 'outing' myself.

Post: #2

(07-10-2016 11:21 AM)Sgt Wrote:  I guess the best thing to do is to just leave it.

You answered your own question.

Keep bettering yourself and let haters fall by the wayside.