Respect for sides you don't align with?

[catnet 9,356]

As someone who likes to see both sides of every argument and learn each side's valid points and flaws, it's kinda demoralizing to me when I see people either aggressively label an understandable opinion and those who hold it as 'brainless' all in all, or who see their side as the only option and beyond criticism when there are actually many respectable reasons one may challenge or reject them. Obviously with some issues in the world, there will be sides that really don't hold up whatsoever even under a fair examination, but lately, it feels like a 'black and white' perspective is somewhat popular in places it really shouldn't be, and that really isn't of much benefit to anybody if we're to learn and improve.

So, I thought it might be nice to have a topic steering away from the kind of aggressive 'discussion' black and white perspectives can sometimes cause, where we can instead talk about sides we aren't aligned with but still respect or understand (or even just respect for a few points it makes), be it political sides or even just sides in far smaller concerns like fandoms, console wars and such; as long as it's respect for people who share different opinions than yours, it's welcome in this topic.

In my case, I guess I can think of two things for the time being:

~While I'm a vegetarian (previously a vegan), I have absolutely nothing against people who decide not to go with that kind of lifestyle; not only because it can be a hard change to make long-term, but it's also a lifestyle that has done more harm than good for some people who've tried it, so it's definitely not something I think people should feel forced to do.

~While I'm an atheist that left Christianity, I still get and respect why Christians (and followers of other religions too, but I'll focus on Christianity since I've had much more of an experience with it) see an omnipotent being in the universe's creation and in the way nature works- heck, sometimes I feel I sorta see it myself-; and despite having strong objections with certain stuff in the Bible as well as the way some followers use it to attack homosexuals and such, I don't hope for the religion to die out or think lowly of the many, many good people who follow it either. I feel like I have improved as a person after turning atheist, but I think Christianity can be a very good thing, and I'm glad it has helped a lot of people.

 

 

How about with you guys? What sides/beliefs etc. do you have some respect for despite not aligning with them?

Edited July 6, 2017 by Silleh

[Randimaxis 8,652]

I have always held the belief that everyone must find their OWN path in life.

I was born and raised Southern Baptist, and that's the cornerstone of my faith to this very day.  However, I don't believe the good Lord intended for ANYONE to force His way down anyone's throat; that's what the whole 'faith' thing is about - making the choice to follow the word.

But I have NEVER tried to force my ideals on anyone; I even have a great number of pagan, atheist and agnostic friends.  I don't judge, but instead try to learn what I can about what they talk about.  Now, should anyone come to me wanting to speak about what I believe, I'm happy to talk.  I'm overjoyed for the chance to tell someone what I put my personal faith in, and if they feel obligated to talk of changing what THEY believe, well... I'll espouse the idea that they might find direction from the Good Book; ultimately, I can only point the way - even I cannot walk the path for them.  That's up to each individual person to do, in their own time and manner.

I may not understand some things about other religions, and I may not agree with some things in other religions... but those are simply other paths; may those who seek them find what they need.

 

[Victoria Sponge 1,017]

Christians probably. I grew up as a christian and most of my older family members are but I just gave up on it because my own thoughts made more sense and I disagreed with a lot of the things God/the bible were saying. That's left me not believing in Christianity but with a lot of respect for it, I don't want to tell anybody what they should or shouldn't believe unless it's physically harming them.

[swordsman 192]

I am a  black person, shooter, hunter, and weapons persons and I can see were people are coming from when that don't like  any of those things and I always ask them "why you think that way so I can under stand". those 4 things are like napalm to most people and I will ALWAYS start a fight but I believe everyone has the right to live there lives how they want to. I have been called all kinds of names for being a black man that hunts and shoot  but I always tell them "your have your views and I have mines but we both have common ground right?"

[Nerdy Luigi 2,065]

I do have a moderate amount of respect for people who are religious, as long as they don't shove it down my throat and do anything otherwise to make me disrespect them. I personally am an atheist, and became so after deciding to read some of the bible in the car on the way back from church (because, yes, I DID go for a bit, for about a year or so, and I didn't understand most of what was going on there...).

 

I'm fine with vegans, though I don't entirely understand human vegetarianism. Maybe it's because I like eating Chicken, and Hamburger, and Bacon and stuff.

 

Probably plenty more things that I can't think of at the moment.

 

 

Edited July 7, 2017 by Barik the Luigineer

[Steve Piranha 29,424]

5 hours ago, swordsman said:

I am a  black person, shooter, hunter, and weapons persons and I can see were people are coming from when that don't like  any of those things and I always ask them "why you think that way so I can under stand". those 4 things are like napalm to most people and I will ALWAYS start a fight but I believe everyone has the right to live there lives how they want to. I have been called all kinds of names for being a black man that hunts and shoot  but I always tell them "your have your views and I have mines but we both have common ground right?"

I LOVE shooting, I LOVE guns, and I miss shooting a sweet-ass P90  . But yeah, one of the first things I've been taught before even holding a gun are the safety rules. I love shooting, but it also made me more aware that not any idiot should be within 10 feet of a gun. Hell, specially NOT me when my parents where just killed over a year ago  

 

I respect people's points of view, as long as they aren't either hypocritical, shoe-horn their views on me, demonize opposite points of view, or try to sell me views that are blatantly false; like family is THE universal way of happiness (seen enough cases that's not remotely true  ), being alone is universally bad (is the lesser of two evils most of times),  always love your roots (which it gave me enough reasons for the opposite instead), and the always classic "latino people are more friendly than the americans" (yeah sure  )

[Stone Cold Steve Jobs 22,440]

I believe the sides that have opposing viewpoints to my own have every right to form such viewpoints. For example, I defended two atheists who were listening to silent night. They were saying that while they don't believe, they admit the song is beautiful and very touching, and they were being attacked until i stepped in. I'm a Christian. 

I may make fun of your side, but I make fun of my side just as much. 

[Yumekai 735]

I try to but ehm sometimes people say mean things and  I forget to think from all views

[swordsman 192]

On ‎7‎/‎6‎/‎2017 at 10:48 PM, Steve Piranha said:

I LOVE shooting, I LOVE guns, and I miss shooting a sweet-ass P90  . But yeah, one of the first things I've been taught before even holding a gun are the safety rules. I love shooting, but it also made me more aware that not any idiot should be within 10 feet of a gun. Hell, specially NOT me when my parents where just killed over a year ago  

 

 

like a lot of cops! I was on the range and a cop was showing a new M4 they just got and pull the trigger firing a bust into a wall.  he is a swat guy said "I did not think it was loaded". and they say us untrained shooters can"t own a hunt rifle cause we don't know what were doing.  When I took my hunter safety course if we had our finger on the trigger unless the gun was pointed down range we failed for 5 years and if you had a ADA you could not take the course anywhere in the USA again.  If it was up to me EVERYONE would take the hunter safety course in high school.

[Brightbart 268]

On 7/6/2017 at 5:34 PM, swordsman said:

I am a  black person, shooter, hunter, and weapons persons and I can see were people are coming from when that don't like  any of those things and I always ask them "why you think that way so I can under stand". those 4 things are like napalm to most people and I will ALWAYS start a fight but I believe everyone has the right to live there lives how they want to. I have been called all kinds of names for being a black man that hunts and shoot  but I always tell them "your have your views and I have mines but we both have common ground right?"

About 1/3 of the people in the CCW class I took were black which surprised me(in a good way obviously) since I had always viewed black people as a generally anti-gun crowd given the voting record. But of course I then reminded myself that one person doesn't define a crowd and vice versa even though it's easy to do.  

[Invincible 2,091]

As an atheist to a Jewish family, I can somewhat relate. I often posted my two cents of a mind on these forums and elsewhere.

 

I feel it's sometimes frustrating communicating an opinion though, so some people, who are without temper or patience are prone to attack others rather than engage conversation.

 

Is it the only reason? Maybe, maybe not. Not everyone are of equal mind.

[swordsman 192]

On ‎7‎/‎8‎/‎2017 at 8:10 PM, Brightbart said:

About 1/3 of the people in the CCW class I took were black which surprised me(in a good way obviously) since I had always viewed black people as a generally anti-gun crowd given the voting record. But of course I then reminded myself that one person doesn't define a crowd and vice versa even though it's easy to do

why? we are the one most likely to be a victim of a crime and it goes up even more if your female black or LBGT black. check out no guns for negroes on youtube and that why blacks are ant-guns.  after orlando Castillo I gave up on getting my CCW because why would I pay the government so they could kill me.  

[LordSwinton 759]

I think people should be respected as long as they're being sane and rational.

Though I'm not religious at all, I can certainly respect those that do charity in the name of their religion. The discipline they have to stick to their beliefs aren't easy. It's amazing the lengths people will go to help in the name of their religion. Though I must say people have used religion to hide behind or excuse their discriminatory views, I try not to let it subtract from the goodness they do. I mean it's sure easy to believe all Christians are horrible people if you only look at the Westboro Baptist Church, but they're only a minority.

Everyday I'm amazed at how vegetarian/vegan people keep to their diets in the name of compassion to animals. Even though I don't believe in that sort of lifestyle, I'll admit they must really care about animals to commit to such a diet and lifestyle 

As long as they aren't shoving their views down my throat, I'll respect them, but I'd like them to respect me too

[FluffyGoat13 375]

Hmm... sides. Well my controversial point of view is inbound, so consider yourself warned (and please don't hate me, I mean well).

Democracy. I find it messy, slow and inefficient when things need to get done. The Romans did too, they appointed Dictators whenever there was a crisis that needed immediate attention. It worked too, until Caesar proclaimed himself "Dictator Perpetuo" (he wasn't the first to do this by the way) and the Senate had him murdered, sparking a civil war that ended with Caesar's buddy Augustus making himself Imperator after he killed most of the senate.

Democracy also makes it easier for complete morons to take charge, BUT it also makes it easier to get rid of them.

Democracy does have A LOT of good points: it allows more people a say (but it also drowns out their voice among a sea of voices), it generally makes people feel happier through perceived freedom (whether they have it or not is dependent on other factors), it allows for attention to be brought to obscure things easier through civil action (though it does take longer to handle things)., among so many other things.

Basically what I'm saying is; Democracy is great if you don't need anything done urgently, but at the moment we have a global environmental crisis to deal with, and Democracy is failing to deal with it quick enough.

[EpicEnergy 23,218]

I respect the opposing political party, atheists, and so forth. I have respect for those who have opposing beliefs and views.

[TBD 17,254]

Respect is not the right word for me to use for this case, I have tolerance to some extent. Respect comes with earning it. I technically don’t respect my opposing side if I see they don’t deserve it. 

[Mirage 24,767]

Easy question once those who parade tolerance, are tolerant. Those who parade helping the poor, actually help them. Those who demand the rule of law also follow it. Those who insist on justice, accept it. And those who want rights for themselves also stand up for the rights of others.

[Splashee 28,564]

We Bronies always respect others and their beliefs. That's the quality that Bronies stand for, and what made us popular and unique.

 

Spoiler

Are you really going to open this next spoiler?

Spoiler

Bronies did not even support their older MLP generation. And it pretty much started there.

 

 

Taking sides is usually a bad thing on a forum like this, and can lead to flamewars. It is better to not involve yourself into a debate and become more fuel.

For me, I like to say that I respect other's opinions. But I don't want to stretch too far. I think I have taken some advises from people coming from communities I don't want to be part of.

[Xoomy228 418]

Of course. If somebody you need to respect, it's your opponent. 

[Rebel the Wolfgirl 5,601]

-I am a meat eater, yet respect vegetarians/vegans so long as they don't needlessly shove their beliefs down my throat. Hell, I even advocate for animal welfare and rights, especially more humane ways of slaughter.

-As an agnostic Luciferian Satanist, I respect followers of Abrahamic religions on a personal level; while I might disagree with their religions and (especially in regards to Christianity) what they've become, a majority of them are decent, hardworking and altruistic people.

-As a libertarian socialist with free market anarchist values, I see the value in such an economy rather than a command economy; socialism and capitalism are not mutually exclusive concepts.

-Along those same lines, I understand why Trump managed to get so popular (I also speak from experience, considering I used to support him): disillusionment with the Democratic Party, who are honestly just diet Republicans with Marxist-Leninist values.

[Here No Longer 5,276]

It really depends if there's some respect to be deserved. Unfortunately, a lot more and more of these "sides" are just becoming totally irrational...

Fortunately, these all exist:

• Religious people who don't align themselves with the organized part of the religion and aren't hateful, or spiteful in any way.
• Vegans who don't care if you eat meat and don't shove flawed morals down your throat. They're rare though.
• People on the right wing of politics who aren't out of their mind or follow the gospel of utter insanity, though unfortunately that's becoming rarer and rarer to see.
• Trump voters who either already had or have over time realized that not voting at all was the better choice.

 

And I can generally respect them to some degree.

[daviddaviddavid 776]

As long as someone's thought their opinion out and hasn't just piggybacked off what their favourite celebrity said or did, then I'd respect it. Only thing I can't really stand is when people spread literal disinformation and claim it's fact, I try to simply not engage with them since confrontation usually proves a waste of time.

[Fluttershyfan94 5,742]

Well it depends greatly on how they portray their side, usually like more then half just seem to side with whatever they're told usually by media. You'd be surprised by how many people don't look at source material, therefore their views usually are what they are as they lack information they could easily obtain had they any desire to do so. While I do listen to those who don't align with my views I don't really respect or disrespect them I mostly just try to get an idea for their intelligence as in if they do possess critical thinking then I respect them. Though yeah I treat them like any other person, which is with indifference towards them.

[Clawdeen 14,181]

I think the OP listed a good example that I have.

While I’m not vegan/vegetarian I’ve got nothing but respect for those who are. I personally couldn’t afford to do that. Not that I didn’t try back when I was like 19/20. I think my posts in the last thing you’ve ate thread have given away that I pretty much eat the few same things. Mostly due to affordability.

When it comes to other more...trickier subjects like politics and religion it depends on the person, the views and the situation. Generally overall if you’re respectful to me I will show you the same respect. 

[Sonic Shimmer 4,132]

I always examine both sides of a debate carefully before I choose a side. And I accept other peoples' views, as long as they're not actively calling for violence or causing direct harm.