general Why Can't We Be Friends?

[Sphinx-Ara 3,523]

This is something that has been on my mind for a long, long time, and goes out to everyonehere who are of a religious/spiritual path and to those of the more scientific/anti-theist mindset... Christian, Muslims, Pagans, Jews, Evolutionists and Atheists... Why can't we all just be friends? Put our own religious, spiritual, scientific beliefs or even our own atheist feelings aside for just one moment and take a look at those around you... Are we really all that different from each other? Despite the difference in upbringing, skin color, lifestyles... aren't we all just human underneath all of that? Can we please stop judging others on their skin color, disabilities, upbringings, lifestyles, sexuality etc... and just get along with each other? It is okay to have a difference of opinion, a difference of religious, spiritual or scientific belief, a difference with sexuality (Lesbian, Gay, Bi, Pan etc).. It is also okay for you to believe in what you want to believe in, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that, but it is, in my honest opinion, not okay to force those beliefs or opinions on others who do not agree with you, it is not okay to judge someone based on their looks, sexuality, skin color or upbringing or lifestyle.. You could be totally wrong about someone and have lost a wonderful chance to make a new friend...for example a lot of people give people who have visible tattoos and/or multiple piercings a wide berth, but just because someone chooses to express themselves with body art or piercings, it doesn't mean that they aren't a good person. That person could very well be a big softy and a sweetheart underneath that tough looking exterior. Another example is say someone who is in Bike 'gang'.. Yes there are a lot of bad Bikeys out there, but there are also a lot of good ones out there, as an example, there's the one in Australia that always does the Christmas toy drive every Christmas to those families who cannot afford to get toys for their children, and the one in America that protects victims of abuse until their abusers have been caught and apprehended... 

What I am trying to say is.. Putting aside personal beliefs/lack of beliefs, feelings, prejudices and actually taking time to be friends with each other regardless of sexuality, belief systems/lack there of, skin color etc, could really help make the world a better place.. and besides, isn't the mantra of the fandom all about friendship?

I shall leave you with this:

(Some of you may recognize this from the beginning of "All My Friends Are Metalheads" by Less Than Jake, but it is actually a part of an open letter by victor Lundberg to his teenage son (the whole letter can be found HERE))

"This is a fair request and I promise that I will not judge any person
Only as a teenager if you will constantly remind yourself that some of my
generation judge people by their race, their belief or the color
of their skin and that this is no more right than saying all
teenagers are drunken dope addicts or glue sniffers
If you will judge every human being on his own individual potential
I will do the same."

 

(And the song itself, the lyrics are quite good to go with this I think)

 

[Techno Universal 2,575]

2 minutes ago, Celestial Flight said:

This is something that has been on my mind for a long, long time, and goes out to everyonehere who are of a religious/spiritual path and to those of the more scientific/anti-theist mindset... Christian, Muslims, Pagans, Jews, Evolutionists and Atheists... Why can't we all just be friends? Put our own religious, spiritual, scientific beliefs or even our own atheist feelings aside for just one moment and take a look at those around you... Are we really all that different from each other? Despite the difference in upbringing, skin color, lifestyles... aren't we all just human underneath all of that? Can we please stop judging others on their skin color, disabilities, upbringings, lifestyles, sexuality etc... and just get along with each other? It is okay to have a difference of opinion, a difference of religious, spiritual or scientific belief, a difference with sexuality (Lesbian, Gay, Bi, Pan etc).. It is also okay for you to believe in what you want to believe in, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that, but it is, in my honest opinion, not okay to force those beliefs or opinions on others who do not agree with you, it is not okay to judge someone based on their looks, sexuality, skin color or upbringing or lifestyle.. You could be totally wrong about someone and have lost a wonderful chance to make a new friend...for example a lot of people give people who have visible tattoos and/or multiple piercings a wide berth, but just because someone chooses to express themselves with body art or piercings, it doesn't mean that they aren't a good person. That person could very well be a big softy and a sweetheart underneath that tough looking exterior. Another example is say someone who is in Bike 'gang'.. Yes there are a lot of bad Bikeys out there, but there are also a lot of good ones out there, as an example, there's the one in Australia that always does the Christmas toy drive every Christmas to those families who cannot afford to get toys for their children, and the one in America that protects victims of abuse until their abusers have been caught and apprehended... 

What I am trying to say is.. Putting aside personal beliefs/lack of beliefs, feelings, prejudices and actually taking time to be friends with each other regardless of sexuality, belief systems/lack there of, skin color etc, could really help make the world a better place.. and besides, isn't the mantra of the fandom all about friendship?

I shall leave you with this:

(Some of you may recognize this from the beginning of "All My Friends Are Metalheads" by Less Than Jake, but it is actually a part of an open letter by victor Lundberg to his teenage son (the whole letter can be found HERE))

"This is a fair request and I promise that I will not judge any person
Only as a teenager if you will constantly remind yourself that some of my
generation judge people by their race, their belief or the color
of their skin and that this is no more right than saying all
teenagers are drunken dope addicts or glue sniffers
If you will judge every human being on his own individual potential
I will do the same."

 

(And the song itself, the lyrics are quite good to go with this I think)

 

Well really the incredible thing about my theories and thoughts on the DATANET is that they literally also explain everything in the spiritual world to. So it's like a way of how you can think of spirituality in a scientific and logical perspective. Plus I've got a spiritual mindset but at the same time I'm a logical and scientific mindset. Well my family is Christian in religion but still my thoughts on the DATANET still explain things beyond anything.  

[StrawCherry 1,673]

I honestly don't mind whatever anyone's beliefs, race or sexuality is.  And I don't see why someone would, it's super unfortunate and there's a chance that you might be missing out on a super close friendship.

[Kyoshi Frost Wolf 40,374]

Race, religion, sexuality, none of these things affect how I view someone, unless they were doing something like using their religion to be bigoted or whatever. My main issue is, besides living in a small town and having tons of social anxiety, is that there are just a lot of not-so-good people in this world. The internet, while wonderful, has also given bad people a place to run wild and be terrible and that really paints a bad picture for the world as a whole. So all of that in combination with my own issues, making new friends, especially offline, is rather difficult. I wish it was easier.

I completely agree with the message here though, I wish the world would follow it and embrace each other instead of being at each other's throat all the time. The world has had too much darkness and hatred lately.

[Yakamaru 3,077]

Everyone is different. Everyone have different tastes. Do not force your views or opinions onto others. Human nature works in a way that won't allow you to get along with everyone because of personal differences. You won't get along with everyone. If you try, you will end up losing everything from family to friends. Believe me, I've tried and failed, ending up losing two of my best friends in the process. I barely talk to my dad, despite being on good terms.

On a Discord I run, we have everything from blacks to Asians, Atheists to Christians. We criticize, mock and shit fling at each other all day while laughing our asses off. For us personally, gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, +++, doesn't matter. We laugh at ourselves, which gives us the right to laugh at and with others.

Stand up for what you believe in. But do it in a well-mannered and respectful way. Be confident in what you believe in, how you say it, and to whom you say it.

People can and will judge, as is their right. The same way I will judge on whether or not someone is possible to hang out with let alone be friends with, I will judge on whether or not that one particular woman is worth dating. There is nothing wrong with generalizations nor stereotypes. They are true at some level or another. You can't stop people from judging the same way you can't stop the sun from rising in the morning.

The first thing people see is your looks, and will judge based upon that. Unless they have already seen you in the public sphere, on for instance a Youtube or Minds.com video, they have literally nothing to go on. The large majority of people will judge your looks and make decisions based upon that, on everything from potential friends to even dating material, as it will reflect back directly on you on who you hang out with.

I have no intention of getting along with everyone. Some people just aren't worth the energy spent on trying, as my own experience tell me. I will show the same basic courtesy to you as everyone else, but that's it. I have no intention of bending my principles let alone the facts just so you can have a little temporary comfort.

I will speak my mind, as is my right. I will criticize, as is my right. I will mock, as is my right. I will do/make satire, as is my right. I will judge, as is my right. I will avoid people I don't like, as is my right. And I will find people I can call friends, as is my right.

The same way I will criticize ideologies, I will criticize everything from personal choices to religions. I will make satire of them as well as mock them. If you are not able to handle that, that's on you, not someone else.

TL;DR: No, we can't all be friends. It's impossible. We can try and get along, but that's it. And yes, we ARE so different from one another. We are all alien to one another. Question is, are you able to accept and live with the differences around you?

Edited August 27, 2017 by Yakamaru

[Unikitty 1,211]

  The problem here is that you're subtly enforcing your own personal belief system unto everyone else, even if you don't realise it.
Consider this scenario: Someone's personal beliefs(non-/religious doctrine, personally chosen morals, position in life, etc. etc.) state that orange colours are bad and should not be allowed in society, but blue colours are good and should be everywhere. But your personal beliefs are that blues are bad while oranges are good. How do you then create a society that caters to both groups? You can't simply 'live alongside' each other, because your personal beliefs directly conflict with each other.
  It's something that simply isn't possible, and even a simplified situation doesn't help find an answer.
  Now, if you were to be more reflective of real life: a myriad of colours and just as many groups of people, each saying x or y colours are okay but z isn't. Or x and z are okay but z is only okay if x is around only a little bit. It can quickly can convoluted and divided.

  When the situation becomes as nuanced and various as real life, this simply becomes an impossible ideal. Because no matter what your personal beliefs are, or how open/closed they are, wanting people to 'get along' only means wanting people to get along according to your own personal beliefs.

Edited August 27, 2017 by Unikitty

[Nerdy Luigi 2,064]

Would be nice if this were possible, but it isn't. There are some people who just WILL NOT get along, and deliberately attempt to undermine even the remotest possibility of even trying to do so. Like I will not get along with an openly hateful bigot. Their ridiculous sensitivities make it impossible to even try.

[Guest]

Why can't we all just get along? Because we shouldn't. 

Conflict is critical to smart decisions and positive outcomes. And we’re all the better for it. It's part of human nature.

 

[Jedishy 3,542]

To me the answer is simple people have standards for good or ill. If you fall outside of those standards there is bound to be tension. 

[Gestum 2,493]

Because it's human nature to have prejudice. Everyone judges people based on sex, race, sexual orientation, religion, their intresst and other things out of their controll. Anyone who say that they don't are lying. 

[Yakamaru 3,077]

2 hours ago, Gestum said:

Because it's human nature to have prejudice. Everyone judges people based on sex, race, sexual orientation, religion, their intresst and other things out of their controll. Anyone who say that they don't are lying. 

There is in fact an easy way to find out: Say you are a Trump-supporter. Or against him. The sheer amount of political intolerance today coming from the Left is insane. With any luck you hit jackpot right away.

Edited August 27, 2017 by Yakamaru

[Messy Mane 9,006]

Honestly,I have no idea;I guess it's just a part of life, there's always going to be differences between people ?

for some reason this came into my head...

 

[EpicEnergy 22,194]

We can actually be friends despite our differences in beliefs!

[Splashee 28,537]

I try to be friends with everyone here. It hasn't exactly worked out. I think I am doing something wrong... But that is the whole answer to this question. It is an impossible quest to be friends with everyone. Instead, just respecting people instead, and not judging them by first impression or looks, or behavior.... But that is also difficult, since there are many people who behave in manners I have long moved away from. So again, quite difficult, and just having a look into the debate forum reveals a lot of tension between the most simple groups, where one believe in free will, and another believe in strict rules (still respecting each other, but it is such a contrast, and a constant battle for one side to win).

I set out to try to befriend as many members here at possible, hoping to find a common bound that is strong. It is a challenge! Not a dream about a better world.

[Emerald Heart 24,603]

We can be friends with anyone, really. I mean, I'm an atheist and my best friend is a Muslim. I don't really give a flying fork about your religion. 

 

[Pentium100 2,057]

Sure, people with different beliefs could be friends. However, only up to a point where their core beliefs clash. For example, someone who strongly believes that killing an animal is just as bad or even worse than killing a human would probably have big problems with someone who eats meat and especially would have problems with a hunter. 

[TBD 17,228]

Most of my friends is atheist so I don’t really care or mind at all. Just as long we both like anime 

[Tao 6,753]

11 minutes ago, TBD said:

Most of my friends is atheist so I don’t really care or mind at all. Just as long we both like anime 

Im about the same mind or just overall nerds.

[Stone Cold Steve Jobs 22,412]

True humans can befriend other humans regardless of their beliefs or leanings. But some humans ain’t human.

[ExplosionMare 18,007]

I don’t know why people make such a big deal about things like that. As long as people are trying to be good people, regardless of race/gender/sexuality/etc, then that’s all that matters.

[ShadOBabe 18,984]

We can’t all be friends, but we can tolerate those that think differently from us.

You know, within obvious limits. I don’t expect anyone to tolerate someone deliberately abusing or injuring them.

But if someone just says, “I disagree/think you’re wrong”, big woo. Freakin’ deal with it. If your thoughts/opinions are so fragile that they can be threatened by the mere existence of a dissenter, then you need to re-evaluate those opinions.

[Here No Longer 5,270]

I honestly don't know why people have to be so hateful and spiteful either. I also don't know why they then need to justify it. I could really be friends with anyone as long as they are a tolerant, decent human being that isn't some kind of $#!+head. Unfortunately, there's a lot of those around, even here... I could name names, but I'm not so vindictive.

Edited March 9, 2020 by Angel_Dust