Ridiculing others.

To give some respect to buckky who is going through a hard time, I am moving this out of his thread as other posters have suggested I do.
This thread is about the question of why we ridicule others who hold different opinions from us, whether or not doing so is effective, and whether or not it is a 'good' or 'bad' thing to do.
Why do we do it?
1. Because we get a kick out of making other people look bad (I guess it strokes our own egos).
2. Because we want people who are listening in and are sitting on the fence on the issue in question to not want to get ridiculed and thus side with us.
3. Because we want the person being ridiculed to feel so bad that he questions his beliefs.

Why ridicule rather than simply argue against? One explanation:
Many people have the attitude of 'lets agree to disagree'. This leads us to give respect to others beliefs even when we are sure they are totally wrong. This means that it is seen as acceptable to hold illogical, foolish, or even despicable (such as those that lead to discrimination or other forms of harm to others) beliefs. By ridiculing a belief you are essentially saying 'this belief is not acceptable'.

Also, are some groups of people more likely to ridicule others, and are some groups more likely to be the subject of ridicule? If so why?

Originally posted by twhitehead
To give some respect to buckky who is going through a hard time, I am moving this out of his thread as other posters have suggested I do.
This thread is about the question of why we ridicule others who hold different opinions from us, whether or not doing so is effective, and whether or not it is a 'good' or 'bad' thing to do.
Why do we do it?
1. Becau dicule others, and are some groups more likely to be the subject of ridicule? If so why?

Don't think 1 applies to often - I think your explanation can be summarised as:

4. Contempt for the idea being defended/advanced.

and I'd say this is far the more frequent case where people get (or see themselves as getting) ridiculed.

Speaking for myself from here on I say that (to my knowledge) the only group who become the subject of extra ridicule are those sitting in a different belief group than my own (for which the thing they believe is ok, true, whatever etc... is contemptable to me)

Originally posted by Agerg
Speaking for myself from here on I say that (to my knowledge) the only group who become the subject of extra ridicule are those sitting in a different belief group than my own (for which the thing they believe is ok, true, whatever etc... is contemptable to me)

So am I correct in saying that you would ridicule someone whose beliefs advocate say slavery, but would not ridicule someone whose beliefs advocate assisting others but for reasons you do not believe in (consider not to be factual)?

Originally posted by twhitehead
So am I correct in saying that you would ridicule someone whose beliefs advocate say slavery, but would not ridicule someone whose beliefs advocate assisting others but for reasons you do not believe in (consider not to be factual)?

Partly correct. That said I prefer "would be much more likely" than "would" and "would be much less likely" than "would not", also I'm more tempted to ridicule the idea than the person (which may be of course be construed by the person as ridiculing them).

Originally posted by twhitehead
To give some respect to buckky who is going through a hard time, I am moving this out of his thread as other posters have suggested I do.
This thread is about the question of why we ridicule others who hold different opinions from us, whether or not doing so is effective, and whether or not it is a 'good' or 'bad' thing to do.
Why do we do it?
1. Becau ...[text shortened]... dicule others, and are some groups more likely to be the subject of ridicule? If so why?

If religious beliefs are inherently illogical, then atheists will always try to ridicule the theists. But that is just another form of intolerance.

Originally posted by twhitehead
To give some respect to buckky who is going through a hard time, I am moving this out of his thread as other posters have suggested I do.
This thread is about the question of why we ridicule others who hold different opinions from us, whether or not doing so is effective, and whether or not it is a 'good' or 'bad' thing to do.
Why do we do it?
1. Becau ...[text shortened]... dicule others, and are some groups more likely to be the subject of ridicule? If so why?

I sometimes ridicule the beliefs of others as a defensive mechanism in response to ridicule by them of my beliefs. This can sometimes escalate to name calling and nasty remarks. Some say that is the Texan in me, however, I believe it is a natural response.

Originally posted by Rajk999
If religious beliefs are inherently illogical, then atheists will always try to ridicule the theists. But that is just another form of intolerance.

What is wrong with intolerance? I think it depends on what you are intolerant of. For example I am intolerant of slavery. I am intolerant of people wanting to teach creationism in science class. I am intolerant of people threatening my child with hell.
There are in fact many aspects of religion that I am intolerant of because I believe they are harmful both to me and to others. Am I wrong to be intolerant? Do you consider yourself tolerant of everything?

Originally posted by twhitehead
What is wrong with intolerance? I think it depends on what you are intolerant of. For example I am intolerant of slavery. I am intolerant of people wanting to teach creationism in science class. I am intolerant of people threatening my child with hell.
There are in fact many aspects of religion that I am intolerant of because I believe they are harmful b ...[text shortened]... me and to others. Am I wrong to be intolerant? Do you consider yourself tolerant of everything?

Dumbass, he is referring to intolerance of freedom of religious beliefs, even though they may be wrong. However, certainly we should not be tolerant of Muslims blowing up Jews and Christian, because they are intolerant of those religious beliefs.

Originally posted by twhitehead
What is wrong with intolerance?

Not a thing. 'Tolerance' is usually foisted on the opposing side in an argument, like it's some universal value they ought to have. It rarely applies to the speaker, however. 🙂

Ridicule helps force people to think critically sometimes.

Originally posted by RJHinds
Dumbass, ...........

Thats intolerance right there.... Or is it ridicule?

Originally posted by Rajk999
If religious beliefs are inherently illogical, then atheists will always try to ridicule the theists. But that is just another form of intolerance.

This doesn't make sense to me. It more or less implies that "the theists" that are ridiculed by atheists actually have illogical beliefs, which is not something I would expect a theist to say.

Also, many atheists couldn't care less about what someone else believes, it is their actions that they do or do not want to tolerate. Sure, we have vocal atheists on this forum but that is what being on a forum requires/allows -- speaking up.

Furthermore, theists of one faith are not above ridiculing theists of another faith, and are not above being intolerant of the beliefs and behavior of other theists, as well as being that way toward atheists.

So basically, the last sentence is true, ridicule is just another form (or expression) of intolerance, but it is generally true, and by itself it is a rather mild expression of intolerance. The intolerance behind ridicule may be mild or quite intense, but if it is only expressed through ridicule, that is not much more that a free-speech issue.

Originally posted by twhitehead
Thats intolerance right there.... Or is it ridicule?

It is ridicule in an attempt to get you to stop acting like a dumbass, which I know you can't be, if you are really a computer programmer, as you say. The only reason I treat you with disrespect is to help you learn the truth and so you may also treat me with some respect.

Originally posted by RJHinds
It is ridicule in an attempt to get you to stop acting like a dumbass, which I know you can't be, if you are really a computer programmer, as you say. The only reason I treat you with disrespect is to help you learn the truth and so you may also treat me with some respect.

Oh, right, after all, he's much more likely to respect you if you disrespect him.

Respect is earned, not simply expected and given for no reason. Treat others how you would wish to be treated. Sound familiar?

Originally posted by Suzianne
Oh, right, after all, he's [b]much more likely to respect you if you disrespect him.

Respect is earned, not simply expected and given for no reason. Treat others how you would wish to be treated. Sound familiar?[/b]

respect is earned as much as ridicule. but sometimes both are given without having been earned.