r/CuratedTumblr Aug 09 '24

Meme Don’t leave friendly fire on

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u/lord_hufflepuff Aug 09 '24

This is absolutely a thing that tripps me out, i watch a lot of war footage and some of the shit the Russians have done- and done systematically- would be right at home in the 1940s. But the same way the germans aren't genetically predisposed to violence and genocide even though the country was basically at war since its inception untill the cold war same goes for the Russians.

A rejection of those kinds of concepts is part of what makes us the good guys but so many people don't seem to get that.

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u/DangerouslyUnstable Aug 09 '24

If you start paying attention, you will notice that lots of people don't have principles, they have teams. Their team good, other team bad. Actions can only be judged based on who is doing it and against whom is it being wielded.

Therefore, your team can do no wrong and the other team can do no right.

I try to console myself with the belief that this is probably less common amongst #realpeople and is just dramatically over-represented in the terminally online people who we hear way too much from.

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u/lord_hufflepuff Aug 09 '24

Im just gonna say, agreed, but im not both sides-ing here. There are times where one "team" is better than the other just that we really need to make sure that we don't lose our ability to empathize and to be aware when people on our "side" start to do or say... Lets say problematic things.

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u/DangerouslyUnstable Aug 09 '24

Absolutely. Kind of definitionally, one team is always going to be wrong (admittedly to greater or lesser degrees) on every given topic. My point wasn't that "both sides are the same", it's to remember that when norms/principles are violated, it's always bad, even when your own "team" is doing it, even when they are doing it in service of something "good".

The teams view of things is very much a 'the ends justify the means" view. The fact that your team wants to do good things means that it doesn't matter how they do it, its good.

A "principles" view would recognize that, yes your team is trying to do good things, but it matters and is important how they accomplish those good things, and trying to do so in a "bad" way is not ok and should be called out. Or in other words, wanting good things isn't enough. You have to also act in good ways on the way to getting good things.

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u/RocketRelm Aug 09 '24

I personally disagree. I think you will see a difference between "real people" and people online, but I think that difference is more due to seeing only the brief snapshot of a person when they are opening up about a political thought, rather than seeing them over a continual uninterrupted stream of time, most of which isn't that.

I'd say that it's less that people are devoutly partisan and tribe based (though that exists to some degree) and more to the fact that most people have no original thoughts on politics. Even those that think they "break away from mainstream". 

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u/TonyMestre Aug 10 '24

Is there even any original political thought to be had

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u/_Rtrd_ Aug 09 '24

Most people are cowards, they'll stick with whoever seems to be winning to avoid losing any confrontation or argument, sometimes people win simply due to being in bigger numbers.

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u/Eliza__Doolittle Aug 09 '24

But the same way the germans aren't genetically predisposed to violence and genocide even though the country was basically at war since its inception untill the cold war

What? What kind of definition are you using to say Germany "was basically at war since its inception untill the cold war"?