I agree with Swick's response to this, but I also think it does let some nasty people who enjoy inflicting pain off the hook, so your view is valid too.
Many bullies are insecure in the sense that they aren't confident about their value as a person. The opinions of others matter hugely to them, and they see life as a zero-sum game. In order for them to 'win', someone else must lose by looking much worse than them. The bully currently occupying the White House is a good example of this: in order for him to feel good about himself, he continually lashes out at a wildly varying succession of targets in very personal terms. A more secure person would calmly restate whatever proof they had that indicated that their approach was correct, accept that there was a difference of opinion and move on.
Automatically putting all bullies in a category labelled "Pathetic person with serious self-esteem issues who can't help what they do", might make you feel better about humanity as a whole, but it also makes the bully a victim in some senses. The fact is that there are psychopaths who bully others in a precisely calculated way and get off on their power to make others feel miserable.
Because he's the most prominent example of the pathology.
He's the most powerful individual in the world, and he regularly spews threats and personal abuse in an attempt to dominate and intimidate those much less powerful than himself. Anyone who can't see that as bullying has a huge blind-spot.
"Because he's the most prominent example of the pathology." There are many people who would disagree with that. "he regularly spews threats" Factually inaccurate. "and personal abuse" When was the last time he did that? "Anyone who can't see that as bullying has a huge blind-spot." I think most would agree that those things are bullying. Many would also disagree that he does those things.
It is true that many people are locked into the Fox/OAN/QAnon bubble.
It's clear to me that presenting incontrovertible facts that are contrary to their worldview is as pointless as trying to convince SmokeEverything that outer space exists or attempting to persuade a biblical literalist that the world was not created 7,000 years ago.
"It is true that many people are locked into the Fox/OAN/QAnon bubble." I wouldn't exactly call it a bubble. That implies that it's isolated. Fox has the highest ratings of any news organisation at the moment. Also, why do people keep acting like Fox is such an incredible (as in not credible) news source? Yes, they have a Republican lean to their news. So what? Literally every other cable news network leans Democrat. I don't know what OAN or QAnon are, though. To be perfectly honest, I don't use any of them as a source of news.
"It's clear to me that presenting incontrovertible facts that are contrary to their worldview..." What incontrovertible facts?
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I agree with Swick's response to this, but I also think it does let some nasty people who enjoy inflicting pain off the hook, so your view is valid too.
Many bullies are insecure in the sense that they aren't confident about their value as a person. The opinions of others matter hugely to them, and they see life as a zero-sum game. In order for them to 'win', someone else must lose by looking much worse than them. The bully currently occupying the White House is a good example of this: in order for him to feel good about himself, he continually lashes out at a wildly varying succession of targets in very personal terms. A more secure person would calmly restate whatever proof they had that indicated that their approach was correct, accept that there was a difference of opinion and move on.
Automatically putting all bullies in a category labelled "Pathetic person with serious self-esteem issues who can't help what they do", might make you feel better about humanity as a whole, but it also makes the bully a victim in some senses. The fact is that there are psychopaths who bully others in a precisely calculated way and get off on their power to make others feel miserable.
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Inkmaster
3 years ago
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Why did you have to go and make it political?
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Boojum
3 years ago
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Because he's the most prominent example of the pathology.
He's the most powerful individual in the world, and he regularly spews threats and personal abuse in an attempt to dominate and intimidate those much less powerful than himself. Anyone who can't see that as bullying has a huge blind-spot.
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Inkmaster
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"Because he's the most prominent example of the pathology." There are many people who would disagree with that. "he regularly spews threats" Factually inaccurate. "and personal abuse" When was the last time he did that? "Anyone who can't see that as bullying has a huge blind-spot." I think most would agree that those things are bullying. Many would also disagree that he does those things.
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Boojum
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It is true that many people are locked into the Fox/OAN/QAnon bubble.
It's clear to me that presenting incontrovertible facts that are contrary to their worldview is as pointless as trying to convince SmokeEverything that outer space exists or attempting to persuade a biblical literalist that the world was not created 7,000 years ago.
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Inkmaster
3 years ago
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"It is true that many people are locked into the Fox/OAN/QAnon bubble." I wouldn't exactly call it a bubble. That implies that it's isolated. Fox has the highest ratings of any news organisation at the moment. Also, why do people keep acting like Fox is such an incredible (as in not credible) news source? Yes, they have a Republican lean to their news. So what? Literally every other cable news network leans Democrat. I don't know what OAN or QAnon are, though. To be perfectly honest, I don't use any of them as a source of news.
"It's clear to me that presenting incontrovertible facts that are contrary to their worldview..." What incontrovertible facts?