• BumpingFuglies@lemmy.zip
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    11 months ago

    I don’t think many have beliefs rooted in hatred. Most “hateful” beliefs are rooted in fear and ignorance. I don’t usually look to pop culture for my moral philosophy, but I believe Yoda said it best:

    Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.

    It’s why leaving a podunk town to go to college usually makes people much more liberal and open-minded; they’re exposed to new ideas and a wider variety of people. Their fear of the unknown is replaced with connections to real people and experiential knowledge that everyone is an individual, no matter what their identity’s social stereotype may be.

    In my experience, the path to enlightenment is paved with love and understanding. No matter how hateful & misguided a person may be, as long as they’re not a literal psycho/sociopath, showing them genuine compassion and a willingness to listen, not just preach, will almost always have a positive impact.