The Student Room Group

Are we becoming less tolerant of opnions we disagree with?

Somewhere between the idea we can legislate for offense and can tailor news and tastes to suit our ready formed opinions, we are living in a less tolerant society than a generation ago.


http://pseudomoos.com/2014/11/25/nuclear-whine-and-intolerance-fallout/

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It's probably for a number of reasons, but I suspect a lot of it has something to do with our inability to communicate effectively these days. We're so reliant on doing research or finding our answers by bashing a few words into Google, and we keep in touch with friends primarily through Facebook, WhatsApp or the occasional text message. As a generation, we have moved away from the spoken word and our ability to argue effective has suffered.

This, mixed with the fact that our society is based on building up friend counts as opposed to true friends means that we typically would rather be agreeable to everyone, even if we do disagree with someone or something.
Original post by Jetboy
Are we becoming less tolerant of opnions we disagree with?


Can you stop flouting this bigoted nonsense please?

Reply 3
Original post by Snagprophet
Can you stop flouting this bigoted nonsense please?



That was really offensive. Why won't you tolerate his views?
Original post by Evening
That was really offensive. Why won't you tolerate his views?


Well I for one simply won't stand for your intolerance of his intolerance.
Original post by Evening
That was really offensive. Why won't you tolerate his views?


We don't need his kind round here.
Reply 6
I entirely agree.

The reply to any criticism that might make someone uncomfortable seems to be "I have the freedom to believe this and you have no right to disagree." Just because an opinion makes you uncomfortable doesn't mean that opinion should be silenced.

We can't learn anything worthwhile without contradiction and introspection.




Original post by kat2pult
It's probably for a number of reasons, but I suspect a lot of it has something to do with our inability to communicate effectively these days. We're so reliant on doing research or finding our answers by bashing a few words into Google, and we keep in touch with friends primarily through Facebook, WhatsApp or the occasional text message. As a generation, we have moved away from the spoken word and our ability to argue effective has suffered.

This, mixed with the fact that our society is based on building up friend counts as opposed to true friends means that we typically would rather be agreeable to everyone, even if we do disagree with someone or something.
Reply 7
Typical of your sort, that's how Hitler came to power!!! :dogt: Only Dogtanian can save us.


Original post by Snagprophet
Can you stop flouting this bigoted nonsense please?



Original post by Evening
That was really offensive. Why won't you tolerate his views?


Original post by felamaslen
Well I for one simply won't stand for your intolerance of his intolerance.


Original post by Snagprophet
We don't need his kind round here.
Reply 8
Are we really getting less tolerant? Surely we've always been intolerant?
Reply 9
If I can be allowed to be serious for the briefest of moments.


Original post by Jetboy
we are living in a less tolerant society than a generation ago


This is patently untrue.
Original post by Drewski
If I can be allowed to be serious for the briefest of moments.

This is patently untrue.


It's not patently untrue to me, though admittedly I was not around a generation ago, so what would I know.
Reply 11
Not being confrontational when I ask this but why do you think that? I am not just talking of the most overt signs of intolerance like racism, I mean in regards to opinion in general. The anonymity of the Internet makes it worse and people have always argued but not to the degree we should each other down now.

Even ignoring the spite of You Tube comments, the titles of any debate are always "Owned" or "Destroyed". The point of debate to many is to humiliate rather than discuss.


Original post by Drewski
If I can be allowed to be serious for the briefest of moments.




This is patently untrue.
Original post by Jetboy
Not being confrontational when I ask this but why do you think that? I am not just talking of the most overt signs of intolerance like racism, I mean in regards to opinion in general. The anonymity of the Internet makes it worse and people have always argued but not to the degree we should each other down now.

Even ignoring the spite of You Tube comments, the titles of any debate are always "Owned" or "Destroyed". The point of debate to many is to humiliate rather than discuss.


That's not the same thing though.

Just because we're more aware of people speaking out does not mean that more people are speaking out or that the views being presented are new.
Reply 13
Original post by Jetboy
Not being confrontational when I ask this but why do you think that? I am not just talking of the most overt signs of intolerance like racism, I mean in regards to opinion in general. The anonymity of the Internet makes it worse and people have always argued but not to the degree we should each other down now.

Even ignoring the spite of You Tube comments, the titles of any debate are always "Owned" or "Destroyed". The point of debate to many is to humiliate rather than discuss.


Political correctness, forced intergration and a general theme of 'diversity' has encouraged the public to resort to expressing their views into a narrow form such as the internet, where having an erroneous take on something is the product of a world where tolerance has been thrust upon it.
LOL how long till the Scholes fanboys come on here telling us he was better than Iniesta.
Reply 15
Perhaps but I'd argue we are more aware because the conversation is so much more confrontational and is so much more confrontational because of an intolerance to views that differ from our own.


Original post by Drewski
That's not the same thing though.

Just because we're more aware of people speaking out does not mean that more people are speaking out or that the views being presented are new.
Reply 16
I'm not sure this is relevant but of course Scholes wasn't as good as Iniesta and I'm not sure Iniesta speaks English but he wouldn't need to to be a better pundit than him too.

Original post by MagicNMedicine
LOL how long till the Scholes fanboys come on here telling us he was better than Iniesta.
Reply 17
I've always cringed at those that rally against political correctness as I think it served a purpose in the past. Now it is just another way to shut down debates that make people feel uncomfortable. I like multiculturalism, for example, it's all I know and what I feel home around but that doesn't mean it is perfect and to criticise parts of it does not equate to racism.

Having said that, some clearly racist people have found refuge under its banner.

Original post by Evening
Political correctness, forced intergration and a general theme of 'diversity' has encouraged the public to resort to expressing their views into a narrow form such as the internet, where having an erroneous take on something is the product of a world where tolerance has been thrust upon it.
Reply 18
Not that I've been around for long enough to really notice, but it does seem that those in authority are caring more about their image (or my cynicism is increasing with age) and are more willing to make laws regarding offence. I'd probably be okay with a politician being super PC if that was what they intended to stand for, but picking the recent example of the feminism T-shirts that Cameron didn't wear but Clegg and Miliband did, I don't think it is a good state of affairs for people in authority to be able to be pressed into supporting a cause on the assumption that if they do not then they must be against it. If a politician stands for something they should decide with a level head, not in the heat of the moment at risk of bad press.
Reply 19
I have an intuition that we are becoming less tolerant as a society. Perhaps technology has led to a point where we dismiss views we disagree with with simple two-word insults, meaning that when people are expressing views we disagree with on a large scale, we can't handle it, and so try to ban them or silence them.

This may not be the case at all, however.

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