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this post was submitted on 24 Mar 2024
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I'd argue that perhaps you don't have the sense-memory of its effects, but you also lack the moral relativism of trying to justify your own pain to yourself. All those people saying 'well I've [experienced something unacceptable] and I'm just fine' seem pretty empathy-poor. Being forced to swallow your pride as a child does a lot to fuck with your sense of right and wrong.
I would argue that you're incapable of seeing my point of view precisely because of the aforementioned lack of empathy. Of course, both of us would be making wild assumptions about the other person and generally being a bag of dicks for making demeaning statements about the other in an attempt to brush off their reasoning.
You're assuming I haven't suffered. I'm saying I don't think suffering grants you empathy, that's just one reaction you might have, many just choose not to emotionally engage with the source of their pain.
Look at that, you got halfway through my comment before replying.
I'm... Not picking a fight with you? I just feel differently?
I'll admit I have been very rude to you, because you came into this conversation misconstruing my statements as "people should suffer the same economic hardships as I have" which is not at all my stance. Never was. That would be the literal parody stance in the article above. So you don't feel differently to me, you've explicitly stated that you feel differently to the metaphorical man made of hay and farmers clothes held up by warped lumber.
Did this clear up your confusion? Can you go continue talking to yourself elsewhere, now?
My argument was simply that empathy is not the result of hardship, but of personal growth. I meant none of it as a personal attack, I'm sorry if my wording was ambiguous. It's all good dude.
Your actual stance was:
If you want to turn that around and have a decent conversation now then I'm afraid it's too late for you. You've lost all credibility in my eyes.
Buddy, that's the same point, that pain fucks with you and it takes distance and introspection to grow from it, otherwise you wither into self-pity and callousness.