I am generally congenial when it comes to political and personal disagreements with people, to include religion and personal philosophies of every sort. I can debate, even get into it, but still have the ability to view it with a distant sort of amusement, and sometimes I am arguing a position simply for the sake of arguing it without having an actual opinion on the topic. (Classic INTP.)
However, whenever I encounter certain people, certain behaviours, certain attitudes, I snap. It just absolutely cracks whatever amusement I am capable of holding in regards to the topic and then sends it shattering into a billion pieces. It's not necessarily whenever someone challenges my views and forces me to examine them - while I will admit that, just like every other human being, I have a tendency to grow comfortable in my positions, and will be uncomfortable with some challenges, at the same time, I enjoy thinking critically and truly appreciate intelligent debate.
No, it's not the smart, well-thought out opposition that upsets me. (I've said many times before, give me a conversation with a well-informed, respectful opponent over a conversation with an ignorant, inconsiderate ally any day.) It's the people who automatically view an ideological disagreement as an excuse to wish death, or misery, on someone else, or who would be willing to see the whole goddamn world burn just so that they can be proven right.
That fills me with the burning fire of a thousand suns. It makes me so angry I completely lose my composure and immediately dive into inferior Fe with enthusiasm.
(Having to censor myself - not language, which is trivial, but meaning, and core personality traits, has the same effect, and generally I will give a great big fuck-off shoutout in those situations as well, although I have matured enough that I do not always give in to this desire anymore.)
It gives me incentive to do stupid things that I don't normally seek to do - I've been known to dive into discussions in which I am clearly not invited, to automatically search my vocabulary for more creative four-letter words (often in conjunction with some of the more educated bits of my vocabulary, because "pedant" is a shadow trait of my confrontational self - gotta show you're smarter than the opponent!), and to engage in flame wars with glee. While, in theory, I have no problem doing this, by the same token, I am aware that it makes me look just as ignorant and disrespectful as the opponents. I could give a crap.
It's not always a case of "Someone is wrong on the Internet!" though it is usually at least a close cousin. No. It's something more personal than that.
Some people I've known have had to deal with extremely oppressive situations, far above and beyond the norm. They were raised in ways where they had no voice, where their opinion meant nothing, and where any disagreement was dealt with via verbal abuse and, more often then not, violence. Bigotry, misogyny, and every evil of the patriarchy was inherent in this atmosphere, and no, I don't frequently talk about "the patriarchy," or reference it lightly, even though I do believe it exists. (And, if you know what I'm talking about here, there really isn't any need to reference it directly, plzthx.)
I had the good fortune of being raised to have a mind. I was raised to think, and to pride myself on that quality. I hope, pray, that, when my children are old enough to start formulating opinions on all kinds of matters, they feel free to open their mouths and disagree with me and tell me why. I have never, ever seen any sense whatsoever in priding one's self on ignorance, and I have never, ever been able to tolerate instances where I have seen the attitudes referenced in the last paragraph without wanting to give a backlash. See, I was lucky, and I can't stand that everyone else isn't. It makes me angry, if, by angry, you mean "possessed with a nearly ungovernable rage."
It makes me angry whenever I see people perpetuate that attitude. It makes me almost violently angry. People deserve better.
So, in conclusion, if you support the war, fine. If you support Bush, fine. If you are a Christianist, fine. If you believe that women belong in the kitchen, fine. If you disagree with me on any number of topics, fine. It's your opinion, and you have a right to have it, even to discuss it.
However, if you're willing to say that anyone who disagrees with you deserves to die, to go hungry, to be raped, to be tried for treason, to be tortured, to have any harm befall them, or that anyone innocent deserves similar fates, merely because someone disagrees with you, fuck off. Do you hear me? Fuck right off. I have no use for you, think you are a poison to the human race, and think that, if you refuse to educate yourself, you have no right to open your mouth. Understand? Savvy? I don't wish you would die, but I do wish you would be rendered incapable of communication until you actually take five seconds to consider the fact that your ideological opponents are human beings.
This comes from a place of hurt that runs so deep that it's not even mine. I refuse to see this kind of cancer spread through humanity without speaking out against it, because it has indirectly impacted my life. I cannot articulate how upset this has me, and yes, it's been triggered by something, and I felt the need to get that out. Maybe it's unenlightened. Maybe it's unfair, and it doesn't take into account that a lot of people who pass these wounds on were similarly wounded themselves.
But it's how I feel, and I have the right to it. That's the beauty of it.
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