Translating Right-Wing Attempts to Trigger Liberal Guilt
We want to believe that everyone means what they say. We want to believe that a little more educating and presentation of the facts convinces people. We think that explaining ourselves over and over again and spending a lot of energy to understand the right-wing will help us get along. We’re invested in the idea that showing them we care about their views – even claiming we “respect” irrational views – will win them over. And when these things don’t work, we blame ourselves, our lack of listening skills, our lack of empathy, our neglect to spend enough time, or our failure to articulate clearly what we mean. We treat ourselves as the guilty party in the debates and actually, though we’d never admit it to ourselves, end up looking down on right-wingers and their dupes as if they’re mere victims of ignorance, misinformation or illogic, not as actors who make choices and cling to their prejudices no matter how we argue. No wonder that the right-wing thinks liberals look down