Let’s clear something up. If you like cake, and I don’t like cake (I love cake but let’s pretend)— these are opinions. They can be respected by both of us agreeing not to try to force the other to either eat or not eat cake. Follow so far? When someone says “we should respect other people’s opinions”, this is where that applies. Now let’s say you are of the opinion that pregnant people don’t have bodily autonomy or that a short dress is justification for rape, or some such other opinion which invalidates the autonomy and rights of another person. I have zero obligation then to respect your opinion. Your opinion fails to even respect someone’s existence. Whatever un-researched, mental gymnastics you performed to reach that opinion is cause for concern enough, but at the point when you try to impose it on others via legislation and civic institutions, you lose the ability to say “But you have to respect my opinion!” No. No I really don’t, No matter how politely or calmly you phrase your dehumanizing values they are still bad values, and I am not obligated to respect your opinion which inherently devalues me. I don’t have to nod and smile and assure you that your harmful opinion of me is just as valid and okay as you deciding to eat cake. One is cake. The other is my right to safety and happiness. Don’t assume I’m going to have the same reaction to both disagreements just so you can say horrible things behind the shield of “civil discourse”. You don’t get a prize for dehumanizing me nicely.
Posted on: Fri, 16 May 2014 00:27:21 +0000
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