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Comment by lobotryas | Hacker News Reader

Yes, everyone has "deeply held beliefs that they do not want challenged". The difference is in how we treat people who do challenge or disagree with our beliefs AND which beliefs it's currently acceptable to challenge and which are not.

Imagine someone speaking out against a popular left-leaning causes like something that Obama would support. Now, imagine someone railing against a popular right-leaning cause, like something Ted Cruz would support. Do you think they'll get the same amount or type of counter-artuments, vitriol, or push-back?

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I suspect you support one side. And so naturally, you will argue in favor of the other side being "worse".

But the reality is... there are elements in both of these thought groups that are extremely dangerous. Try telling a group of liberals, well, pretty much anything contrary to currently accepted liberal orthodoxy... and you'll see liberal "tolerance" in all its glory. Maybe you could approach them and argue that, perhaps, the bankers and CEO's deserve the billions they take out of the economy as remuneration?

Or try telling a group of conservatives something contrary to conservative dogma... let me know how it goes. Maybe you could attempt to explain, in front of a rally of rabid conservatives, that maybe the BLM people have a point about the militarization of the nation's police departments? Or, if you're feeling REALLY brave, lay out for them why their extremely conservative area would be well served by an abortion clinic.

You want to see "push back", argue for anything that partisan dogma does not allow.

Depends where it's happening?

Implication is it's happening in a "general public" forum, or so I infered.

general public in rural alabama or general public in downtown san francisco?

Different ideas affect different people in different ways.

For example, not having affordable healthcare affects people directly and might very well be a death sentence to some.

Often, popular left-leaning causes are like that - causes where people are left vulnerable if they lose: Equal rights for LGBT people, gender, race, and immigration issues, etc.

So of course, people are going to react very strongly to someone who is against that, because they are deeply and directly impacted.

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