RallyPoint and Viewpoints. Who is right on Controversial Issues?

2014-12-08T01:17:26-05:00

Perhaps one of the more controversial takes during this little hiccup surrounding the shootings are the whys? You look at some viewpoint and you shudder. While the next guy has a completely different idea on the same thing.

Is he or she stupid, obtuse or disconnected? We judge ourselves, each and everyone due to our environments. To make sense of the recent shootings comes the question, who is right?

Talent for prejudice: Why humans dehumanize others. In the article by the same name in a science magazine (New Scientist) from Jan. 2014, comes that very question. It is common to all of us and the recent news events underscore that all too well.

There was a pretty clear demarcation line by the various camps and part of what I saw and heard was a narrative about human rights and in particular cops versus blacks. Intergenerational remnants of perceived bigotry and profiling. Maybe we take each other for granted because we believe our group believes one way. From gun ownership, to civil rights we see through our own prejudices about people and our inherent baggage.

The bottom-line is we all have a voice and from time to time here we can be less than accepting, all the while assuming it's them versus us. Other studies show that our passions are all the same and different synapses predict certain results in different parts of the brain.

The military goes a lot further and we learn to play nice and make friends inspite of differences and we get along pretty well. That's because in my opinion we get to know each other rather than just read about it.

What do you feel? Do we really listen to different ideas?

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 8 at 2014 3:09 AM

2014-12-08T03:09:29-05:00

Who is right could be the right question, or what is right? Being right is only a perception of our own personal belief system and sometimes supported by the law of the land. My line of morality probably won't line up with anyone 100%.
The problem is when people don't decide to listen to each other. We're not always born with a fair shake, but in this age of information you can be as ignorant or as smart as you want to be.

Response by CPT Richard Riley made Dec 8 at 2014 4:47 AM

2014-12-08T04:47:33-05:00

One has to grant that everyone derives their perspective from their own unique experiences as a baseline. The individual baggage that comes with that perspective taints how we surmise the experience we are describing. I haven't read the article yet so I can't speak to your direct question -but- what I can say is that we have the ability to comprehend common threads & human decency.

I've grown to believe the "us -vs- them" mentality is a catch-all when you don't want to think for yourself. There will always be more than one way to do or say something, the key is you have to think, reason, and find the accurate way for YOU to respond and act. A tightrope walk at times but it can be done.

Response by Sgt Ramon Nacanaynay made Jun 15 at 2015 10:45 AM

2015-06-15T10:45:35-04:00

I feel grateful and not alone. Keep it up. If you don't become a Veteran For Peace in name you can be in thought and action.

Response by Maj John Bell made Feb 29 at 2016 8:08 AM

2016-02-29T08:08:40-05:00

Full disclosure - I am a volunteer Fireman and EMT. Technically I am a latino, but you would never know it by looking at me or hearing my speech. I served in the Marines and spent 2&1/2 years in East Africa. In the mid 1960's My father was officially chastised in Navy fitness reports for being too accepting of black pilots, and participating in minority voter registration drives. My son-in-law grew up in very white, rural Michigan and is now patrol officer in a large metropolitan police force in southern Michigan. My daughter was a 911 dispatcher in the same community
It would be interesting to look at other variables besides race, or in addition to race, when looking at the issue of "Police Brutality". From the sources I mentioned above, and their social circles, I believe there is a stronger correlation between "level of force used" and "authority issues" plus "income status" rather than "level of force used" and "minority status".