What ever happend to RESPECTING peoples different views both online and off?

Answer 1

I have no idea. But, I wish it would come back.

Answer 2

Several psychological factors going on here, and a bit of your question slides into philosophy.

Respect for others is limited psychologically to those who are "like" us. Conversely, anyone who's not "like" us tends to get worse treatment because they don't deserve the respect of decent people like us. (assuming you can class people as "us" and "them" according to different yardsticks)

Your conscience is what makes you do something when no one's looking. Being online, it's easy to not be yourself. No one knows who you really are, you're just a clever nic. And lots of ignorant people are threatened by people who are oh-so-slightly different. So if you get an ignorant person hiding behind an undecipherable nic, you have a situation where there's nothing keeping that person from ignorant flaming.

You see some of this in driving, too- be rude, flip someone off because they don't know who you are, and will likely never see you again. There is a sort of immediate gratification ("Look at what I just got away with, whoopee!") that results from an inner inclination to "Let me see how I can make that other person smaller so I can be larger, at least in my mind."

It takes education and maturity to realize that you *might* not always be right and if someone's a bit different, that's OK.

In the good old days (before humans got too crowded into anonymous megapopulations), people behaved better because there were social consequences for acting badly. If you live in a town of a few hundred and misbehave (drunk, angry, rude, etc.) this would get back to people you care for, and they'd ask you why you behaved badly. This is a kind of self-leveling process. Without someone around you to know you're acting badly, the only mitigating influence on your bad behavior is your conscience. And that seems to have atrophied (pardon the simile) because there are such few occasions when anything one does in modern life will actually get back to anyone else for that self-leveling phenomenon to work.

Good question, sorry I haven't got a better answer.

Answer 3

I've been participating in political forums on the Internet since way before the 2004 election, and I've yet to find a forum where people are respectful about other's views on politics. Where did this reasonable forum for political views ever exist on the Internet? I'd love to know, because I've never seen any evidence of it.

Answer 4

I ask that question to myself everyday? But then to, we live in a world where hundreds are arrested for opposing view points; where women are barred from education (select Arab countries); and people crush CDs of a "heretic" artist (Dixie Chicks) en mass.
People are humans who were once apes--my reasoning.
As for online, I guess it is easier to say anything to anybody because you are anonymous and, of course, do not know one iota about the person you may flame. It's robotic transmissions that are technical, not emotional. People can let loose.
It's sad, but I just take care of my own behavior and hope it has a positive influence on others. That's the most I can realistically do.

Answer 5

Well it would be ideal to think people could be mature and respect each others differences, but alot don't and will go to lengths sometimes to push their own view upon you. In today's polictical climate, expect more of the same, expect more extreme politics and things to happen, but it is like anything else, temporary.

Answer 6

The Internet is a place where people can hide behind an avatar and nick name. It's a different story if you talk face to face.

You loose inhibitions when you have a mask on.

Answer 7

Judging from the number of responses you received on this question, a lot of people agree with you. But maybe you are over reacting to the disrespectful comments and not giving adequate perspective to the others.

Answer 8

Its part of the polarization in politics and I blame both democrats and republicans. The us verse them philosophy. Remember freedom of speech. This should be respected online and off.

Answer 9

hmmm, i can offer my opinion for the online portion of your question. I think that people are so insulting on the internet is because it is virtually anonymous, whereas in real life saying certain things would get your beat. But since they dont know you, they go all out!

Answer 10

People stopped caring.

Online, it's easier to hide behind an avatar and say things that you normally wouldn't.

Offline, there have always been people who KNEW they were right and everyone else was wrong. It just looks like they've gotten more vocal lately.

Answer 11

While I certainly respect others rights to their own views, I'm going to dispute them in the appropriate forum..like here on answers.