That way it's easier to just tear them down. I think some poeple do this so they don't have to listen to the other person or actually think about a different position/pov.
For example if I say....
I am vegetarian...do you automatically assume I am a PETA member who hugs trees and thinks meat should be illegal and we should treat ants as our equals?
I am an atheist...do you assume I hate all theists and would like them all killed and support the guy who did just that (who was NEVER identified as an atheist)?
I believe humans contribute greatly to climat change...do you assume I worship and support everything Al Gore does and think nobody should have kids and we should all live in mud huts?
I am a Christian...do you assume I go to Jesus Camp and home school my kids, teaching them the world is 6000 yrs old and everyone not like me is evil?
2007-12-11 06:02:42 · 5 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
I suspect that it's a matter of mental laziness. It takes thought and introspection to avoid what Skinner called "stimulus generalization" -- stereotyping.
As far as I can see, there are whole sectors of denominations whose main goal is to avoid having to think about their faith systems. Painting others with the broad "gawdless" brush helps them achieve that goal.
2007-12-11 06:05:23 · answer #1 · answered by Acorn 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Many are the people that take the easy way out. But, there are a few of us that try(not always successfully) to see each person as an individual and having their own merits. I admit that I am sometimes guilty but, I try to keep an open mind. The ones that I tend to lump together are those who have no will to search out what is truthful in things they don't want to hear. On Y/A is a small minority that bash everyone who does not think the same way. I have been called a Liberal by some and a Conservative by others and even a dirty old man by one.
2007-12-11 18:02:46 · answer #2 · answered by James E Lewis AKA choteau 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It can be justified. Take the muslims, for instance. They claim to not support terrorism, yet they do not condemn it. If we don't condemn those who do bad things in our names, then we do condone their actions. Again, look at the christian fundamentalist movement that took place in Germany. Nobody said anything about it and they grew in power to become the Nazi's. Anti-semitism is a christian tradition that goes back thousands of years and nobody condemned it. By the way, who was the atheist who killed all the theists?
2007-12-11 18:56:56 · answer #3 · answered by phil8656 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
The problem is most of us don't want to investigate the issue and analyze it, much less talk with the so-called accused, so a good lazy shortcut is to just operate by prejudice, hearsay, and stigma.
2007-12-11 14:09:57 · answer #4 · answered by coreydsaragon 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It's always easy to take the beliefs of the least common denominator then apply it to all.
2007-12-11 14:07:31 · answer #5 · answered by monte54que 7 · 4⤊ 0⤋