I find the opposite. I have a unique neurological condition. No-one else has it. I tell ppl how it makes me feel. They empathise easily.
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They have none of the symptoms but they can imagine what it feels like when I tell them & how frustrating the disablement must be.
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Because we share human experiences. We know headaches & dizziness are not nice & how much we rely on being able to see straight.
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Its even easier to imagine what fear, anger, pain, alienation, isolation feel like because we have all felt this to some degree at some time
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This does not mean we should think we're all on a level playing field with those things & I don't think we need to to empathise with them.
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The assumption seems to be that if we do empathise with others whilst being more fortunate than them, we deny that we are more fortunate. No
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It is not privileged & entitled for me to empathise with a gay boy who is being bullied whilst not being gay, a boy or bullied.
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He can describe feelings I share because I am a human & I can imagine what it must be like to feel that intensely every day.
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I won't be having his experience but I will be empathising with it. It's not even in my control. I couldn't *not* empathise with it.
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As Iona said, anyone who has sobbed over a book or film set in a different time or place has experienced empathy.pic.twitter.com/zXaAix0OvL
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It's ludicrous to think our shared humanity, our empathy & our compassion for people who differ from us are a hindrance to social justice.
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It's because they don't want to empathise with other groups, when you do that it's easier to hate them.
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I generally dislike attributing malicious motives sans evidence, but that behaviour is damning.
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I mostly try to ascribe the best of motives to people, and at worst accept it may down to stupidity. Identity politics seem to be hate based
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Identity politics seems to be based on "they're not like you and me, which means they must be evil!" - the mindset of a Disney villain.
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I agree. It makes it inevitable that the far right get empowered by the people caught up in that viewpoint, both sides then want segregation
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…what could possibly go wrong?
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Quite...
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apart from war, genocide, torture, slavery, and other myriad atrocities, that is.
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By that logic empathy is not possible at all. Because we can never feel what another person feels exactly.
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