Okay, but I was one of those bigots years ago, and surrounded by others that were the same way. I made the choice to listen to others and open my mind to other lines of reasoning. I educated myself, realized I was wrong, and changed as a person.

Being stuck in that place is no excuse. Everyone has the choice to listen to others, and if you actually listen to others, you will realize that their views and beliefs are wrong.

If I could be stuck in the middle of Texas in a hyper-conservative family, with conservative friends, immersed in that culture, and come out of it… So can they.

So no, I do not have any sympathy. They made their choice. And not only did they make their choice, they decided to triple-down and become violent extremists.

Fuck them, they deserve what they got.

[–] thanks_shakey_snake@lemmy.ca 5 points 8 months ago (1 children)

What led you to start opening up and changing your mind?

[–] BluJay320@lemmy.blahaj.zone 10 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Making the decision to talk to other people with differing views and actually open myself to listening

That’s literally it. I made the choice to immerse myself in a diverse community and have conversations with differently minded people, and actually heard them out.

[–] GreyEyedGhost@lemmy.ca 5 points 8 months ago

So, basically, the willingness to admit that maybe you were wrong, and willing to be convinced of that with adequate proof. Sounds like somewhere along the way you were exposed to critical thinking and/or open-mindedness.