“we should be able to ban furries!!!!!1!” wrong! kill the part of you that cringes

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Well, it’s worth considering how these two examples differ in the severity of the opinion being expressed. It does not necessarily appear to be a problem with the opinion itself, but the way it’s being communicated. The first example is communicated politely while the second one is mean-spirited.

What if we switched their degrees around, though?:

  • “Linux users are fucking cringe and I hate them”

  • “I don’t like furries, I prefer non-furries”

The orders are reversed and the way they’re interpreted gets reversed, too. When we phrase it this way, the second example appears a lot less intimidating, even though the actual opinion remains the same. In contrast, the first example—which was once a polite expression of a preference—is a lot more unpleasant and offensive.

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