Which is why talking to people as if theyтАЩre human beings instead of dismissing them or name-calling is effective. Sadly, especially nowadays, these are also exceptional behaviours.
I don't do the name-calling thing but I do tend to disengage, having run out of patience long ago. In decades online I have only seen two conversions out of thousands of people, which is FAIAP zero.
But that exception strategy works. Once a bigot knows someone from the hated group to be a respectable person the whole attitude crumbles. I like to think I've been the exception a few times for gay-haters.
Opinions by and large change gradually and incrementally in humans. The "conversion" experience is relatively rare - typically only due to traumatic or transcendant experiences.
For example, I know people who were pretty deep into neo-progressive ideology, and who have gradually pulled themselves out of it, typically a small piece at a time over years. I wouldn't call any I have known a "conversion" experience, but despite being slow, such shifts can be important.
I myself am one case in point.
And congrats in being the cognitively dissonant exception! That does work, as you say, albeit usually gradually and incrementally.
Davis' achievement was done by making himself the exception. A virulent bigot can't have exceptions.
Which is why talking to people as if theyтАЩre human beings instead of dismissing them or name-calling is effective. Sadly, especially nowadays, these are also exceptional behaviours.
I don't do the name-calling thing but I do tend to disengage, having run out of patience long ago. In decades online I have only seen two conversions out of thousands of people, which is FAIAP zero.
But that exception strategy works. Once a bigot knows someone from the hated group to be a respectable person the whole attitude crumbles. I like to think I've been the exception a few times for gay-haters.
Opinions by and large change gradually and incrementally in humans. The "conversion" experience is relatively rare - typically only due to traumatic or transcendant experiences.
For example, I know people who were pretty deep into neo-progressive ideology, and who have gradually pulled themselves out of it, typically a small piece at a time over years. I wouldn't call any I have known a "conversion" experience, but despite being slow, such shifts can be important.
I myself am one case in point.
And congrats in being the cognitively dissonant exception! That does work, as you say, albeit usually gradually and incrementally.