I think many people on both sides of the discussion
have drawn bright lines way too quickly
were quick to assume bad faith from their interlocutors, understood people who disagreed with them as opponents or enemies in a culture war
rather than (possibly mistaken) collaborators in the pursuit of the good
mostly did not interpret their opponents particularly charitably
said things to denigrate their opponents rather than try to understand and empathize with them
appeared to have acted out of ideology or perhaps fear, rather than love
seem to mostly ignore the (frequently EA) bystanders to this ideological conflict, and ignore (or even delight in) the harm their words or other speech acts may have caused to bystanders.
Perhaps I’m just reasserting basic forum norms, but I think we should instead at least try to interpret other people on this forum more charitably. Moreover, I think we should generally try to be kind to our fellow EAs[1]. Most of us are here to do good. Many of us have made substantial sacrifices in order to do so. We may have some disagreements and misunderstandings now, and we likely will again in the future, but morality is hard. Serving the good is a very difficult enterprise, and it is unlikely that we’ll be able to do so in the future while a) maintaining perfect ideological lockstep and b) without any significant misunderstandings. We should use our current moment for tolerance, empathy, and for learning.
Of course, we should also be kind to non-EAs. But being kind to other EAs should sort of be the bare minimum. “It’s a low bar, but we have yet to reach it.”
A plea for basic kindness and charity
I think many people on both sides of the discussion
have drawn bright lines way too quickly
were quick to assume bad faith from their interlocutors, understood people who disagreed with them as opponents or enemies in a culture war
rather than (possibly mistaken) collaborators in the pursuit of the good
mostly did not interpret their opponents particularly charitably
said things to denigrate their opponents rather than try to understand and empathize with them
appeared to have acted out of ideology or perhaps fear, rather than love
seem to mostly ignore the (frequently EA) bystanders to this ideological conflict, and ignore (or even delight in) the harm their words or other speech acts may have caused to bystanders.
Perhaps I’m just reasserting basic forum norms, but I think we should instead at least try to interpret other people on this forum more charitably. Moreover, I think we should generally try to be kind to our fellow EAs[1]. Most of us are here to do good. Many of us have made substantial sacrifices in order to do so. We may have some disagreements and misunderstandings now, and we likely will again in the future, but morality is hard. Serving the good is a very difficult enterprise, and it is unlikely that we’ll be able to do so in the future while a) maintaining perfect ideological lockstep and b) without any significant misunderstandings. We should use our current moment for tolerance, empathy, and for learning.
Of course, we should also be kind to non-EAs. But being kind to other EAs should sort of be the bare minimum. “It’s a low bar, but we have yet to reach it.”