Don't you hate it when people generalize?

[Yukaphile]

And I've met people on ALL ends of the political spectrum who do this. Right of center people who dislike "SJWs," primarily left-wingers who are black or Feminist or women. I've met Feminists who unironically call "women," which is a very broad term when you're dealing with millions of people, "perpetrators of crimes against humanity." I've met people who insist all Trump voters are guilty, even though I've met a few in person who aren't the traditional "evil" people they'd have you believe. And so on and so forth. Point is, you can't generalize when you start getting into a large group full of millions of people. Anyone else tired of that?

[BridgeConsoleMasher]

Yeah that sucks, but have you ever seen two people argue on the basis of generalizations?

[Yukaphile]

I believe so, yes. It's sad. And the truly sad part is I'm not immune. Not pointing a finger without turning one back around at myself.

[Riedquat]

At the risk of accusing you of generalising - it depends. Often generalisations are necessary. There are exceptions and details to everything and it's irritating and distracting when people get bogged down to them and / or use them to dismiss the bigger, wider picture. So sometimes making generalisations is absolutely necessary when discussing a subject - the variations and exceptions don't invalidate that.

It's only really a problem when people insist that the generalisation universally applies, without being willing to accept the exceptions - when "probably" becomes "definitely." And risking another generalisation, people have problems with "probably." They like certainty.

[Yukaphile]

Sometimes, perhaps. But there is a limit to this thing when it goes against basic human compassion and decency.

[Nealithi]

I suppose? I mean I agree not everyone that voted for President Trump is some goosestepping baby eater level of evil. I think the issue is people in a broad sense put themselves in groups and those groups gain a definition. Tea Party, SJW, Gamers, etc.
But can it also go too far the other way? Too much demand to know who 'They' are?

[Jonathan101]

People who generalise a lot tend to have anxiety (especially General Anxiety Disorder).

If they don't have anxiety, they are at least emotionally reactive and tend to favour expressing their emotions and opinions over worrying whether they are 100% accurate or fair, which can often feel pedantic to them- in their minds, when they say "All X", they don't REALLY mean "All X", but it should be obvious that they don't so you shouldn't have a problem and if you do maybe you are worried that it applies to you? etc

Also, the people who overly generalise can also be overly-specific when it suits them to be; they will often believe "it depends" on the situation which one they go for, and they might be playing Devil's Advocate unconsciously, that or they are just very upset / angry in the moment and want to vent.

The other element is to offer support or feel supported; if they or a friend of theirs is feeling hurt or upset about something, generalisations can be a way of saying "we're in this together- you're not alone", as if anyone in their shoes would / should feel the same way, or if they are generalising about others in a negative way it can be ease their anxieties by making things black-and-white and simplifying the matters- yes, they ARE "all bad" / their good side doesn't matter, so you don't have to be confused with mixed feelings or whatever and you know who your friends and foes are.

Since it's either an emotional reaction or playing Devils' Advocate , they are likely to complain about generalisations when "other people" do it even if they themselves are guilty of it all the time, perhaps especially if they are guilty of it all the time as they are simply projecting their issues onto others, and projection is primarily a means of making sense or getting rid of something we are uncomfortable with in ourselves.

Best way to deal with such persons is just to let them vent- sometimes they won't listen to reason (even if they are claiming to be the most reasonable person in the room) until they have had their catharsis and gotten whatever is bothering them off their chest (and usually what they are generalising or complaining about is not what is really bothering them anyway); if that can't be done or if they are starting to cross some lines, either deflect with a joke or, if necessary, get firm and "adult" with them and act like a cold, stern authority figure (e.g. with short, to-the-point responses), because they are essentially regressing and throwing "adults tantrums" and subconsciously they are really putting the onus on others to determine whether they have gone too far anyway.

Of course, this is a lot harder to do on the internet than in real life, especially if they are in groups who share their anxieties and need to vent in the same way, but the big takeaways are that they think they are being authentic, that they have a compulsive need to vent and get things off of their chest, and that they are either looking for support or looking to support someone else and that matters, "in the moment", more than fairness to them.

Lastly, many people who do this tend to think they are "harmless" in some way- they often feel that other people have greater power (and thus, greater responsibility) than they do themselves, so even if they accept that everything they are saying is unfair or rude or condescending or whatever, they may believe it doesn't matter because they are just some random person trying to get things off of their chest, so pointing out how unfair they are being is kind of fruitless although, of course, they can feel like they are "harmless" or the underdog no matter what their actual situation or status really is, as we are all the underdog in at least some ways.

[BridgeConsoleMasher]

Just when I thought nobody could save this thread...

[Yukaphile]

I have a lot of anxiety, and while I kind of generalize, that's just my own limited experience talking. Everyone, listen up? Including you, Darth? I often know I'm making assumptions and things are not all as I seem. That the people I'm personally talking against I haven't met, and in most cases, things are more complicated than they seem. It can feel like you're being overwhelmed by assholes sometimes, yet I know that's not the case. We don't know their story. It reminds me what Geekdom said in his video, how we all have a journey. You don't know the other person's story. But deep down, I'm always aware I could be wrong, and hell, I'm the guy who refuses to believe 60,000,000 Trump voters are radical racists and sexists, am I? No, it's not like that at all.

[Jonathan101]

Well, thing is, deep down they are likely ALSO aware that they could be wrong, or that they are being unfair or whatever (I've followed people like that on social media and sooner or later, they usually have moments of being more objective or fair, even to the point of cognitive dissonance from what they said earlier and what they are going to say later when their panic hits).

It's the harmless thing again- "I know that what I'm saying is not 100% true...and because I know that, it's okay, and anyone who contradicts me is just missing the point or maybe doing it on purpose".