The fact that folks might abuse empathy isn't a reason to temper it. If we avoided doing things because certain people would seek to exploit them, we would never do anything at all! Instead, empathy is something we enjoy regardless of the downside. Yes, people abused the PPP program but that doesn't mean we should avoid programs like that in the future.
I also reject the idea that empathy requires reciprocity. The LGBTQ community is free to support the Palestinian cause even if the Palestinians don't have empathy for the LGBTQ community. Most religions teach us to have empathy for others regardless of how others feel about us for a reason. Empathy is not a transactional barter. Empathy is a choice.
I do agree with you that some political movements have tried to use empathy as a loyalty test or tool of isolation, but I'm not sure how successful they have been. If anything, empathy seems to be chipping away at the MAGA movement as people realize that cruelty is not something worth standing for...
I appreciate the thoughts as always Sean. And I think having empathy for people who hate you silently is one thing, as you might all human beings that exist, but spending time to promote/endorse them? Feels like their emotions have been weaponized against them. I don't know how else to interpret that one.
Also re: the loans thing, perhaps better parameters could solve these things. With empathy here should come lots of accountability up front. Our tolerance for fraud here is clearly just not high enough.
"Palestine" doesn't hate queers. Hamas does. I personally know several queer Palestinians. Queers can totally support the Palestinian cause for freedom from an apartheid state without supporting Hamas's brutal backwardness. Those ideas are not mutually exclusive. I know because I'm able to hold them both in my mind at the same time with no problem. You should try it.
Maybe they understand what it's like to be persecuted? I don't think we need to map our own belief systems onto theirs, just respect their agency to feel empathy.
re: loans, I don't think it's possible to create such huge programs and not have a significant amount of fraud. There are too many people interested in taking the easy path by doing fraud instead of working hard, and it's not cost effective to try and create air tight programs.
Government programs will always be subject to fraud, and it scales with the size of the program. It's not just the US, it happens everywhere.
I did hear they are actively prosecuting many of the fraudsters so perhaps those stories will serve as cautionary tale for people. It's really not worth it to have the gov pursuing you for stuff like that or tax fraud. Living with that anxiety is def its own punishment even if they don't catch you.
Great post. I worry often about the weaponization of empathy, and I agree that focusing on what we can improve locally, especially in our relationships, is the wisest approach. As Voltaire put it, we must "cultivate our garden."
Definitely a hot take. Reminds me of the concept of ‘ruinous empathy’. Don’t agree to that concept though.
I get the feeling that the article sees empathy as a top to bottom activity. Like there’s an ingrained hierarchy. I think empathy is more lateral.
Definitely doesn’t agree with the example. I mean people who have gone through one kind of oppression and pain, might find it easier to understand pain and suffering someone else is going through. Maybe easier to empathise.
I do agree that empathy at a local level is really important, but that doesn’t mean one has to get more and more indifferent as the circles around them widen. And the world is a global village right now. The aspect that empathy is needed for the survival of the tribe is still applicable here.
A really good read nonetheless…made me think about what I understand as empathy. Whether I understand it at all.
Perhaps compassion is enough. We don't have to actively mirror someone's emotional state or feel their pain to help them. And, as you point out, it can be a trap.
Such a banger, I was thinking about this exact concept on my drive home last night. What does it look like when the empathetic checks start to bounce? I'm certainly at my end as I've grown to see how easily a good culture (neighborhood, school, etc.) can get completely corrupted by very few malicious exploitative actors. Even the smallest decisions matter to keep the world from falling apart.
This quote comes to mind: “With my family, I’m a communist. With my close friends, I’m a socialist. At the state level of politics, I’m a Democrat. At higher levels, I’m a Republican. The larger the group, the less trust there is, the more you gear towards capitalism.”
The fact that folks might abuse empathy isn't a reason to temper it. If we avoided doing things because certain people would seek to exploit them, we would never do anything at all! Instead, empathy is something we enjoy regardless of the downside. Yes, people abused the PPP program but that doesn't mean we should avoid programs like that in the future.
I also reject the idea that empathy requires reciprocity. The LGBTQ community is free to support the Palestinian cause even if the Palestinians don't have empathy for the LGBTQ community. Most religions teach us to have empathy for others regardless of how others feel about us for a reason. Empathy is not a transactional barter. Empathy is a choice.
I do agree with you that some political movements have tried to use empathy as a loyalty test or tool of isolation, but I'm not sure how successful they have been. If anything, empathy seems to be chipping away at the MAGA movement as people realize that cruelty is not something worth standing for...
I appreciate the thoughts as always Sean. And I think having empathy for people who hate you silently is one thing, as you might all human beings that exist, but spending time to promote/endorse them? Feels like their emotions have been weaponized against them. I don't know how else to interpret that one.
Also re: the loans thing, perhaps better parameters could solve these things. With empathy here should come lots of accountability up front. Our tolerance for fraud here is clearly just not high enough.
"Palestine" doesn't hate queers. Hamas does. I personally know several queer Palestinians. Queers can totally support the Palestinian cause for freedom from an apartheid state without supporting Hamas's brutal backwardness. Those ideas are not mutually exclusive. I know because I'm able to hold them both in my mind at the same time with no problem. You should try it.
Yes as I said in the post we want to free Palestine from Hamas! If that's what they are actually protesting for, they have moral clarity here
Maybe they understand what it's like to be persecuted? I don't think we need to map our own belief systems onto theirs, just respect their agency to feel empathy.
re: loans, I don't think it's possible to create such huge programs and not have a significant amount of fraud. There are too many people interested in taking the easy path by doing fraud instead of working hard, and it's not cost effective to try and create air tight programs.
Government programs will always be subject to fraud, and it scales with the size of the program. It's not just the US, it happens everywhere.
I did hear they are actively prosecuting many of the fraudsters so perhaps those stories will serve as cautionary tale for people. It's really not worth it to have the gov pursuing you for stuff like that or tax fraud. Living with that anxiety is def its own punishment even if they don't catch you.
Great post. I worry often about the weaponization of empathy, and I agree that focusing on what we can improve locally, especially in our relationships, is the wisest approach. As Voltaire put it, we must "cultivate our garden."
Definitely a hot take. Reminds me of the concept of ‘ruinous empathy’. Don’t agree to that concept though.
I get the feeling that the article sees empathy as a top to bottom activity. Like there’s an ingrained hierarchy. I think empathy is more lateral.
Definitely doesn’t agree with the example. I mean people who have gone through one kind of oppression and pain, might find it easier to understand pain and suffering someone else is going through. Maybe easier to empathise.
I do agree that empathy at a local level is really important, but that doesn’t mean one has to get more and more indifferent as the circles around them widen. And the world is a global village right now. The aspect that empathy is needed for the survival of the tribe is still applicable here.
A really good read nonetheless…made me think about what I understand as empathy. Whether I understand it at all.
Perhaps compassion is enough. We don't have to actively mirror someone's emotional state or feel their pain to help them. And, as you point out, it can be a trap.
As I wrote in February, https://www.workfutures.io/i/157312103/seasonality-finding-meaning-and-purpose, 'Our compassion is the reflection of our involvement in community, and our efforts to apply what we know to improve the world, at any scale'.
Such a banger, I was thinking about this exact concept on my drive home last night. What does it look like when the empathetic checks start to bounce? I'm certainly at my end as I've grown to see how easily a good culture (neighborhood, school, etc.) can get completely corrupted by very few malicious exploitative actors. Even the smallest decisions matter to keep the world from falling apart.
This quote comes to mind: “With my family, I’m a communist. With my close friends, I’m a socialist. At the state level of politics, I’m a Democrat. At higher levels, I’m a Republican. The larger the group, the less trust there is, the more you gear towards capitalism.”
"...just as true empathy for an addict means helping them get sober, not enabling their addiction."
Do you honestly think San Francisco only enables addiction and does nothing else to help addicts?!