is it so wrong to have an opinion?

You know, some of the people you're referring to are just so insecure that they have to agree with the majority. At least you have some people who agree with you, there's gotta be. Also, don't get discouraged by them; I can already see that from your post.

i dislike the cultural currency we have attached to opinions. phrases like "i am entitled to my opinion" and "stand up for what you believe in" (and the attitude that they represent) attempt to empower people to be firm in their beliefs. i see some of those vibes in the op of this thread. you never hear anyone say "are the people who are attacking you making good points?"; "do you see anything differently?"; "are you sure/how can you be sure that your opinion is correct?" there's nothing wrong with having an opinion, but as previous poster and expert witch hermione granger notes, there is nothing right about it either. i am very suspicious of people who proudly self-identify as opinionated, if only because i think there are very few opinions that are so obviously sound that they should be held very strongly. even well thought-through positions can be undermined by someone's narrowness of perspective that is inevitable since human life varies so much across the planet. (there's a reason i don't post in this forum.)

that all said, it does feel like there is something fundamentally human about intolerance of other perspectives, so all you can do is try your best. since everyone is guilty of this to some extent, i think the best thing we can do is to be self-critical but empathetic in attempting to be intellectually humble.

IT IS THE PEOPLE MAN

There's nothing wrong with having an opinion as stated for the thousandth time by the posters above. It's the way you go about expressing it to others that matters.

It depends. I mean, if there are certain facts stating the person being wrong about their opinion, then I do think it's wrong. Take for example, and I remind you this is a true example too, Autism Speaks. Everyone thinks this organization is all sunshine and daisies. People who support them are too blind to see the truth. I once got upset with a favorite VA of mine for supporting them. Autism Speaks true purpose is to come up with a prenatal test to see if the fetus will be born with autism or not. This would bring up every reason for the fetus to be aborted if it was later on. This, my friends, is wrong. I told this voice actor to look up the facts too, and he flat out refused to do so saying he supported me still. It made me feel even more less of a human for having him support this. I won't go into more detail about Autism Speaks, so I just used an example there as I said.

However, I don't think it's wrong to have an opinion about things. It just depends on the facts if you ask me though. Then again, even facts can be somewhat biased at times. So, everyone does have a right to have their own opinion at times. It's really hard to explain...

It depends on the opinion. Sometimes things are truly subjective, like what Pokemon a person likes the best. If Person A likes Sunkern, and Person B does not, they should just agree to disagree and let it go.

However, you cannot ignore objective facts. If Person A tried to claim that Sunkern has the highest stats of any Pokemon in the game, it would clearly be false, and there are plenty of reputable sources to debunk that claim. Unless it's some crazy hack, you will never find a Sunkern with higher base stats than Arceus.

I get what OP is feeling. Sometimes people get very passionate about issues to the point where even if someone level headed shows them well reasoned, well sourced evidence to the contrary of their claim, they will still ignore it in favor of their current belief. You can't change everyone's minds, and if they aren't willing to try to fact check themselves, they probably never will.

It's not wrong to have feelings. Feelings are neither right nor wrong, they just are. How you act on them is the key factor. For really important issues, one must be willing to put aside their emotions and look at the issue at hand from a logical perspective. It's easier said than done, and it's it impossible to be completely unbiased, but this is a case of where the act of trying is more significant than the act of succeeding.

But all that starts to fall apart when people take the phrase "I disagree and here's why." to mean "You're a terrible person and I hate you." Disagreeing doesn't inherently mean two people don't like each other. I disagree with my best friends on things all the time. It's my personal belief that if you're so attached to your ideology that criticism of it translates to the hatred of yourself, it's probably time to back up the truck and contemplate whether or not it's really healthy to be that way, and if upholding that ideology is really worth possibly losing friends over.

It's never wrong to have opinions, as long as it's not something illegal; everyone is entitled to their opinion, but everyone needs to respect each other perceptions and views of life, as everyone's story is different what the other person has been through is something I can't understand and the opposite is true as well.

It's never wrong to have your opinion, but it is wrong to expect others to share it and there are times when one's opinions are best left unsaid.

I too usually fall into the category of normally having the opposite opinion of the majority, i find people attack you because they either do not understand (or want to understand) your views on things. I do not believe that there is a bad opinion in the sense that everyone is entitled to have their own opinions on any matter, however whether that opinion is right or wrong is subject to debate, people believe what they want for many different reasons. I have come to realize that the people who shun your views are either refusing to acknowledge your viewpoint or are ill-educated in the respective subject and feel threatened by someone who knows more than they do.

Whenever i share my opinion, i always do so knowing that it is open to debate, i will always support my opinions with reason, however i also try my best to see things from the opposite end of the spectrum to better understand the individuals i'm debating with to better understand why they think the way they do. There is a lot to learn from people who you disagree with, you can see the world through many angles and it helps you develop as a person. Peoples views might even make you think differently which also helps shape who you are.

Don't be afraid to voice your opinions, but also remember to respect the opposing argument, mutual respect for each others views is paramount to getting the best outcome of a thought process. You never truly know who you are debating with, you might be challenging a much more intelligent person than yourself, in which case you can learn from them, if your debating with someone less intelligent than yourself, teach them, help them become a better person through knowledge is power.

I love a good debate, though i think now a days there is a lot of oppression on free speech, as people take things way too seriously or out of context and become offended, there is a lot of political correctness balony that really shouldn't exist because it limits the way we can learn from each other as we are forced to act/think in a certain way to not cause offense, ya know what i say to that? If i offended you, GOOD, it means you have an opinion worth sharing, an opportunity to teach me why you think the way you do. If your aren't offended (and don't agree with me), its probably because you don't fully understand or have the lack of experience/knowledge of the subject, or you could be of the opinion that you believe whatever the majority do to prevent arguing, to that i say your opinion isn't your own.

Unapologetic Sunflower said:

It's never wrong to have opinions, as long as it's not something illegal; everyone is entitled to their opinion, but everyone needs to respect each other perceptions and views of life, as everyone's story is different what the other person has been through is something I can't understand and the opposite is true as well.

Click to expand...

I've never been one to respect a person's opinion by the sheer nature of it being an opinion - one's thoughts do not deserve merit simply because the thoughts exist. That being said, I'm not declaring an 'edgy' stance, as I'm not childish enough to say that disrespect is key in this, or even a factor. There's a difference between withholding recognition and outright denial.

Opinions aren't formed in a vacuum, yes. The experiences one has been through will form some kind of bias and influence their thinking. But that's precisely why they cannot be inherently respected. The biases one has and how their thoughts are laid out do not make them equal to another person simply because they also went through experiences that defined their thoughts.
Event happens; event influences person; person develops opinion; opinion develops power; opinion is used; another person is influenced. How the opinion influences a person and how that ripple effect flows on is really quite dangerous, regardless of the opinion.

The person is entitled to their opinion but in no way is it reserved from judgement by the nature of it being an opinion.

having an opinion is okay but if it hurts an individual or a group of individuals then its attacking that individual/group and not an opinion.

for example

saying you hate all trans people, despite what you may think, is not an opinion. that's hate and that's hurtful to an entire community. i.e, you are an asshole.

an illegible mess. said:

having an opinion is okay but if it hurts an individual or a group of individuals then its attacking that individual/group and not an opinion.

for example

saying you hate all trans people, despite what you may think, is not an opinion. that's hate and that's hurtful to an entire community. i.e, you are an asshole.

Click to expand...

This to a t.
These views are hateful and dangerous as they often perpetuate misinformation in addition to their bigotry.

an illegible mess. said:

having an opinion is okay but if it hurts an individual or a group of individuals then its attacking that individual/group and not an opinion.

for example

saying you hate all trans people, despite what you may think, is not an opinion. that's hate and that's hurtful to an entire community. i.e, you are an asshole.

Click to expand...

So just because an opinion "hurts" individuals or a group of individuals it's not an opinion anymore? And having an opinion is sufficient to hurt people?

Saying that you hate trans people isn't an opinion per se, it's the expression of an opinion. I don't believe that people can't hate one another, rather, they shouldn't act in such a way to result in real harm. There are hateful opinion in the same way that there are nice opinions. But in most parts of the world, people are entitled to their thought or conscience and the ability to change it. Sometimes they are free to express it, sometimes not, sometimes it's appropriate to express it, and sometimes not, but I think it's really a stretch to say that one cannot hold certain opinions.