"Something about online discussions seems to bring the worst out of people. People resort to mocking, name-calling, and generally achieving nothing productive.
One of the things that I think leads to this is the unhelpful belief that when someone says something that makes no sense to us, we assume they must be crazy, malicious, stupid, or maybe all three.
When I feel like this, I like to think about why a rational and well-meaning person might say or do that thing that makes zero sense to me.
There are three questions I ask myself that l've found most helpful:
1. What's their situation? Maybe they're under pressure, like worrying about what their friends will think or afraid of consequences we can't see.
2. What's their motive? Like a speeding car—are they just reckless, or rushing to the hospital?
3. What's their information? They could be misinformed, or maybe we're the ones missing something.
That said, sometimes people really are just crazy, stupid, or malicious. And if I ever feel"
