Why is misanthropy not considered bigotry?

[Zaevod]

That is a serious question. It's a form of hatred like any other. It is based on generalizations and prejudice like any other (treating humanity as a whole as responsible for the wrongs of individuals), yet it is glorified by our culture.

I don't see how hating everyone "equally" (which, actually, is usually not the case for self-declared misanthropes) makes it fair. It's like saying that blaming everyone for a particular crime is "fair", which is ridiculous.

[Spenner]

For me it seems like misanthropy is a more generalized form of bigotry, and simply because it's lacking specifics isn't categorized in the same way. I guess that's like hating the idea christmas because you don't like materialism/have just a general apathy towards it or hating it because you know santa claus isn't real anymore and it taints your view of the entirety of it.

I certainly don't think that misanthropy is considered any less of a hateful practice, it just lacks the anchoring of reason, whether a prejudice or not. It's my first time hearing both "misanthropy" and "bigotry" and I just looked them up so that is my two cents lmao

[devonin]

"Misanthropy is glorified in our culture" [citation needed]

[blindreper1179]

I guess I can fall into this category. I don't hate "everyone" I hate "society". As a whole everything is going down the drain. Mostly the respect of others and our planet. Greed and selfishness are taking over. I know this is just a majority, and not everyone is this way. I generalize the worst of everyone, but trust individuals.

[Reincarnate]

The actions and attitudes of your typical bigots are much different than those of misanthropes, and so even if we were to categorize misanthropy as a type of bigotry (in the sense that both make generalized, prejudicial claims), I'm not sure that it'd be meaningful for our purposes.

[Cavernio]

Originally Posted by blindreper1179

As a whole everything is going down the drain. Mostly the respect of others and our planet. Greed and selfishness are taking over. I know this is just a majority, and not everyone is this way.

Society's been down the drain a million times before. I honestly have a very hard time perceiving that it's worse off now than it was for the majority of history. We have developed things like human rights, have legal systems, have made women people, we officially recognize prejudice as a negative thing, we have such wonderous technological advances...just so many positive things that have happened in recent history in our part of the world. Greed has and will always exist, but more importantly, I seriously doubt you have any sort of fact to support that people are more greedy now than at some point in the past. I suppose we're raping earth's resources pretty quickly right now, but I see that as more a fact that we're so advanced and developed that there's now 7 billion people on the planet more than some collapse of society.


As to misanthropy being glorified in our culture, the stance that blindreper has does seem rather common. But I still don't think that that's what zaevod was getting at still, since blindreper is a self-declared misanthrope. You really must explain where this perspective of misanthropy being cool has come from zaevod. Is it the, for lack of a better way to put it, the culture of counter-culture that exists these days that you're talking about? That 'make fun of everything' style that exists? If that's what you were referring to, I guarantee that such vibes have existed long before your generation. It's simply glorified teasing that has branched over the internet. I suppose that would make it more pervasive and I would agree with your point...but I still suspect I'm not identifying zaevod's misanthropes correctly.

[andy-o24]

I think Spenner is right in terms of one being more generalized and the other being a broader term. Focusing on the question, while bigotry is almost certainly a form of misanthropy, it is not necessarily reciprocal. For example wood is a building material but not all building materials are wood. There is a specific example that falls into a broad category, but that broad category is not just the specific example.

When it comes to comparing terms this similar, there will obviously be a grey area where they overlap for some and not for others. It is personal beliefs about these terms that will determine if someone thinks misanthropy is bigotry or not.

-o24

[Zaevod]

Originally Posted by devonin

"Misanthropy is glorified in our culture" [citation needed]

Posting misanthropic content of practically any sort is an almost guaranteed way to raise your popularity in many parts of the internet... I see stuff like this all the time, even if the people agreeing do not consider themselves misanthropes. Of course, that also applies to the real world, but I see it very often in the internet.

Focusing on the question, while bigotry is almost certainly a form of misanthropy, it is not necessarily reciprocal. For example wood is a building material but not all building materials are wood. There is a specific example that falls into a broad category, but that broad category is not just the specific example.

Uh... Not all forms of bigotry are misanthropy, actually. Misanthropy refers to a hatred or mistrust of humanity as a whole.

I guess I can fall into this category. I don't hate "everyone" I hate "society". As a whole everything is going down the drain. Mostly the respect of others and our planet. Greed and selfishness are taking over. I know this is just a majority, and not everyone is this way. I generalize the worst of everyone, but trust individuals.

People always focus on the problems, naturally. Society, in most aspects, has actually improved through the course of history.

[devonin]

Getting attention and being popular aren't the same thing.

Nor are some upper-middle class white people complaining on the internet about how their life sucks glorifying or even embodying misanthropy.

The kind of misanthropy you seem to think is being lionized on the internet is the kind of anarchy that well-off white kids who hate that their parents have rules get into, where they think it just means "You can do anything you want"

[Zaevod]

Nah, it's like posting "I hate all humans" on facebook or other places and have lots of people admire you for it and agree, despite the fact that the person has outright stated that he/she hates them.

The point is that misanthropy is seen as far more "acceptable" as other forms of hatred, though Reincarnate has a point about the different attitudes of most bigots.

And there's also the ever so popular saying "I'm not a racist, I hate everyone equally..."

[devonin]

I don't think anybody in the history of facebook that has posted "I hate all humans" is actually a misanthrope. They've had a bad interaction with someone and are being hyperbolic for attention.

Actual misanthropes don't have facebook because why would you want to interact with people if you can't stand people?

In fact, expressing misanthropic ideas to get attention or approval from other people is directly contradictory to what misanthropy is.

[Zaevod]

Originally Posted by devonin

I don't think anybody in the history of facebook that has posted "I hate all humans" is actually a misanthrope. They've had a bad interaction with someone and are being hyperbolic for attention.

Actual misanthropes don't have facebook because why would you want to interact with people if you can't stand people?

In fact, expressing misanthropic ideas to get attention or approval from other people is directly contradictory to what misanthropy is.

I see your point. Yes, I know most people who identify as misanthropes in the internet are not really such, but it's still strange how so many people seem to see this as a cool thing, rather than pointless whining.

Another very common thing, actually, are people who simply post on any content about animals and can't resist the urge to compare the cute animals to "those bastard, stupid evil humans that destroy the world". Sometimes, people act as if we're somehow "below" nature, even though we are a part of nature.

Even people in my family, sometimes, often make silly comments like "the human being truly is an evil thing" as a reaction to a particular crime done by a particular person. Those generalizations are almost always met with agreement, and this is what baffles me.

[Hakulyte]

Posting the obvious wikipedia copypasta:

"Misanthropy is the general hatred, distrust or disdain of the human species or human nature. A misanthrope, or misanthropist is someone who holds such views or feelings. The word's origin is from Greek words μῖσος (misos, "hatred") and ἄνθρωπος (anthrōpos, "man, human"). The condition is often confused with asociality."

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misanthropy

"Bigotry is the state of mind of a bigot: someone who, as a result of their prejudices, treats other people with fear, distrust, hatred, contempt, or intolerance on the basis of a person's ethnicity, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, disability, socioeconomic status, or other characteristics."

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bigotry

Therefore if you hate people in general without a logical reason, you would classify as misanthropist. If you hate people for x reason that fall in definition above, it would mostly be Bigotry.

When we talk about something good or wrong, it often makes people react based on their feelings rather than reason.

If we're talking about actions and consequences, suddenly we can get somewhere and do something about what we're all discussing about.

I'm just assuming people loves to socialize with no further intents and stay on the good/wrong format because it gives a larger social freedom and doesn't need any form of commitment to your ideas. Yet, once in a while, I meet people who knows a lot about specific subjects and the discussion suddenly get a lot more interesting so, this obviously doesn't apply to everyone.

[fido123]

I think a lot of it comes from the kind of actions humankind commits. War, destruction of nature, countries that force women to dress thick in garb and execute homosexuals with a lot of support from the majority of citizens. A lot of individuals in the human race are pretty awesome, but as a whole I think we're pretty disgusting as far as our behavior/morals. Nor sure if that makes me a misanthropist, but I don't consider myself a bigot.

[Zaevod]

Sorry for the bump.

Originally Posted by fido123

I think a lot of it comes from the kind of actions humankind commits. War, destruction of nature, countries that force women to dress thick in garb and execute homosexuals with a lot of support from the majority of citizens. A lot of individuals in the human race are pretty awesome, but as a whole I think we're pretty disgusting as far as our behavior/morals. Nor sure if that makes me a misanthropist, but I don't consider myself a bigot.

What you said is precisely my problem with this. Why do ALL people need to be held responsible for what evil assholes do? Why am I, and other innocent people, "disgusting" because of the immoral actions of some individuals?

[Mollocephalus]

If you look at human race not as a series of individuals, but as a whole, the results are pretty saddening. It's not a matter of responsibility, rather the analysis of collective results. You can blame humanity without automatically blaming the single individual.

[devonin]

Because the only thing needed for evil to prosper is for good men to do nothing.

[Reincarnate]

I think bigotry has more of a "I'm singling you out against everyone else" connotation, whereas misanthropy is a sort of "I'm singling myself out from all of you, because fuck you guys" thing.

Misanthropy doesn't necessarily require being a reclusive hermit or anything but I think it's pretty clear that they both have different contextual implications.

[stargroup100]

Originally Posted by Reincarnate

I think bigotry has more of a "I'm singling you out against everyone else" connotation, whereas misanthropy is a sort of "I'm singling myself out from all of you, because fuck you guys" thing.

Misanthropy doesn't necessarily require being a reclusive hermit or anything but I think it's pretty clear that they both have different contextual implications.

Once again this ****** beats me to what I was going to say. LOL

Assuming I understand what you're talking about, I think the reason why misanthropy is socially acceptable while bigotry is not is because of how a person who holds these views affect the people around them as well as how these views are interpreted.

A misanthropist is generally seen as someone who criticizes humanity by bringing to light negative aspects of the human condition, something which most people interpret as just cynicism. A bigot, however, is targeting only a select group of people, treating them unfairly. It's this unequal treatment that leads some people to be offended. Most people don't really care about which is more fair in a technical sense, they simply react more strongly towards what they believe is more unfair from their observations.

We live in a society where kids learn about historical events such as the Holocaust/WWII, slavery and the Civil War, and 9/11, where large-scale tragedies and catastrophes arise from bigotry and prejudice, not general hatred for human kind. Economically, it's also very difficult to deal large-scale damage to humankind by yourself, and misanthropists tend to not like working with other people. Bigotry, however, can become more extreme when people of similar views band together, strengthening each other's hatred. This group power then becomes far more dangerous. Philosophically, misanthropy stems more from expectations that are not met, and this type of hate does not tend to lead to violence, whereas bigotry is a kind of hate that generally desires to, optimally, eliminate "inferior" beings.

Another point I should mention is this topic's relevance to a psychological phenomenon. If you leave a baby alone, he's fine. If you give him a lollipop and take it away from him, he'll cry. It would've been better if he had never seen the lollipop in the first place. The root of this phenomenon stems from the idea in our head that realizes that in comparison of a past or alternate state, our current state is less-desirable. This is why people get so upset and/or jealous when people are given uneven circumstances, and that's why the unfair treatment of bigotry is less accepted and stirs more of a reaction than the "unfair" treatment of misanthropy.

[Zaevod]

I contest the "humanity sucks as a whole", actually. The reason why people focus on bad things is because they stand out easily. If you actually make some kind of statistical research comparing good or neutral actions vs bad actions, you will find out that bad actions are an overwhelming minority.

If a person was good during their entire life, but for some reason snaps and kills someone, people won't really give a damn about anything other than this act and what directly caused it. Which is justifiable, of course, if we want to eradicate this type of thing.

Even if, 1000 years from now, crimes occur at one hundredth of the frequency they occur today, people will still say "humanity sucks". In fact, they will always complain as long as things aren't perfect, which they will never be.

Originally Posted by devonin

Because the only thing needed for evil to prosper is for good men to do nothing.

Doesn't this imply that everyone has enough power to stop evil acts from happening? I'd definitely do that if I could, but my influence is pretty limited.

Another reason I find misanthropy illogical is the notion that somehow evil is tied to human nature, when it's not. If any species evolved to the point where it would be nearly as smart us, it would probably do very similar mistakes or acts of stupidity/evil. Naturally, the perceived responsibility is dependent on the power and intelligence of the agent. The problem is that we are only "partially smart".