It's okay to be sceptical

Hey guys,

So one of those things I wanted to tell you. Some of you might have been wondering about the negative sentiments I sometimes display. Most of those times I'm asked to offer that perspective by the staff in order to get people thinking. Other times I am representing the views of friends who I think were correct in their scepticism.

The truth is, even if everyone on TG were extremely accepting of anything anyone here says, there are therians outside of TG who have a hard time with certain claims. I know it's kind of a cultural thing that Americans should always be walking on eggshells to avoid offending someone, but then I'm a grumpy European and don't care much about that. And I want to make it clear for everyone visiting here that: It's okay to be sceptical of other therians.

Therianthropy is pretty out there as an explanation for our experience and although many of us believe it is still the most sensible explanation, that doesn't mean everyone must instantly accept us for that. When joining the community it is up to each of us to try to present our experiences in such a way that our conclusions will make sense to other people here.

And don't expect everyone to agree with you, even if you justified your case well. Everyone is free to make up their own mind and some people just won't be able to relate to you and understand you. We all experience therianthropy differently, so there will be people who do not share your experiences and will find them unbelievable and unlikely.

Remember that when someone who is nothing like you, understands your arguments and thinks your conclusions make sense, that's a pretty good sign that you are correct in your conclusions. By politely agreeing with everyone, we are robbing others of this opportunity.

Of course it is not okay to attack others because of their opinions, but you are not obligated to agree or accept them for what they claim to be -- and if someone asks your opinion it is perfectly fine to just say so, if you think they're faking it.

It's not like we're being unreasonable.

LP,
Dusty

I agree; everyone is entitled to their own opinions and beliefs. For those few that I have told about my therianthropy, I don't ask or need them to believe in it, but I do want them to respect that it's an important part of my identity that's very real to me. I think the key is to be respectful no matter your opinion on what others believe. In fact; I think it's essential.

(2020-08-23 1:48)little wolf Wrote:  I agree; everyone is entitled to their own opinions and beliefs. For those few that I have told about my therianthropy, I don't ask or need them to believe in it, but I do want them to respect that it's an important part of my identity that's very real to me. I think the key is to be respectful no matter your opinion on what others believe. In fact; I think it's essential.

This is a VERY important point to me. Skepticism, while definitely valuable, mustn't take the form of dismissal or negativity imo. This is a two way street. Someone (Party A) who has an explanation of their experiences that another (Party B) is skeptical of certainly should be okay with party B's skepticism, but skepticism isn't a free pass for party B to neglect the fact that party A's account is equally valid.

This place is extremely valuable as a safe space for people who need to express things that would otherwise be met with oftentimes certain dismissal. Despite that we should feel okay with being skeptical, it is my opinion that we should also remember that the beliefs that we're skeptical about are just as valid as our skepticism is.

I feel that this is an important distinction to emphasize.

edit: To put it more simply, I just mean to say that I believe that speaking out on skepticism involves accepting the responsibility to be thoughtful and careful about presenting that skepticism to the same extent that the original claims should be.