It seems there are (at least) two levels of stupid.
Level 1 stupidity is being totally uninformed. On big topics. Fuel prices, vaccines, One Nation, ICE, Iran, Trump, raw milk, etc. That’s the first level of stupid.
But the second level of stupid is when people who actually understand the issues – for example, experts in their fields, understanding the complexity of the world, informed on the issues – then berate the ignorant people telling them they’re stupid. Thinking that’s going to achieve anything. That approach is an informed level of stupid. We could call it high-intelligence stupidity.
Instead, what we need to do is listen to people, understand their problems, and gently educate them so they aren’t as ignorant. That takes time, which is why it’s often easier to call them stupid.
But studies have shown that if you take the time to sit down with someone, understand their problem – for example, they’re having trouble continuing to farm because of fuel prices – empathise with them, and then gently introduce what the wider issues are. The problem is complex. It’s driven by numerous factors, the Middle East, the local supply, the decisions of the past, the psychology of panic buying, and so much more. ‘Educating’ people on the wider considerations, but with kindness and compassion – that seems to be the only way we change minds.
So don’t be stupid when you’re talking to people who are stupid.
And, just to illustrate my own point, then there’s a third level of stupid.
This article for example. Calling people who call other people stupid, stupid, is stupid.
(Cross posted here.)
