The Hypocrisy of Society vs Intellectual Honesty

Just came across a clip of Cassie Jaye (creator of The Red Pill) explaining why she's no longer a feminist and she said something that really highlighted just how hypocritical people can be. While feminists claim to be for equality they have no empathy for anyone outside their circle, they are completely engrossed in their own little world of beliefs and they cannot see anything outside of that bubble.

As much as I wish I could say The Red Pill screening tour has consisted of me being interviewed about how we can help men and boys in these dire situations, that has not been the case. Almost every interview I've done I'm asked to defend myself against malicious, slanderous, libelous, defamatory statements, that have been made against me, and my four minutes on air is stolen by these erroneous claims. It's no secret now that after making The Red Pill movie I no longer call myself a feminist, but it wasn't learning about men's issues that made me part with feminism, it was actually learning about feminism that made me leave feminism. And I know that sounds harsh, especially when you wear that label as your identity... but how could I be a part of a movement that was not willing to listen, that didn't want me to listen, and doesn't want others to listen. You may be thinking "well that's not my movement" but I say that because there was a calculated smear campaign against me and my film has been censored and pulled from multiple theaters, all because I listened and allowed other people the opportunity to listen.

I think this same type of hypocrisy extends far beyond just feminism though, religious groups tend to espouse ideals of love and forgiveness but their actions show anything but, and they project pure hatred towards certain groups in society, especially the more fundamental religious organizations. Any time someone in the group tries to go against the grain of the group they are attacked and ridiculed. Here's another great lecture from a remarkable women who allowed intellectual honesty to prevail over her childhood religious indoctrination.

I was a blue eyed, chubby cheeked five year old when I first joined my family on the picket line for the first time, my mom made me leave my dolls in the mini-van. I'd stand on the street corner in the heavy Kansas humidity, surrounded by a few dozen relatives, with my tiny fists clutching a sign that I couldn't read yet: "gays are worthy of death"... this was the beginning. Our protests soon became a daily occurrence and an international phenomenon, and as a member of Westboro Baptist Church, I became a fixture on picket lines across the country.
--- skipping forward ---
I can't help but see in our public discourse so many of the same destructive impulses that ruled my former church. We celebrate tolerance and diversity more than at any other time in memory, and still we grow more and more divided. We want good things; justice, equality, freedom, dignity, prosperity... but the path we've chosen looks so much like the one I walked away from fours years ago. We've broken the world into us and them, only emerging from our bunkers long enough to lob rhetorical grenades at the other camp. We write off half the country as out of touch liberal elites, or racist misogynist bullies. No nuance, no complexity, no humanity. Even when someone does call for empathy and understanding for the other side, the conversation nearly always devolves into a debate about who deserves more empathy. And just as I learned to do, we routinely refuse to acknowledge the flaws in our positions, or the merits in our opponents... compromise is anathema. We even target people on our own side when they dare to question the party line.

Further, I would argue this type of hypocrisy is not isolated to sub-groups within society, but can be readily found in many aspects of society at large and the laws we live by. The war on drugs is a perfect example, in the name of the "greater good", drug lords are enriched and countless lives of good people are destroyed because they chose to use an illegal drug. It doesn't matter if the drug was safer than many legal drugs, or if it was in the privacy of their own home and no one was harmed, they are treated as a criminal and placed in prison with true criminals, thus making them into a real criminal. And the very people who are supposed to uphold the moral fabric of society, the police, are the people responsible for this mass suffering. Case in point: SWAT raids man's home, shot him to pieces over $100 worth of pot, paralyze him, then lied about it.

In summary, society is extremely hypocritical when you get down to it because we prefer to just go along with the crowd. This is why the herd mentality is such a dangerous thing, we must be able to question the mainstream and be intellectually honest with ourselves, even if that causes some groups in society to despise us. This is what it means to be an individual rather than a cog in a machine. The truth is we are all indoctrinated in one way or another since birth, society is no where near as sane as we'd like to believe. To be a conspiracy theorist is to understand the darkness that exists in society instead of trying to convince ourself it doesn't exist. I could go on listing more examples of the hypocrisy in society, like whistle-blowers getting screwed for revealing corruption, but this thread is already quite long. To wrap up, here's a quote I've always loved but haven't used in a very long time.

It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society.

~Jiddu Krishnamurti

the reason why i've given up on debating most people is because, as you point out, there is no consistency, and as much as (most people) will deny it, it's never about finding the Truth, or the solution to the problem, or the lie, the conspiracy or what have you.

It's simply about proving who is smarter or better, it's all ego masquerading as a noble cause, and nothing more.
that's why the hypocrisy you notice will continue to exist forever.
that's why finding a common ground on most issues is almost impossible, because it would mean, for either side, to have to concede that there is something they might be wrong about.

a reply to: IShotMyLastMuse

that's why finding a common ground on most issues is almost impossible, because it would mean, for either side, to have to concede that there is something they might be wrong about.

Yes it's almost impossible, but not totally impossible, as these two women have shown, that is why I admire them so much. But I do get your point, it's hard for people to accept they are wrong.

S+f...

I tend to agree with the OP a lot. I, too, have given up with debating others.

It seems to me it is easier to be hypocritical than it is to seek and know the truth....and I think that is because the search for the truth can hurt, and the truth itself, painful.

It is just sad to me to see a world where people are willing to regurgitate the same bs over and over because it makes them feel good for the moment.

a reply to: ChaoticOrder

In summary, society is extremely hypocritical when you get down to it because we prefer to just go along with the crowd. This is why the herd mentality is such a dangerous thing, we must be able to question the mainstream and be intellectually honest with ourselves, even if that causes some groups in society to despise us.

You're in sight of sanity when you recognise hypocrisy

Don't ever be distracted by those who try to split everything into either/or and good/bad. That goes for ATSers as much as media hacks and politicians when they want to twist everything to reflect their uniform beliefs.

Individuals make a society and not ideologies, politics or skin tones.

The problem with the documentary (and I think the reason it's received poor reviews and little attention) is that she doesn't really offer any reason for the plethora of men's rights problems beyond a vague sort of 'Oh well it's all feminisms and women's fault isn't it'.

Nobody is denying that men face a lot of problems in the modern world.

But the problem I find with the Red Pill movement is that most of them are far too quick to lay the blame for their problems at the feet of women. Instead of manning up and accepting responsibility for themselves and their own situations.

a reply to: ChaoticOrder

In summary, society is extremely hypocritical when you get down to it because we prefer to just go along with the crowd. This is why the herd mentality is such a dangerous thing, we must be able to question the mainstream and be intellectually honest with ourselves, even if that causes some groups in society to despise us. This is what it means to be an individual rather than a cog in a machine. The truth is we are all indoctrinated in one way or another since birth, society is no where near as sane as we'd like to believe. To be a conspiracy theorist is to understand the darkness that exists in society instead of trying to convince ourself it doesn't exist. I could go on listing more examples of the hypocrisy in society, like whistle-blowers getting screwed for revealing corruption, but this thread is already quite long. To wrap up, here's a quote I've always loved but haven't used in a very long time.

It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society.

~Jiddu Krishnamurti

Be-you-tiful... thanks for that. Less stuffy living outside the box.

originally posted by: ChaoticOrder
Further, I would argue this type of hypocrisy is not isolated to sub-groups within society, but can be readily found in many aspects of society at large and the laws we live by.

I think this type of hypocrisy is the natural condition.
We all like to think we are above it which only magnifies the problem.

We are in a constant fight with ourselves that we can never win.

We should keep fighting but if we claim victory we've lost.

a reply to: ChaoticOrder

It's called tribalism and our entire society is built around that dynamic. It's actually hard wired into our evolutionary code. What makes you stand above that is recognizing this tendency when you can and actively try to go against instinct to judge people as a group instead of individually.

a reply to: ChaoticOrder

Simple solution, remain above the fray. Have as little involvement with this society as humanly possible. Do not engage it or its members anymore than necessary to function. This is a very toxic society, entirely corrupted and without any redeeming qualities. Its the "Jerry Springer" society and composed of people who are entirely lacking in any integrity.

originally posted by: Krazysh0t
a reply to: ChaoticOrder

It's called tribalism and our entire society is built around that dynamic. It's actually hard wired into our evolutionary code.

Well I disagree with you on many issues but on this I couldn't agree more. The reason the group mentality is so powerful is because we are wired to work in tribes and we'll do almost anything not to be cast out of our tribe. People need to feel like they are part of a group, well most people that is, I like to think of myself as a lone wanderer... I been playin too much Fallout lol.

a reply to: ChaoticOrder

Is there really that much of a difference between patting ourselves on the back for being part of society or patting ourselves on the back for being intellectually honest?

a reply to: ChaoticOrder

Even then you still belong to groups. For instance, you are an ATSer. You commiserate with segments of the forum and frequent it regularly. To truly go it alone one would have to abandon society completely and never have ANY contact with another human being out side of physical reasons like procreation. This human would have no morals whatsoever either. Cannibalism? Ok. Incest? Fine. Murder? Check. Rape? It's just procreation. This is because morals, themselves, are a product of tribalism and subscribing to them adheres you to a group that adheres to these concepts. Sounds doubtful no? Well that VERY doubt proves my point. As someone who adheres to these morals, thinking of life outside of them seems alien and wrong to you (and me). That is an aspect of group behavior.