Cathy Young (whose both-sidesism taints her otherwive valuable commentary, in my view), notes,
"The term ['suicidal empathy'] is becoming a right-wing buzzword. ...
As the sexist attacks on Barrett indicate, the right’s war on empathy often has a distinctly misogynistic subtext. ...
In fact, it’s probably a good rule of thumb that if a political movement spends a lot of energy trashing human kindness, it’s bad."
I'm not religious, nor am I really a huge fan of the Catholic church, but Francis was a far better than average Pope.
He pushed the church in key ways I hope the next Pope will continue and expand.
Especially it matters that he called for urgent and decisive action on human-caused Climate Change.
It matters, too, that he sought paths to acceptance and inclusion of diversity.
I liked that he was a humble man, rejecting trappings of wealth, critical of his church's hoarded wealth, pushing for financial transparency, and focused on helping the poor. He seemed to want to be peer of, advocate for, and inspiration to regular people. Anyone, Catholic or not, ought admire such.
The contrast is especially apparent from the US, where the sitting administration makes frequent appeals to religion for exactly the opposite reasons, to profit upon the poor for the sake of the rich, to undermine and deplete what meager wealth they have (again in service of the rich), and to sow seeds of intolerance and distrust.
#israel #palestine : #war / #gaza / #hostages / #civilianwarvictims / #children / #protest / #women / #empathy / #ceasefire
»“This war is a war of denial,” Argov said. “But one day people will have to realize what we — the children of Holocaust survivors — have done, and to face ourselves.”«
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/04/21/gaza-anti-war-protests-israeli-women/
Psychologist GM Gilbert on the nature of evil:
“I told you once I was searching for the nature of evil. I think I’ve come close to defining it: a lack of empathy. It’s the one characteristic that connects all the defendants. A genuine incapacity to feel with their fellow man. Evil, I think, is the absence of empathy.”
#empathy
Can We Revive Empathy in Our Selfish World?
An experiment shows how to rebuild human compassion.
https://nautil.us/can-we-revive-empathy-in-our-selfish-world-237400/
For everyone in the world outside the US starting up the isolation process...remember how well that worked in the 1930's. It left tens of millions to die, turning back refugees sent them to their deaths, and fascism still came for their countries anyway. Isolation & abandonment is not a great policy. The world is even more globalized now than it was 100 years ago. The faster we realize we can rise or fall together, the better off everyone will be.
Politics can be complicated, but empathy is not. Empathy demands that we look at what is going on in all oppressed nations and peoples, and bear witness. And no one with empathy can then refuse to help. This is why empathy is being made to be the enemy. This is why individualism is being touted.
So. Let's all climb out of this pit now, and together, as the people of the Earth.
@josemurilo "Sounds" nice. But it's such an enormous waste on #resources: #water, #energy, and money!
We do know how #empathy is build and how anti-aggression trainings work. We do know how people can train more awareness. We know it for many many years.
At the same time, the money for NGOs and groups working in this sector with success, is radically cut in so many countries.
Cheap alternative: Training communication on Mastodon.
Easter: Empathy or Cruelty?
The deep humanitarian empathy and generosity of philanthropists like MacKenzie Scott, Melinda French Gates, and Malala Yousafzai stands in sharp contrast to the profound cruelty and selfishness of Donald Trump and those he chooses to associate with and appoint to leadership roles in his administration this Easter season.
Reports of Trump’s casual statements that COVID infections can be reduced by cutbacks in testing, that some persons with serious disabilities should perhaps just die, and his inability to understand the sacrifices of deceased soldiers are striking examples of his (and many of his followers’) profound indifference to the lives of others. Trump is apparently not the least bit embarrassed to say such things. He seems entirely unaware of his sociopathic callousness. Often it seems like he does not even think about the effects of his actions on other people or society. But, other times, he goes beyond mere indifference to seemingly enjoy hurting others. I think it may just be the way his brain works.
I hope your brain prefers to actively seek opportunities to demonstrate empathy and kindness toward the less fortunate over the next few days and always. To those who sincerely observe it, I wish a meaningful Christian Holy Week and Easter.
“𝙾𝚗𝚎 𝚍𝚘𝚎𝚜𝚗’𝚝 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚘𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚎 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚐𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚝 𝚖𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚌𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚍𝚘 𝚐𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚝 𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚖. 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚊𝚋𝚜𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚎𝚖𝚙𝚊𝚝𝚑𝚢 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚞𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚜𝚞𝚏𝚏𝚒𝚌𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚝.”
― 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘔. 𝘉𝘭𝘰𝘸
There’s No Real #Future Without #Empathy
https://www.counterpunch.org/2025/04/17/theres-no-real-future-without-empathy/
"""
Research shows empathy manifests in two opposing ways that impact our conduct, making it caring or cruel.
The psychopath does not feel someone else’s pain. They lack affective empathy. However, they still have access to cognitive empathy. This gives them the advantage of being able to read others. (...) The psychopath – without affective reactions like remorse, guilt, anguish – uses their cognitive insights to create a following and to destroy targets.
"""
The #Grifters running #Amerikkka are calling public media a grift! Probably because they embrace DEI and aren't afraid to criticize the #Fascist administration! This will not only cripple or destroy #PublicTelevision stations, #CommunityRadio like #WMPG also receives money from the #CPB!!!
White House calls #NPR and #PBS a “grift,” will ask Congress to rescind funding
By Jon Brodkin, April 15, 2025
Excerpt: "In a statement provided to Ars today, PBS CEO Paula Kerger said that 'the effort underway to get Congress to rescind public media funding would disrupt the essential service PBS and local member stations provide to the American people. There's nothing more American than PBS, and our work is only possible because of the bipartisan support we have always received from Congress... Without PBS member stations, Americans will lose unique local programming and emergency services in times of crisis.' "
Cruelty and violence rely on dehumanization. Fight by humanizing. Empathy and compassion are the only cure. #violence #cruelty #fascism #compassion #empathy
'Less Than Human': The Psychology Of Cruelty
https://www.npr.org/2011/03/29/134956180/criminals-see-their-victims-as-less-than-human
Jennifer Rubin: Active #Empathy is life-changing: A word about “the stranger”
"Given recent events, it seems essential to reaffirm one of the central messages, if not the central message, of the 8-day celebration. #Pesach means many things to Jews around the world: …
However, as the late Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, former chief rabbi of the UK reminded us, the holiday emphasizes—more than anything else—empathy:"
#Passover #TheContrarian
https://contrarian.substack.com/p/active-empathy-is-life-changing
@GhostOnTheHalfShell @Moss I think I understand what you're trying to say about hijacking empathy to manipulate the mob. I'm not a psychologist, so take everything that follows with pinch: I think you're referring to sympathy, which is a more primal/simpler emotion than empathy. Sympathy is getting tuned to someone other projected emotions. Sympathy is easily manipulated.
Empathy is a more complex social emotion and takes at its root to recognize the other as human being with emotions, not like a "it" - what a psychopath does. (Empathy is then often categorized on affective and cognitive empathy, but it's useless here). Asking to consider others like a it is by definition of empathy asking to lose your empathy.
So, i think Trump is using sociopathic deception to manipulate his mob sympathy, rouse their primal emotions like glee, rage, egoism, self preservation, fear etc to make them abandon their more complex social emotions, especially empathy since it's a core one for complex social structures.
The Dance of Mind and Spirit: Unveiling the Psyche's Journey
#Psychology #SpiritualJourney #CarlJung #EmotionalIntelligence #EnergyHealing #Archetypes #CollectiveUnconscious #SelfDiscovery #Empathy #MentalHealth #PsychosocialHealing #Individuation #ActiveImagination #SocialRepair #PsychologicalTransformation #MindBodySpirit #EsotericWisdom #HumanExperience
Cui Bono? 
