Has reading a post ever facilitated a change of mind surrounding something of significance?
 

I have been reading and posting on different forums for years. There is never a shortage of individuals willing to explain their opinion or position on most any given topic. Lots of people are quite adamant and very passionate about their point of view. And many posters are quite articulate, well informed and rather convincing. So I’m just wondering if anyone has every changed their mind because of something they read on a forum. Has some well articulated argument ever convinced you that you should re-evaluate a previously firmly held belief? I’m not suggesting we are wasting our breath either way. It’s great to share ideas with like-minded people. It’s also interesting to see opposing viewpoints and have the ins and outs of these positions explained thoroughly. My question is simply has anyone ever actually been moved to change their mind about a heartfelt issue, not something rather insignificant like whether peeps are better micro waved or just like that out of the box, but something important to them, a central belief of some kind, because of a post or even several posts they read articulating an opposing point of view?

Oh heck yeah. For years, this is what keeps me coming to these forums. I prefer discourse to like minded thinking. I'll read, and re-read and think about what I read. I may do a little research to satisfy my curiosity. Many times I have changed my postion on a subject because of the suggestive
writing of a very talented poster. Only for another, just as passionate person to come along and cause me to lean towards the edge of my box. Before I know it, I'm looking for more information to support that subject matter. Many times, I go back and forth. (censorship thread is a very good example) that topic went all over the planet, and so did my brain. People brought perspectives to the computer screen, that I never thought of, until brought to the forefront. Then I sure did think about it. I don't think a perspective was missed.

So to answer your question. Yes, absolutely. I can't imagine a world where we all think the same.

Ever Grateful...
 

Sorta
 

Dylan really made me think about trans issues in ways that i had not. i do not think i would get his seal of approval, but i have changed.

I was writing a post this morning in the lesbian butches thread and it got me thinking about how much I’ve changed. This thread was a direct result of that realization. I got to thinking about all the people whose posts on this forum and the other who have been a part of my progression. People I don’t know and people who don’t know me and have no idea the effect their words have had in my life. I can site specific threads on .com that contributed to my changing certain ways I view things.

It’s not that I read one post and then I completely change my outlook about something. It’s more that while reading the words of others there are seeds planted, ideas that germinate and as a direct result of these experiences I slowly change and grow.

I have another question. Is there a particular style of presentation that works best for you? Is there a style that just turns you off and no matter what the person says you won’t hear them?

I'll second that. I have changed. I was just telling AtLast that. And mind you, I have never spoken a single word to her. We were talking about the ever changing world of Butches. I was saying, I am always reading and reading. Getting rid of what I thought I knew, to make room for the new.
As for writing styles or presentation. I'm going to say no. Nothing in particular turns me off. Sometimes I have to be hit over the head to get the subject matter, other times I'm able to *sow the seed* as you said,
from a few buzz words. The story usually tells it's self if you hang in there long enough. Typed words are slippery and easy to misconstrue. I may read it one way today, come back tomorrow, and read it totally different. Same words.

I have no idea, honestly. I know that my opinions on a lot of things have changed over the years, but I can't nail down a thread or a person or a conversation that was the kicker.

I do know that I've thread-stalked myself some over at the other site and I sometimes find myself thinking "did I really believe that? holy cats!"

Not so much a style of communication, but a style of person. People who tend to think that a difference of opinion on a subject is something PERSONAL are the types of people who I eventually just end up not reading. Attack my ideas, do not attack my personality.

There are some people here who I really look forward to the opportunity to read, even when I disagree with what they're saying. Because there's just a level of honesty there that comes off as really untainted. They don't even have similar posting styles (at all) so it's really not the method of delivery that does it for me.

I also really respect anybody who can disagree with you on one subject and then move on, not letting the difference of opinion leak into every other interaction that they have for all eternity.

It's not been one post, it has been all of them...and yes, my views have changed on a number of subjects. :rrose:

I can't think of any one post that has changed me or changed my mind about something. Many posts though have opened my mind to viewing something in a different light. The biggest thing I have noticed different about myself since joining forums is awareness. Terms and acronyms I'd never heard of or never heard used in real life. How they might mean something entirely different online vs RT. Awareness of how differently folks interpret what we say online vs RT. Just the many different facets of awareness.:cigar2:

I have not changed my views on core belief items like religion (mine only), or how I perceive good and bad, right and wrong. But....like several people have mentioned I look at things a different way, consider another's view of the world more seriously, am not so quick to judgement on an issue. There are those that cause me to pause and think...and I thank them for that opportunity to grow.

Thank you for a brilliant thread
 

Betenoire: "I have no idea, honestly. I know that my opinions on a lot of things have changed over the years, but I can't nail down a thread or a person or a conversation that was the kicker. I do know that I've thread-stalked myself some over at the other site and I sometimes find myself thinking "did I really believe that? holy cats!"

This cracked me up, and isn't it something to read the palimpsest of your thoughts whether it's journal writing, poetry, fiction or posts? It's quite an experience to see how you change.

One specific example of change is when Apocalipitc and you, Miss Tick, got me rethinkng the term "American" as the exclusive province of US citizens, and other posts and posters have helped me form questions and shape my own experiences and feelings in ways that help me understand myself and my communities.

Many from this community have enriched my thinking about a multitude of issues and subjects. I appreciate doors to other's experinces and thoughts being opened and this really matters to me. Like, Bet, I don't understand when disagreement gets personal and gets attached to future posts, but it happens.

I think I have had change in some attitudes, at least just better understanding of them via the site/community overall. Something that I have always liked as a member is that this is a place in which I can hear from people that just come from very different backgrounds than myself- if not for the site, I wouldn't have this opportunity and information to consider about things that matter- especially within the context of the entire range of the
B-F narrative.

Also, for me, being able to hear from differing age groups is important and I think, helps keep me more informed.

Have to add that the areas that have been most enlightening and given me the most to think about are the race related topics. Gender is a close second.

I know that my personal comfort level as a butch is directly related to participation here on the Planet as well as the old site. But, I know I came to the B-F dynamic (or at least my consciousness of it personally) much later in life than many.

LOL, so, it looks like my views and ideas have been altered! Thank you all!

Absolutely it has. I have posted several times that I have been informed, educated and had my mind opened to gender issues in a way I never had prior to coming to the Planet.

What I have a difficult time with is, on occasion, it appears to me that someone may become angry with a particular post and it apears as though there are verbal attacks or flaming. I see no need for that. We all come from different places, with varied levels of understanding and I think we can disagree in a respectful manner without making it personal.

As always, this is my own personal opinion and perspective. I do feel it is important to come from that position, rather than generalize and present opinion as fact.

Racial issues, Gender issues, how I think about size and body image, about the word Femme, about abuse, PTSD, mental illness, types of relationships, how incredibly grateful I am.....

I learn every time I interact with y'all.

I think it has changed me a lot to be part of this community and when I was on the dash site. I would say that I have been educated on a lot of subjects that I wasn't really exposed to or understood very well when I was younger. The gender threads, racism threads, political threads, world issues threads, relationship/sex/BDSM threads, and the like have greatly expanded my knowledge base and helped me change some of my views, and develop new ones as well.

As I have gotten to know many of you in the threads that I frequent, I have grown fond of you folks even when I don't always agree with you, and even when I am sometimes frustrated and annoyed with you lol. But I see that people are complicated and that everyone has a story and life experiences that shape who they are and how they communicate and see the world. I find that enriching. :)