Well, basically I was on MSN Messenger minding my own business. I got invited into a huge conversation of kids my age - from 12 to 15. Half were English and half were Irish... Apparently, the English kids were insulting the Irish ones, calling them "terrorists" and the like. The Irish were defenceless to the barrage of name-calling.
I tried to calm everyone down and ask why they were stereotyping every Irishman as a terrorist. However, the messages were flying up so quickly that I wasn't heard. Eventually, the Irish people left the conversation and, their fun ending, so did most of the English. A few lingered around though, which was the perfect opportunity to gain answers.
As much as I tried, I just
could not convince them that every Irish person in the world is not a terrorist. Despite my best arguments and comebacks, they refused to believe - dismissing my well-thought-out points with stuff like "dere nobs lol".
Eventually, as the subject was on terrorism, they begain to talk about Osama Bin Laden. Now, in as most situations as possible, I try to remain neutral to both sides - no matter WHO'S arguing and WHO seems more wrong. So I tried to see things from Bin Laden's point of view and see what they thought of it. I explained to them that he grew up differently. Maybe he believes his religious teachings are being threatened which causes him to attack. Attacking is not, in our P.O.V., deemed appropriate, but (again) he was brought up differently. It's not neccesarily wrong just because
weare against it.
This, of course, kicked up some steam. They assumed from my little insight that I supported Osama Bin Laden. I never said that, but their minds aren't going to be changed, are they?
Me 'supporting' Bin Laden caused them to hurl insults such as "devil worshipper". I explained that I could very well be a Satanist - confusing them slightly. I probably shouldn't have done this, but I was pretty cheesed off in the heat of the moment. They starting saying stuff like "WTF" and "OMG". I tried to explain that Satanists do not necessarily worship Satan. You don't have to be evil to be a Satanist. You don't even have to be religious or believe in any God at all. MODS: Religious point? Delete if so.
Well, the argument continued with stuff like that and I was unable to shield my way through the insults coming at me - I felt like the Irish probably did.
Right this minute I'm getting to know each one a little better. Alone, they're quite nice and peaceful people. However, it seems that once in a group they try to act big which is where all the insults come from.
I've now lost contact with some of those 'friends' at the sacrifice of trying to spruce up my mediating skills. Worth it, I'd say. I'm very interested in negotiating and mediating. [img]smile.gif[/img]
Anyway, my point is that many kids are learning stereotypes from early on and have such a small insight into life that they're minds cannot be changed. Something must be done to make them see things from other people's point of view, but appealing to such a huge and stubborn audience seems impossible. Are we doomed with these people forever?
