A kinder Arsenal world…….Don McMahon
Recent UK media and press criticism of the Arsenal, after a few uninspired ties and lacklustre performances in the EPL and the CL, exaggerated and exacerbated by our very own aaa trolls, brought me to a point where I questioned the sanity of the aforementioned accomplices.
I have adapted an article from a famous Canadian scientific icon, Dr.David Suzuki:
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As public relations expert and former David Suzuki Foundation board chair James Hoggan writes in I’m Right and You’re an Idiot, “polluted public discourse is an enormous obstacle to change.” How, he asks, do we “create the space for higher quality public debates where passionate opposition and rational argument shape constructive, mind-changing conversations”?
If those vying to be president of the most powerful country in the world couldn’t do it, what hope is there? For his book, co-written with Grania Litwin, Hoggan interviewed a range of thinkers, from linguist and cognitive scientist George Lakoff to the Dalai Lama. Whether or not their insights can raise the level of Football discourse among supporters who think name-calling, logical fallacies and lies constitute legitimate debate remains to be seen, but the book offers advice for anyone who wants to improve conversations and create positive change in this age of online bickering, propaganda and entrenched positions.
Social psychologist Carol Tavris says part of the problem relates to “cognitive dissonance.” Unlike scientists, who revise their positions in response to testing and challenging hypotheses, most people resist changing their minds, especially if they feel it would threaten them or their real or imagined privileges.
Yale Law School psychology and law professor Dan Kahan says confirmation bias and motivated reasoning also come into play. Confirmation bias is people’s tendency to seek and select information that confirms their beliefs. Motivated reasoning is the unconscious habit of processing information to suit an end or goal that doesn’t necessarily conform to accurate beliefs.
Climate change is a good case in point. Although evidence for human-caused global warming is backed by mountains of research compiled over decades by scientists from around the world, and its impacts are observable, many people refuse to accept it, promoting debunked ideas and fossil fuel industry talking points, because they feel profits or their way of life will be negatively affected by addressing it. “When you have a combination of economic, ideological and psychological biases all in play, it’s very difficult for human beings to easily accept large-scale social and economic change,” Tavris observes. when climate
So how do we overcome these stumbling blocks? In looking at changing perceptions and habits around things like racism in Football, corruption, Football violence, Football trafficking of children the writer would argue that dialogue and changing people’s hearts isn’t enough, that “you have to first change the laws, change public notions of what is acceptable or unacceptable behaviour and change the economic consequences of practices you want to alter.” That’s more than a challenge in the current sport/political atmosphere.
But we have to start somewhere. And improving the ways we communicate with each other is essential. We must listen to those whose opinions and perceptions are different and diverse, even if they are unsubstantiated. We should also consider the difference between debate and dialogue. As social scientists Steve Rosell and Daniel Yankelovich tell Hoggan, “debate is about seeing weaknesses in other people’s positions, while dialogue is about searching for strength and value in our opponents’ concerns.”
Vietnamese Buddhist monk Thích Nhất Hạnh says, “Speak the truth, but not to punish.” While facts and reason are important, Hoggan points out, they’re not enough to change people’s minds. “Research coming from cognitive and brain science tells us if we want to be persuasive we must appeal to people’s values and speak from a moral position, rather than layering on more data and statistics.” While data and stats are important facets of a multi-faceted Football experience, we also need to do what UA does best; promote and privilege the unfettered and respectful sharing of different opinions, free of name-calling, recriminations and other abusive actions, so that every supporter or fan feels welcome at UA. [1]
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The Footballing world is in a precarious position. We are faced with enquiries about child trafficking, rumours of corruption at the highest levels and tribal, myopic emotional hooliganism whenever we dare to criticize others. Hoggan’s book offers a path to the kind of discourse necessary to resolving our collective Football issues and problems.
1.Adapted from Dr.David Suzuki’s musings on the latest US election and the David Suzuki Foundation Senior Editor Ian Hanington’s editorial comments.
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Fascinating. Thanks Don
Love isn’t a strong enough word for what I feel for untold, wish me luck we create a game changing EU case now Dwain Maye Vs United Kingdom.
Money to hire gold!
It’s in Facebook, for the avid fan, appreciator of the game and those who see fit to expand their minds!
Concerning “global warming“ now “climate change”: no matter how many slurs, invectives, and insults are hurled at people having another opinion, the facts remain that (1) over 300 scientists have dissenting conclusions and (2) NASA’s own satellite data from 18 satellites shows no appreciable change in climate or temperature since 1979. See for example here http://www.drroyspencer.com/wp-content/uploads/version6-msu234-global-anomaly-time-series.gif
It is understandable that many people cannot or will not accept the proven facts of global warming.
We of the centuries-old Flat Earth Society still face the same opposition.
When will folk realise the dangers of sailing too near the edge of our world? 😉
Myrom…..it isn’t about slurs or invectives, as dissenting from the climate change argument is valid but only if;
1) It is presented in a rational and scientifically correct argument. Saying that there is more snow outside than last year is simply proving that weather is not changing BUT climate is another thing. By commonly accepted definition,climate refers to long-term (200-1000 years variances) variation in cycles that have nothing to do with current weather patterns.
2) 300 scientists may not concur but over 2800 scientists AND NASA’s own specialists have agreed that there is a definite ,possibly human-induced global warming trend that is noticeable since the industrial revolution began and is increasingly measurable. Over 26 years, there is no measurable climatic variation, BUT there is a rising sea-level, a melting Artic (and Antartic) ice coverage, increased temperatures in the oceans (1.4oC). increased seasonal variations of temperatures (1 oC), especially in summertime, significantly more powerful El Nino and La Nina events in the Pacific coast off South America (2016 El Nino the largest ever recorded), major wildlife population shifts moving North from South), earlier arrival of spring and late departure of the Fall (2 weeks in New England), major increases in storm and hurricane strengths both in Asia and the Atlantic, increased droughts in many areas of the world but increased flooding in others, changes to the movement of the Gulf Stream across the Northern Atlantic, etc.
3) Your ¨facts¨ are cherry-picked and spurious at best. There is nothing wrong with denying climate change IF you can provide salient evidence from professionals that effectively counter the vast majority of climate scientists’ conclusions about the reality of climate change. Dr.Suzuki, one of the world’s greatest biologists and naturists has studied this issue since 1960 and has warned the world about exactly what is happening…..but it is really an issue of money versus the environment, and we all know who wins that competition.
Thanks , Don , for this very fine article . As the saying goes , ” Haters will hate !”, so no matter what good one does , there is someone always questioning motives or totally reading it wrong .
What we do is to stay positive and keep doing the right thing. Keep going !
10 things You Should Drop from your Life Starting Now!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xrtj4zob-FM