CPCSupport:Things to be aware of when convincing people
Having trouble convincing people to leave a toxic platform? To do something, anything about ongoing SARS? Let's go over our options, and what you should be aware of...
Getting the information out there is preferable.
It is almost always easier to let people discover things on their own to change their mind. After all, no one wants to admit they are wrong, or not entirely morally upstanding, despite it being a completely normal human condition.
If you are on CPCSupport...
Congratulations! The first strategy, appeal to tradition has worked. After all, the N95 specification was released in 1995, and the history with regards to coal miners makes it very clear that changes are simply un-American. Normally that has pretty negative connotations, but considering that SARS is a virus that cannot be negotiated with, appeal to tradition is a pretty effective strategy, working in synergy with people's curiosity towards finding new information.
It also helps to know history, so you don't limit yourself and place society towards an unsustainable path with regards to societal problems.
There isn't much innovation when it comes to solving a pandemic, or fixing other societal issues. Odds are, someone's already figured out the optimal solution. Maybe it's just been left obscure for some inexplicable reason. In which case, raising background awareness of it will subdue the tendentious people, since again, no one wants to admit they're wrong, or risk admitting they're wrong.
However...
The previous two strategies can be very quickly drowned out by even the mildest form of fast-moving, addictive, information and misinformation. This would normally be alleviated with federation, like the traditional internet running on Usenet, which would slow down the spread of false or inflammatory information, allowing for more scrutiny and time for people to accept information.
But, we don't live in that world, and misinformation game theory and addiction have resulted in people staying on traditional micro blogging platforms, so, what other strategies do we have?
Getting ahead of the narrative by triggering other irrational fears
In the background
It's best if no physical discussions are had, so as to allow the previous two points to work. To do this, an alternative, interesting narrative should be created that causes a contradiction:
- Creating PSAs with regards to respirator use in the event of train derailments (CPCSupport post) causing chemical spills should be enough to buy enough time, silencing potential troublemakers for fear of being wrong.
- This narrative, more importantly, displaces any thought about the virus that cannot be negotiated with (and which doesn't make sense to most people) with something that does make sense.
Alternatively:
- Have a nihilist friend buy, and give away physical copies of the movie Hotel Rwanda outside with no explanation whatsoever.
- Or, share the movie while discouraging people from looking it up (spoilers!) and only point out the incredible writing.
- Proactively say you'll delete comments spoiling the movie. This gets ahead of the narrative that you are deleting comments for no reason.
In-person
This narrative is not ideal to use in-person, but it can work:
If people are going to be irrational with regards to evaluating information logically, you could create a conflict in their head that will equal the positive solution. You can force a clock to be right sometimes, and hopefully for a long enough time for the previous two strategies to work.
When doing this, make sure to avoid trigger words, (the m word) or words that have been said so many times people automatically shut down when they're heard. You still need to let them turn the dials of the clock, after all.
If the opposing side is willing to listen:
- Point out that in the event a train derails, their health could be put at risk if they have to hesitate before putting on a chemical cartridge respirator.
- After all, has anybody accepted chemical spill denial (other than the companies themselves, that is)?
If the other side is putting up a ruckus and is xenophobic:
- Point out [insert scary group here] will definitely detonate a weapon filled with nuclear material. And what will they do when that happens?
Finding personal common ground
This impacts less people, but it may be more effective individually. It's a strategy employed in this NPR article, and it finding a common ground, and pointing out the best casual contradiction.
- Did you know that the same people that certify your N95 respirator also certify your self-contained breathing apparatus respirator?
Be aware of do-gooder derogation
You might be able to convince someone by giving them the knowledge of do-gooder derogation. Hey, it (kind of...) worked last time (Context), and you might be able to glean some more persuasion strategies when you know this phenomenon exists.
Alternatively...
Now, this nonnegotiable virus is unique in that it doesn't care about your morals, and it isn't really dependent on human behavior anymore, considering it spreads among wildlife, and it affects everyone!
But all the laws the virus does care about seem to correlate to known scientific phenomena. So in broad strokes, it is predictable, like the broad strokes analysis of continued use, and advocacy, of IRV.
It's untested, but you could get straight to the point.