Other people's emotions

I mentioned my own emotional reaction when exposed to nasty anti-liberty ideas, but there's another kind of idea which can cause a negative reaction.

Some people get angry when exposed to the truth. Angry enough they advocate using government violence to make people shut up. If you speak a truth these people don't want to hear, they want to make sure you suffer for it. That's evil and stupid.

If you make it painful for people to speak the truth, you will get more lies.

Some truth is ugly. It's not how you want to believe reality is. Something else would be nicer. Seeing truth of this sort can make you mad, but being mad about it won't make the truth stop being true. Maybe you can change the truth if you are motivated enough, and if it's a truth which can be changed (many can't).

People can also get angry when they don't like something poking holes in their beliefs. Even, or especially, when it's true.

So I can understand why the truth would sometimes cause a negative emotional reaction. But that doesn't make it less true.

If the truth makes you mad, you might want to figure out why.

Are you more attached to the belief than to reality?

Does letting go of one bad belief take out a critical piece of support for other beliefs you want to protect?

Of course, you might try to find a way to keep believing that the truth is a lie. A lot of people choose this path-- it's easy and feels safe.

The truth doesn't care how you feel about it. It is what it is, for good or bad.

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