If you take it in the abstract, it’s bad for a somewhat different but also somewhat related reason: If you’re prejudiced against X, X is justified in objecting under almost any circumstance that isn’t actually barging into your home.
If you go out in public proclaiming about how you just can’t stand Jews, any “unproductive nagging” you get from Jews is your own fault.
True enough, though that depends a lot on what the category is. Generally speaking, immutable characteristics are a no-go, but if I say “I hate fascists”, that’s not due to some general quality, that’s due to the specific choice of believing in fascism, which makes whoever considers themselves a fascist guilty, by definition, of possessing exactly the traits that I consider hateable. Still, I would say that insofar as I bring that up in a public forum, I should expect some pushback, and will in turn respond by explaining why and how precisely I think fascists are worthy of hate.
That said, really, I do think this is mostly a mix up between private/public spheres. Some people go on Twitter and generally treat it as if they were chatting only with close friends, then (either in good or bad faith) act outraged and surprised when random people eventually see their posts in their feed and answer them. But the whole thing is designed specifically to try to elicit those interactions: show provocative statements to people who will be provoked, because that maximises engagement. If you don’t understand that much you just shouldn’t be on Twitter (I’m not sure if I should, more in a general “holding onto your sanity” sense, and I understand it pretty well).
If you take it in the abstract, it’s bad for a somewhat different but also somewhat related reason: If you’re prejudiced against X, X is justified in objecting under almost any circumstance that isn’t actually barging into your home.
If you go out in public proclaiming about how you just can’t stand Jews, any “unproductive nagging” you get from Jews is your own fault.
True enough, though that depends a lot on what the category is. Generally speaking, immutable characteristics are a no-go, but if I say “I hate fascists”, that’s not due to some general quality, that’s due to the specific choice of believing in fascism, which makes whoever considers themselves a fascist guilty, by definition, of possessing exactly the traits that I consider hateable. Still, I would say that insofar as I bring that up in a public forum, I should expect some pushback, and will in turn respond by explaining why and how precisely I think fascists are worthy of hate.
That said, really, I do think this is mostly a mix up between private/public spheres. Some people go on Twitter and generally treat it as if they were chatting only with close friends, then (either in good or bad faith) act outraged and surprised when random people eventually see their posts in their feed and answer them. But the whole thing is designed specifically to try to elicit those interactions: show provocative statements to people who will be provoked, because that maximises engagement. If you don’t understand that much you just shouldn’t be on Twitter (I’m not sure if I should, more in a general “holding onto your sanity” sense, and I understand it pretty well).