87 Love, Hate, Tolerance and Prejudice (.. humour?)

Topic 87 Love, Hate, Tolerance and Prejudice (.. humour?) 13 December 2019

1. Love & hate are a bit stupid (aren't they? ^_^) . Why are do folk get so serious about this stuff?

2. To 'hate doing something' is very different from 'to hate someone'. One is a mild complaint. The other one is passionate dislike. What do you hate? Why?

3. We are all different. Sometimes it is very hard to tolerate someone who acts or looks very different from what we expect. However tolerance is usually better than the alternative (for example, violence). Who or what do you find hard to tolerate? Why?

4. Prejudice is judging someone or something before you know anything about them/it. For example, you might think "all Australians are idiots" before you even meet an Australian. What is the best way to manage prejudice from other people?

5. Real romantic love sends people a little crazy (it's technical name is 'limerance'). On average extreme romantic love only lasts about 3 years. Some cultures ignore romantic love. Our culture maybe exaggerates romantic love. Do you know anyone who has been extremely "in love" like this? How did they change?

6. Hate feeds on itself. For example, when a war starts you might not really hate people from another country. But as your friends get killed, you begin to really hate the enemy. It gets worse and worse. How can this sort of hating be stopped?

7. Usually everyone tolerates their family members, even if they are a little crazy. We are less tolerant of strangers, especially if we don't understand them. Foreigners are strangers. How well are foreigners tolerated in your home country? How well are you tolerated as a foreigner in Australia?

8. What do you 'love' doing? Talk about it a little.

9. Some people say "I love my country". Are they talking about a chunk of real estate, or a group of people, or a culture, or what? Australians rarely say "I love my country" , but Americans do say it. Why do you think Australians and Americans are different about this?

10. "I would love to XYZ...". This is talking about the future. What would you love to do in the future? Why?

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Recommended reading:

"Love and prejudice: Why we’re a nation sharply divided" [many interesting graphs comparing the attitudes of many kinds of Australians]
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-11-15/sex-dating-and-prejudice-why-we-are-a-nation-sharply-divided/11694038