Just unsubbed /r/worldnews, finally.

For getting into stupid arguments about things. I've known that this was the defaultiest default, but I stayed subbed in hopes of staying a little bit more well-informed about things. I used to have a rule about "never comment in r/worldnews," but alas, I forgot.

So in today's thread about the Muslim protest I found myself in lots of heated discussions about such topics as: is it possible for modern Muslims to believe in an updated version of Sharia Law? Have any Muslims ever noticed that the Koran says some messed up shit? Is it possible to eradicate the entire religion of Islam? And other such deeply intellectual ideas. I would love to list the reasons why I think these were stupid, pointless discussions, but I don't need to belabor the point.

As strange as this seems to say, I could tolerate all the vitriol better if I thought people had made an earnest attempt to educate themselves on the many facets of a many-faceted situation. But it's obviously no coincidence that the people who have inconsolable hate towards a massive, broad concept have not or are not intending to understand it as best they can. I feel compelled to participate and say, "Hey maybe you're oversimplifying the situation and that's ultimately unproductive" but I can't do that without being insulted, called an idiot and a terrorist sympathizer, etc. Not sure if it's immature of me to pull out of the conversation after that but I just don't have the stomach to keep up the effort.

Perhaps the worst part to me is that I have no particularly strong feelings about religion like most of reddit seems to. No strong religious phase or atheist phase, just a nice, stable agnosticism. I take a secular fascination with all religions and their intersections with history, art, and culture that leave me simply unable to form extreme likes or dislikes of it. So I wade into discussions just to get facts straight, as a hobbyist on the subject - and am swept away in a whirlwind of politicking, hatred, and with us/against us worldviews. It's just not for me, and I can't do anything to make the situation better. See ya, r/worldnews.