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I think caring about their state of mind requires a degree of moral relativism I no longer find tolerable, which is why I brought up the other factors.
Several years ago and a few towns over, a young boy was shot in the head because his basketball rolled onto his neighbor's lawn. I don't care about the neighbor's state of mind. I don't think it's relevant, in any way. Likewise here. I don't care about their state of mind! I think caring about their state of mind is offensive to the soul. There are Moral Truths, and subsuming them is Bad.
Does it make me worse at understanding them? Possibly! So be it. They do not need to be understood, and I am quite confident they wouldn't give the slightest shit about trying to understand anyone that doesn't agree with them, either.
If there is a Moral Truth out there, is it well served by slander?
I was working on an elaborate hypothetical about militant vegans, but I’m not sure it was actually helpful. I guess I’m envisioning a “hate the sin, love the sinner” position where someone’s crimes don’t forfeit all their rights, or your own obligation to do good. I don’t think that’s relativism.
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