Be a slow opinionist

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Slow opinionists don’t believe that those on the other side of an argument or issue are necessarily wrong. They won’t say yes or no too fast. Slow opinionists ask questions, and they’ll tell the person who currently disagrees with their position that they’ll get back to them, after they’ve taken some time to think about the issue their “opponent” has raised. Slow opinion is also about empathy. It’s about wondering what it’s like to be in the other person’s shoes. Slow opinionists ask themselves about other people: What values are important for them? What positions are they in? Could they perhaps have a good reason to say, write, or do this? One of the greatest advantages of slow opinion is it can reduce judgmentalism and blanket condemnation of other people (including those we love to hate, such as politicians and celebrities) and their opinions.

Slow opinionists do not believe that people on opposite sides of an argument or issue are necessarily wrong. They don’t say yes or no too quickly. Slow opinionists ask questions and tell those who oppose their current position that they will take the time to think about the issues raised by the “other side” and then come back to them. Slow opinion is also about empathy. It’s about wondering what it would be like to be in the other person’s shoes. Slow opinionists ask themselves about other people: What values are important to them? What situation are they in? Is there perhaps a good reason why they say, write, or act like this? One of the biggest advantages of slow opinion is that it can reduce judgmentalism and outright condemnation of other people (including politicians and celebrities we hate) and their opinions.

—Tobias Leenaert, How to create a vegan world