horrible people exist, and I don’t actually want them to like me. Their approval would fill me with shame.
Why? Kurt Godel was probably a pretty nice guy. I don’t think horrible people would have disliked Kurt Godel? I can e.g. imagine Nazis approving of the mathematical work Godel did. I don’t see why horrible people liking you would fill you with shame?
More generally, reversed stupidity is not intelligence (or if you prefer, reversed immorality is not morality). Hitler believed that snow was white—that doesn’t mean snow isn’t white. To give a more relatable case, you think neoreactionaries are evil (you’ve mentioned that you ban them on sight), and neo-reactionaries love Scott Alexander. Horrible people love Scott Alexander—this doesn’t fill him with shame. I think “Are your enemies innately evil?” is important for understanding why Scott is beloved by both nice people and horrible people.
Being banned from my blog does not mean I think you are a horrible person, nor are all neoreactionaires horrible people. (Not all members of any group are horrible people, although some can be good people who are sadly misled and cause grave harm for that reason.) However, many of the worst neoreactionaries dislike Scott Alexander greatly, and their disapproval certainly does say good things about his character.
If, for example, a person dislikes me because I am donating money to charity and they think I should use that money to help my perfectly comfortable and well-off family, I do not want that person’s approval. If due to personal weakness I instead spent all my money on baby toys, and the person now approved of me, then I would feel unhappy about this state of affairs.
Why? Kurt Godel was probably a pretty nice guy. I don’t think horrible people would have disliked Kurt Godel? I can e.g. imagine Nazis approving of the mathematical work Godel did. I don’t see why horrible people liking you would fill you with shame?
More generally, reversed stupidity is not intelligence (or if you prefer, reversed immorality is not morality). Hitler believed that snow was white—that doesn’t mean snow isn’t white. To give a more relatable case, you think neoreactionaries are evil (you’ve mentioned that you ban them on sight), and neo-reactionaries love Scott Alexander. Horrible people love Scott Alexander—this doesn’t fill him with shame. I think “Are your enemies innately evil?” is important for understanding why Scott is beloved by both nice people and horrible people.
Being banned from my blog does not mean I think you are a horrible person, nor are all neoreactionaires horrible people. (Not all members of any group are horrible people, although some can be good people who are sadly misled and cause grave harm for that reason.) However, many of the worst neoreactionaries dislike Scott Alexander greatly, and their disapproval certainly does say good things about his character.
If, for example, a person dislikes me because I am donating money to charity and they think I should use that money to help my perfectly comfortable and well-off family, I do not want that person’s approval. If due to personal weakness I instead spent all my money on baby toys, and the person now approved of me, then I would feel unhappy about this state of affairs.
Reversed immorality is not morality.
Bad person dislikes X, therefore X is good seems like the kind of thinking that gets you to conclude that because the world’s most foolish person said it’s raining outside means that it’s sunny and you shouldn’t carry an umbrella.
I object to the epistemic policy you’re adopting here.
Say what now?
If horrible people like you, that does usually mean you aren’t doing enough for the people they hate.
Reversed immorality is not morality. The notion that horrible people must hate you sound unrealistic as per basic human psychology.