Social tools like praise and condemnation can change people’s attitudes and desires. I was still a fundamentalist Christian when I went to college, but well-placed condemnation from people I respected changed my attitude toward gay marriage pretty quickly.
It’s worth emphasizing that condemnation from people that you don’t respect would probably fail to change your attitude, provided that you have a “tribe” of people who share your views.
If you (the general you) are contemplating using condemnation to encourage people to be more pro-gay-marriage, ask yourself, “Do these people in fact care about gaining my respect? Or am I just offering them an opportunity to earn more status-points from their fellow tribe-members by counter-condemning me?”
It’s worth emphasizing that condemnation from people that you don’t respect would probably fail to change your attitude, provided that you have a “tribe” of people who share your views.
If you (the general you) are contemplating using condemnation to encourage people to be more pro-gay-marriage, ask yourself, “Do these people in fact care about gaining my respect? Or am I just offering them an opportunity to earn more status-points from their fellow tribe-members by counter-condemning me?”