5 minute summaries
1 quote, 3 ideas & 1 question from each episode
__________
8 Apr 2019
51mins
Owltail Summaries
1 quote, 3 ideas & 1 question from each episode
_________
Radically Normal
8 Apr 2019
51mins
Quote
"Those who championed justice say, how can we break bread with that tormentors?" Those who champion change say, how can we make things better by winning over those who are amenable to persuasion"
Ideas
1
Michael Rosenfeld, a sociologist at Stanford, shares how societies views on gay rights has been one of the biggest changes in history of public opinion.
In 1988, when the General Social Survey, one of the biggest surveys asked to people every year, first asked the question about same sex marriage, only 11.6% of respondents said that they thought same sex couples should have the right to marry.
By 2018, the number of Americans who said same sex couples should have the right to marry was 68 percent.
At first, survey researchers thought that what was happening with gay rights was only generational change. Younger people with more liberal attitudes were giving survey researchers different answers than older people with more conservative attitudes.
But when Michael looked at the data, he found lots and lots of people like William's parents, people who in a matter of years had fundamentally changed their outlook, even though it was sort of Democrats and liberals who were more likely to be open to gay rights.
It turns out that there were plenty of evangelical Christians, rural people, Republican voters who actually changed their mind on these issues. Tens of millions of people believing one thing and then like a light switch being flipped, believing exactly the opposite.
That almost never happens.
By 2018, the number of Americans who said same sex couples should have the right to marry was 68 percent.
At first, survey researchers thought that what was happening with gay rights was only generational change. Younger people with more liberal attitudes were giving survey researchers different answers than older people with more conservative attitudes.
But when Michael looked at the data, he found lots and lots of people like William's parents, people who in a matter of years had fundamentally changed their outlook, even though it was sort of Democrats and liberals who were more likely to be open to gay rights.
It turns out that there were plenty of evangelical Christians, rural people, Republican voters who actually changed their mind on these issues. Tens of millions of people believing one thing and then like a light switch being flipped, believing exactly the opposite.
That almost never happens.
1
Michael Rosenfeld, a sociologist at Stanford, shares how societies views on gay rights has been one of the biggest changes in history of public opinion.
In 1988, when the General Social Survey, one of the biggest surveys asked to people every year, first asked the question about same sex marriage, only 11.6% of respondents said that they thought same sex couples should have the right to marry.
By 2018, the number of Americans who said same sex couples should have the right to marry was 68 percent.
At first, survey researchers thought that what was happening with gay rights was only generational change. Younger people with more liberal attitudes were giving survey researchers different answers than older people with more conservative attitudes.
But when Michael looked at the data, he found lots and lots of people like William's parents, people who in a matter of years had fundamentally changed their outlook, even though it was sort of Democrats and liberals who were more likely to be open to gay rights.
It turns out that there were plenty of evangelical Christians, rural people, Republican voters who actually changed their mind on these issues. Tens of millions of people believing one thing and then like a light switch being flipped, believing exactly the opposite.
That almost never happens.
By 2018, the number of Americans who said same sex couples should have the right to marry was 68 percent.
At first, survey researchers thought that what was happening with gay rights was only generational change. Younger people with more liberal attitudes were giving survey researchers different answers than older people with more conservative attitudes.
But when Michael looked at the data, he found lots and lots of people like William's parents, people who in a matter of years had fundamentally changed their outlook, even though it was sort of Democrats and liberals who were more likely to be open to gay rights.
It turns out that there were plenty of evangelical Christians, rural people, Republican voters who actually changed their mind on these issues. Tens of millions of people believing one thing and then like a light switch being flipped, believing exactly the opposite.
That almost never happens.
2
Data suggests that violent movements succeeded about one quarter of the time, whilst non-violent movements succeeded almost twice as often.
Aggressive and angry protests certainly draw more media attention, but they run the risk of turning off allies & people that might've supported you.
Evan thinks that the best explanation for this effect has to do with social identification. So one of the most robust predictors of people's likelihood of joining a movement is the extent to which they identify with the members of the movement.
If there's violent or extreme actions taken in protests,
they tend to lead people to say, I don't identify with that group of people, despite agreeing with their cause, and you end up having to fight between what the people protesting are doing, and what they represent.
Evan thinks that the best explanation for this effect has to do with social identification. So one of the most robust predictors of people's likelihood of joining a movement is the extent to which they identify with the members of the movement.
If there's violent or extreme actions taken in protests,
they tend to lead people to say, I don't identify with that group of people, despite agreeing with their cause, and you end up having to fight between what the people protesting are doing, and what they represent.
2
Data suggests that violent movements succeeded about one quarter of the time, whilst non-violent movements succeeded almost twice as often.
Aggressive and angry protests certainly draw more media attention, but they run the risk of turning off allies & people that might've supported you.
Evan thinks that the best explanation for this effect has to do with social identification. So one of the most robust predictors of people's likelihood of joining a movement is the extent to which they identify with the members of the movement.
If there's violent or extreme actions taken in protests,
they tend to lead people to say, I don't identify with that group of people, despite agreeing with their cause, and you end up having to fight between what the people protesting are doing, and what they represent.
Evan thinks that the best explanation for this effect has to do with social identification. So one of the most robust predictors of people's likelihood of joining a movement is the extent to which they identify with the members of the movement.
If there's violent or extreme actions taken in protests,
they tend to lead people to say, I don't identify with that group of people, despite agreeing with their cause, and you end up having to fight between what the people protesting are doing, and what they represent.
3
It's very difficult to fight with people who say they embrace your values.
There are commonalities and there are certain elements of success for different social movements and causes.
One of those is the importance of connecting with others, of finding a way to bridge the differences and to evoke in people the shared values that will enable them to connect with your personal story & reality.
In the gay rights movement, if gay people wanted equal rights, they couldn't just do this based on their own sheer will, straight people, at least some straight people were needed as allies.
The vast majority of judges who are going to rule on the question, the vast majority of legislators who have to take action, the vast majority of voters are, of course, not gay.
Part of the gay rights movement, was showing to the rest of the world that gay people loved in the same way as everyone else did.
One of those is the importance of connecting with others, of finding a way to bridge the differences and to evoke in people the shared values that will enable them to connect with your personal story & reality.
In the gay rights movement, if gay people wanted equal rights, they couldn't just do this based on their own sheer will, straight people, at least some straight people were needed as allies.
The vast majority of judges who are going to rule on the question, the vast majority of legislators who have to take action, the vast majority of voters are, of course, not gay.
Part of the gay rights movement, was showing to the rest of the world that gay people loved in the same way as everyone else did.
3
It's very difficult to fight with people who say they embrace your values.
There are commonalities and there are certain elements of success for different social movements and causes.
One of those is the importance of connecting with others, of finding a way to bridge the differences and to evoke in people the shared values that will enable them to connect with your personal story & reality.
In the gay rights movement, if gay people wanted equal rights, they couldn't just do this based on their own sheer will, straight people, at least some straight people were needed as allies.
The vast majority of judges who are going to rule on the question, the vast majority of legislators who have to take action, the vast majority of voters are, of course, not gay.
Part of the gay rights movement, was showing to the rest of the world that gay people loved in the same way as everyone else did.
One of those is the importance of connecting with others, of finding a way to bridge the differences and to evoke in people the shared values that will enable them to connect with your personal story & reality.
In the gay rights movement, if gay people wanted equal rights, they couldn't just do this based on their own sheer will, straight people, at least some straight people were needed as allies.
The vast majority of judges who are going to rule on the question, the vast majority of legislators who have to take action, the vast majority of voters are, of course, not gay.
Part of the gay rights movement, was showing to the rest of the world that gay people loved in the same way as everyone else did.
Questions
Related episodes
Explore More
