People in my circles are quite suspicious of me now due to my inability to be quiet.
It feels dumb to talk about and it's hard to even really find the words to what I want to say but I find it difficuilt to keep quiet sometimes, especially when someone says something very dumb about something I've been putting a lot of time into studying. There have been a couple times now where someone has said something dreadful about Palestinians and I've had to reprimand them. It's hard to keep quiet about things like this while also not going too far. Sometimes simply saying that you don't hate Chinese people for no reason at all is enough to make some people around you suspicious. One time someone raised their eyebrow just because I said I'd love to visit China some day. When someone for example makes a comment about Cuba that's clearly just wrong, I try to nudge them in the right direction subtly but it turns out not subtle enough. I need to learn to be quiet sometimes but even if I do stay quiet that also looks suspicious! I guess the only thing left to do is pretend to be a lib but it feels .. wrong. It feels like I'm encouraging those beliefs to the people around me. I think I just need to chill and let things be but it's hard sometimes. I try to surround myself with cool people but that's not always possible. It feels dumb to talk about but it's been bothering me a lot lately. Have any of you ever felt like this?
Edit: Thank you all for the great advice! Sorry about my unorganized rambiling, I was a bit tired when I wrote this. The replies are very helpful and have given me a lot to think about. Thanks again :)
Edit 2: I've thought a lot more about how I felt and how to best articulate things but first I want to quickly clarify that I would never be quiet or tolerate any kind of vile hatred aimed towards Palestinians or any marginalised and attacked people. Ever. I think over time people started getting upset with me and saying that I was an extremist, radical and other flavours of red for voicing my opinions or just getting suspicious of the things I've said over time. Sometimes even smalI things like just not hating China was enough to confuse some people and it started to weigh down on me.
I thought I'd have to cool it off and stop being so vocal on some things due to the backlash I had been facing but after reflection I realized that my words have actually made a difference and have actually pushed people further left on issues that they nornally would not have been. Even with small things like just humanising Chinese people. Some people are just vile and cannot be reasoned with but others can be talked to. I suppose after awhile it starts to wear down on you and get at you. But I've taken the advice given to me here to heart and I'll best to continue with what I'm doing. Once more thank you for the advice I'll try my best!
PS: Sorry for the edits I'm not used to forums I hope it doesn't disturb anything :]
I don't bother. If someones gonna dislike you then let them. Unless they have some sort of ability to harm you like if they're your boss or anything just tell them what you think, and If they don't like it too bad for them. In fact when you try to be subtle about it it comes off as you being unsure. Confidence is better. Just straight up tell them theyre wrong. People are more likely to question what they think when presented with someone confidently telling them they're wrong than when someone tells them "oh well maybe if you just look at it this way..."
Just say, "That's wrong, and you don't know what you're talking about." Just be sure that you know what YOU are talking about and can explain why they're wrong if they challenge you.
You'd be surprised how many people say stuff like that just because it's all they've ever heard. They've never heard someone say the opposite before. Even if when you tell this they aren't open to it that confident denial can stick with them, and make them start to question things more down the line.
That's how propaganda works. It saturates the information people have access to, and they never hear any other perspective. Your goal should not be to act as a gentle guide into a different perspective, but to be the rock that derails the train. You can poke 1 hole in their worldview and over months, and years it will start to unravel around them. The key is that you can't be easy to dismiss. You need to look, and act like you know more than most people. Because you do. And not be shy about it. Don't be a dick either, but don't be afraid to stand up for what's true.
There will be people who hate you for being this way, but there will also be people who respect it.
Edit: I thought of a real example in my life. My mom had this thing she liked to bring up where she would be transphobic. Like a personal anecdote about a trans person she knew where they were the butt of the joke. I told her plenty of times when i heard her say it that it was transphobic, and she shouldn't be saying shit like that. She got very defensive, and angry the first few times. Then eventually came around, and was like, "Maybe you're right..." and seemed to reflect on it. She still says stuff she shouldn't at times but she is getting a lot better at correcting herself on it. I've even had her tell me a story before about someone and stop to say "Well i guess it's none of my business anyway." as if she realized she shouldn't be talking about other people. Change won't happen in a single conversation, but you can give them the push in the right direction. It's up to them to go with it, or push back even harder.