this post was submitted on 24 Dec 2025
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Leopards Ate My Face
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Oh, are we doing eugenics again?
Empathy can be taught. Some are better at it than others. Like literally everything else.
The exception might be with psychopaths, but that is such a small percentage and wouldn't swing an election.
Maybe republicans are all psychopaths? Maybe not so rare?
Studies show they have larger amygdalas which contribute to their enhanced fear and "fear of other" responses.
No its not eugenics. Its keeping unsafe people from harming others. I didn't say they can't breed. Pretty telling statement from you that you went there first. You cannot teach empathy if the person doesn't have it naturally. That is just plain stupid. You can of course teach them to lie about it. It will be imperfect and they will only use it to manipulate people.
Most psychopaths are productive non violent and non victimizing citizens. Its apples and oranges. Many doctors have clear psychopathic tendencies. It doesn't make them pedo rapists or abusive. Like a clear lack of empathy does. It doesn't cause them to play games with peoples emotions for nothing more than their own entertainment. The two are nothing alike and like all human mental conditions there is some overlap.
The lack of empathy mostly overlaps with a cluster B diagnosis. Particularly NPD. Those are the people who say empathy isn't real or its learned.
Ok, let me clarify.
You don't "learn empathy". Almost everyone (except some seriously broken minds) has empathy, even if only for their immediate family. Even Republicans. You can see this in the way they care about family and realize things are bad when it affects them.
What you CAN learn is that empathy shouldn't apply just to your family. Or just to your race. Or just to your species. It's a skill you can grow and refine. You weren't born caring about people you've never met. Your mind couldn't conceive of it. Now it can. You learned.
Plus, doing all the things you mentioned would lower those people's chance of mating. Eugenics. Or "eugenics light" if you're feeling particularly offended.
Yup, super naive.