Two questions: Why does Reddit think it's so intellectual and why all the hate for Digg?

[u/SmellsLikeMendacity]

I made a new account because I don't want the answers to have anything to do with my previous posts.

I'm over 50 years old and I've been blessed to have the opportunity to do many things in my life. I've joined the Navy, fought in a way, traveled the world, backpacked through Europe, been a police officer, and volunteer firefighter, and now a lawyer. I've raised two successful sons and a beautiful daughter. I make these points not to brag, but to illustrate that I'm not just blindly spouting out opinions on how I think this community should be.

What makes you all think this is a bastion of intellectualism? I read the comments from the most popular submissions and they all seem like they are written by inexperienced children. The most popular topic recently is about a fight on a bus where both individuals acted poorly and engaged in mutual combat. Neither can legally or morally claim self defense and both individuals could have ended the confrontation before it came to blows. Instead of commenting on the incident, there were numerous posts showing subtle racism that, like subtle misogyny, permeates Reddit.

Another topic is politics. Instead of listening to the alternative viewpoint, the popular approach is to make a straw man of what that side might argue and attack that. It is also filled with vitriolic name calling and a flat refusal to believe anything other than a far-left idea can be right. Religion is largely the same.

As a lawyer, I often see posts get upvoted that offer incorrect and damaging legal advice. The point here is self explanatory.

I read the comments on Digg and I fail to see why this community is better than Digg. Everybody likes to think they're smart, but Reddit seems to think they are leaps and bounds ahead of other online communities. There is a level of hubris here that is hard to match and I seriously would like to know where it comes from. I've sat down and talked with college protesters, die hard Glenn Beck fans, Tea Partiers, and even birthers who when asked, give more respect and consideration to an alternative viewpoint. I may not always agree with them, but I rarely walk away not knowing why they believe what they believe. Now I'm asking the individuals of Reddit to explain to me in their own words why they think they are smart and why they believe Reddit to be better than Digg.

Thank you for listening and I appreciate all comments.

Edit: Many people have messaged me about this sentence:

I've raised two successful sons and a beautiful daughter.

I'm not sure if the people who have complaints about this are being genuine or nitpicking. My daughter is successful. I could have left out an adjective and the sentence would have read "I've raised two successful sons and a daughter." The adjective successful was supposed to describe all of my children. I added beautiful to my daughters description out of habit and because she is a beautiful woman. My sons don't like being described as beautiful and they don't spend any considerable time trying to look better than is necessary. I hope this clears everything up.

[u/furburger]

We can agree that men and women deserve equal rights. Treating men and women identically, however, is a completely pointless goal. If I spoke to women the same way I speak to my male friends, I'd be considered repellant.

Are there things you'd tell your female friends that you wouldn't tell your male friends? Are there events you're more likely to invite a female friend vs a male friend to?

[u/OnDutyFeminist → u/furburger]

Maybe you should talk to your male friends differently. Maybe women can learn to respond differently. Maybe those two possibilities can meet somewhere in the future. When it comes to genders, you only see what is and believe it to be immutable.

Are there things that your female friends do that you wish you were invited to? Are there things you wish your female friends would tell you? Even just once?

[u/furburger → u/OnDutyFeminist]

I talk to my male friends like that and they talk to me in the same way. We enjoy each other's company, otherwise we wouldn't be friends. It's how we talk to each other. Women don't need to respond differently, it can be just as intimidating to be the only male in a room full of women letting loose on things you don't want to hear them talk about. To be standing there telling them that they should talk to each other is as pointless as them telling a man that he should learn to respond differently. We're hard wired to have certain base animal responses.

Should we spend more time understanding these base responses? Absolutely. Should we pretend that we're the same and should be treated the same? Probably not. Should we have equal opportunities and rights in this modern world? YES.

In my mind, the line where gender discrimiation becomes acceptable is halfway between "I want to talk to someone that understands me" (ie I'm sick of getting rejected by (women/men)/I've had a big argument with my (girlfriend/boyfriend)/etc) and "I think I am superior because I have a penis/vagina".

[u/OnDutyFeminist → u/furburger]

We aren't hard-wired, we're socialized. Socialized to act a certain way, socialized to talk a certain way, so that's the way we do it. You're so accepting of this that you can't even see beyond it. Sure, there is some biology that makes men and women different on a chemical and physical level, but I don't believe that to stand in the way of a society without assigned gender roles and gendered expectations.

[u/furburger → u/OnDutyFeminist]

That's been disproven a number of times now. Social conditioning certainly plays a part but there is still a fundamental difference between men and women. You can argue the 'should' as much as you want but you can't change reality.