What comes before rationality

Swimmer963 (Miranda Dixon-Luinenburg)

Note: I am deleting this post because it contained personal information about a friend whose permission I did not expressly obtain.

I am reasonably sure that this does nothing whatsoever to address the problem byrnema is having.

Alicorn, you are fairly accomplished on this site. What if we consider the possibility that some people are more accepting of the 'this is the facts, folks' sort of treatment when we are looking at a situation like this, and some people are more prone to getting relief from other sources?

I know when my father died, it was really only distance that helped me.

Perhaps we should look into a project documenting the ways in which we all might want to be comforted? I can't think of something more ant-hill like than a science of grief, but perhaps as rationalists we ought to consider it?

-1rabidchicken15y

I don't know how to make someone feel less sad when they learn about child abuse, and I would not want to. When I read about something terrible and feel unhappy, I react to it by trying to eliminate the problem from the source using the most efficient means I can think of. Once I do this, even if I fail I can at least feel better that I am trying. If I decide not to learn more, the problem still exists and I have already conceded defeat. I know my advice is harsh, but sometimes doing something which feels bad is the only way to fix the problem.