> No doubt some cynics will bristle at the seeming naïveté of calling for civility towards monsters. I understand their skepticism. Many of our beliefs feel more like identities, and to disagree with those is to negate our very existence. The thought of extending charity to those looking to erase us seems masochistic, even suicidal. But this perception of existential threat is an illusion. Yes, there are monsters in the world, but they’re so few in number that you’re unlikely to actually encounter one.

I'm definitely not a cynic, but this really understates the power of the threat that bad ideas can have to peoples existence. That threat is higher based on your specific intersectionality.

My socio-economic position personally lets "this perception of existential threat is an illusion" ring true the vast majority of the time. When I was below the poverty line however, the ideas of someone in a position of power about poor people threatened my ability to better my existence.

I quite like the idea of "optimism isn't naieve, it's the refusal to accept the present as the future". I believe this is a healthy way of seeing things as long as one doesn't bury their head in the sand about current realities that can be much more depressing than the bright future you can envision.