Discussion: The Sin of Empathy

* Shoes-Off Venue * *
This venue requires that you remove your outdoor footwear on arrival.

* * Feel free to bring food or drinks * *
* * Participation is optional - you can join us to speak or to listen * *

Elon Musk said that empathy is the fundamental weakness of Western civilization. When Bishop Mariann Budde officiated over President Trump's inaugural prayer service, she asked him to "have mercy upon the people of our country who are scared now", many Republicans criticized for for her remarks, most notably Pastor Ben Garrett who said in response, "Do not commit the sin of empathy. This snake is God's enemy and yours too. She hates God and His people. You need to properly hate in response."

Caring about others is officially a political (read politicized) issue. Or maybe it's that one group believes in caring generally for others on a large scale, while the other group believes that care and empathy is something you do specifically on smaller scales within your own family and community. Or maybe that's just a convenient excuse to practise cruelty.

Do you believe that we have a duty or responsibility to care for the less fortunate around us? Or is that a naive liberal delusion? Does everyone deserve basic dignity, or is it something you must take for yourself? Are we moving on from the era of empathy?

Join us for fun, friendly and substantive discussion about the important topics of the day.

How it Works
Everyone will be invited to share their opinion, share relevant facts and reasoning, and respond to the views of others.

Our moderator will ensure that everyone has equal opportunity to speak and that dialogue will be kept respectful. All viewpoints are welcome. After the event, you are invited to stay for friendly, informal discussion if you wish.

Name and Pronoun Preferences
If you have specific pronoun preferences or any other requests to help ensure that you feel comfortable and respected, please don’t hesitate to reach out to the event organizer. Your needs and preferences are important to us, and we want to make sure our gatherings are supportive and inclusive for all attendees.

Aren't you worried about having an event with 50+ people?!?
No because there will not be 50 people at the event. On Meetup, many attendees cancel at the last minute, and many are no-shows who skip the event without cancelling. I set the RSVP limit to 55 people, I reduce that limit to 45 in the last two days before the event, and then 20-30 people will actually attend.

This allows us to hit our attendance target of 15-30 people, and it ensures that attendees have their spot guaranteed weeks in advance. This makes the guest count inaccurate, but it's the simplest way to provide you a reliable and positive RSVP experience.

Suggested Reading
Transcript of Bishop Budde's Sermon

Ideals
Please read the Studio 42 Ideals before attending the event:
http://stu42.co/ideals

Admission
Admission is free. We accept donations to help fund our events.

Latecomers
Latecomers are welcome but we start promptly at 6:05pm so if you arrive late, you will miss out!