Have you ever changed your mind on an important issue? If so, what was it?
It could be a Great Debates sort of issue, like switching your political party, or something that is personal and important to you, like Pepsi to Coke drinking.
Was there one specific incident that led to your switch? Or was it gradual?
Well, since you were kind enough to bring it down to a less-exalted level in the second half of your OP, I’ll mention that I used to be a Coke drinker, until they came out with New Coke, which tasted so bad that I started drinking Pepsi, and then when of course New Coke turned out to be a thinly-disguised marketing swiftie, I stayed with Pepsi just to punish Coca-Cola, and we’ve been together ever since.
Even after they brought back Regular Coke, too, so there, nyah nyah nyah, teach those marketing geniuses to mess with MY head, huh.
At the risk of sending this straight into the Great Debate arena which you seem to be trying to avoid … for me it was the Death Penalty, to a point.
I used to be extremely bleeding heart - no human life should be taken. Now that I’m sufficiently jaded, I recognize the fact that there are some people on this planet who should have (or rightfully have had) their license to live revoked. E.g. - Manson, Dahmer, McVey, Bundy, etc.
Of course I still have a problem with the way it is meted out. There’s still too much chance of innocent people being executed and guilty people going free, but at the very least, I know who I want dead.
I used to be a True Believer in orgonomy (i.e. Wilhelm Reich’s notion of orgone energy). I came from a family where this was practically our family religion.
I now run a series of webpages at http://www.netcom.com/~rogermw/Reich/ titled “A Skeptical Scrutiny of the Works and Theories of Wilhelm Reich,” in which I go into excruciating detail as to why just about all of Wilhelm Reich’s “theories” are complete hogwash.
I used to think I hated Pepsi, then I took the challenge at a blind beverage tasting, and found out I did hate it, and also CocaCola, and actually prefered a local bottler’s brand.
I was convinced that the Red properties were the best to have in Monopoly. In my Monopoly thread, casdave explained why the Orange ones are better. I believe him now.
I used to think coke sucked. (God what was I thinking?!)
I used to not really like horror novels.
I used to not like the Simpsons.
I used to think I liked ice cream.
I’ve changed my mind on all of these accounts.
I used to be a huge-time Republican. Swallowed the party line whole.
Now I’m socially liberal, and fiscally conservative, and majorly Libertarian.
–Tim
I used to want to kill myself. I changed my mind.
I once swore I’d never fall in love again because life’s a bitch and love’s a pimp. Changed my mind there, too.
I used to whole-heartedly support the Designated Hitter rule in baseball. (This could be because I was raised a Red Sox fan and never saw any other type of baseball played on TV.) I was convinced by a friend a few years back that the DH rule is bad for baseball, and goes against its basic rules.
I used to be, in my rabid high school days, a fervent supporter of the “pro-life” side of the abortion debate. Somehow, that jived with my staunch anti-capital punishment stance and made me a Catholic, at least politically. I stuck out like a sore thumb from my other flaming liberal pinko friends for the abortion thing.
Then, I advanced my opinion to be not in favour of abortion being done, I had absolutely no right to subscribe to a position that eliminated others from making that decision, rather than having society decide things for them. So, I’m fervently pro-choice now, who supports easier and more frequent adoptions, and fewer abortions.
And, until the day I became a vegetarian, I was very strong in my opinion that meat=good.
For awhile in my early teens I was a fundamentalist Christian. Very homophobic, to boot. I never reached the point where I was speaking in tongues, but I was with a very fundie group of friends and I went along with whatever they said/did very little objection. I was depressed, confused, trying to find something to hold on… it’s a song you’ve heard before, I’m sure.
Then, well… I figured out some stuff.
In 9th grade I helped start a Christian group at school. A year later I was kicked out of it for “being a sodomite.”
I’m still Christian. There was just a big jump to the left, as it were.
And on a lighter note…
I used to hate tea. Then I was introduced to Earl Gray. Good stuff.
I used to think premarital sex was evil.
I used to consider Sesame Street the height of culture.
I used to want to have a white picket fence household.
I used to know that New Kids On The Block were the best band ever.
I went from Jesus-freak to atheist.
I changed my stance on the ‘McDonalds coffee burn’ issue from ‘idiot had it coming’ to ‘ok, she’s got a point’, due to the GD thread.
I used to hate rap so much. I took the old mom arguements (it treats women badly, swears, etc) and stuck to my guns. I couldn’t site a specific event, but now I am a big rap fan. Generally, I still don’t like most popular rap that deals with women, money, or pimpin and whatnot, but only because it’s boring, not because it offends me, really. Everyone has an artistic liscense, and people will use it however. I’ve just found that there is a lot of other rap out there that’s really enjoyable. So I guess I’ve slid to the left a bit on freedom of expression.
I was raised fundamentalist Christian, but never really got that “into it.” I believed it all, but I never felt compelled to “witness.” Not that I didn’t care about all the souls that would presumably plunge into eternal torment, but I just couldn’t bring myself to go around telling people what their religion should be. In my late teens, with the help of http://members.aol.com/ckbloomfld I finally decided that it was all a load of bullshit, experimented with inventing my own religion for about a year or so, then threw up my hands and became an atheist. And I haven’t looked back since.
I never used to like oranges, orange juice, etc. Now I can’t get enough of 'em. Ditto with vegetables. I don’t love 'em all, but I can actually enjoy many of them, which I couldn’t have said before. This may have something to do with becoming vegetarian, which I rate equally with my rejection of Christianity as far as important changes go.