‘When the facts change; I change my mind’

Shamima Begum, I was all for her staying in the refugee camp when she was first discovered, but after awhile I realised that she is the U.K.’s problem and as such she should face justice in the U.K.

I used to be one of those women who said I am not a feminist. I am fairly embarrassed but think it's relatively common. I try to remember my own mistakes when people are talking bollocks

It can be a strength or a weakness depending on the reason fir changing ones mind. If you realise you were wrong and can admit that then it’s a strength but if you change your mind due to outside pressure then that’s a weakness. That’s giving in.
I don’t have a problem saying I am wrong or apologising, thank goodness there’s not the need that often.

I'm with silverlining in that I won't be driven or even persuaded to change my mind, I have to find out and do it for myself. When I'm wrong, I say I'm wrong.

Galaxy I'm shocked! Why did you believe that you weren't a feminist?

An unchanging mind is a closed mind,

I was a young women, and sometimes didnt treat other women well in order to get what I wanted. Sorry fanny. I was more interested in centering men than women.
I also worked for an HIV charity and have changed my mind completely about the way we dealt with that issue, but to be honest that's just the benefit of hindsight.

I don't think changing your mind is a weakness as long as you have your own good reasons for change.
I used to be a Tory supporter but changed my mind about that. Can anyone understand why?

I can AGA.

I am always adjusting and reorganising my views according to the evidence I see, read or hear. Why would any sentient person do anything else?

If something is a fact, then surely it doesn't change. Circumstances change, more information may become available and further facts may be revealed, causing a change of opinion.

If I am wrong I always like to be the first person to say so and if I can not be first then I will be second. I find that the quicker you say you are wrong the quicker people forget that you were wrong.

If I am wrong about something I have come clean and admit it. As I get older it’s easier to do when I was young I was stubborn.

Oh lots of things. So many of them.

From views about homosexuality and people of colour to feminism and all sorts of things really.

I grew up in a very backwards thinking family and so most changes only made logical sense when I started moving in different circles.

I'm still wrong about things and change my mind often. That sometimes depends on who I'm talking to because some people are very off-putting with the way they put accros their views. So I look for the bigger picture and over views instead of just doubling down.

I try to really listen and understand topics that come up and think about others pespectives and even if I do still disagree I try to do so respectfully unless I get none in return.

I think there are people out there who cannot or will not change their minds and aren't open to ever being wrong (my maternal family as an example) and I can't see how it ever brings them any happiness to not change and grow and keep their minds closed and offended to new ideas.

I've changed a lot of my opinions over the years.

Facts are not set in stone and do change when they way we look at them does.

It used to be a fact that the sun and all the heavens went round the earth, until someone looked a little closer and found that we were part of a planetary system that went round the sun.

The inferiority of women to men was once a fact, until we started to look at it differently. Many believed in the Divine Right of Kings. facts are only what we say they are and how we say them - bit like truth.

AGAA4
That I can connect with!
Was a massive Tory supporter, now I know I’ll never vote for them again.
I think I’ve just generally become more understanding and tolerant rather than doing a lot of U turns. But yes, a lot of my opinions have changed over the years.

I was a bit like Galaxy says; I was never much of a feminist when, in hindsight, I should have been. I relied too much on other women striving and fighting for what's been achieved and I contributed very little. I changed my mind on that about 15 years ago and have been far more appreciative of what was done for me and more pro active in adding to that.

M0nica For something to be truly called a fact, there must be strong evidence. Belief – the sun and heavens go round the earth – is not the same as incontrovertible evidence that the planets orbit the sun. Opinion – that women were inferior to men – is subject to bias and expedience.

Sometimes changing your mind comes with experiencing something and having to find out more about it. For me it was autism. I really just viewed it as yet another MH problem people talked about. Faced with the challenges of working with people with ASD changed my mind about that.

Yes, Molly, I think that I thought similarly about ADHD.
I still think that is is an overused term, but there is no denying that it is an actual condition.
I think that having an adult female friend with ADHD made my understand it far better.

I think changing my mind, based on new information or further thinking, is certainly a strength rather than a weakness.

Those who never change their views are lacking in confidence, never reviewing, being inflexible - or unsure of their opinions in the first place.

A work colleague had (and often vocalised) strong views, set in stone - that she couldn't explain the reasons for. It turned out the opinions belonged to her husband - how pathetic!

My DF made me always to look at things from other peoples' points of view. It can be a strength or a weakness as I can often change my mind when listening to someone else's angle on something.

If a situation changes, the facts change then attitudes should change too. I wish that the media would realise this and not throw what someone once said back at them as if it's still relevant. Politicians seemed to be advised to never admit to changing their minds. I think they should.

Molly and Fanny - off subject a bit but I read that everybody is on the autism spectrum, but some are a lot more autistic than others.