How the minority can control the majority

Consider the following.

You plan to share a single car with 7 other drivers.

All 7 people drive stick, except for 1 person. He can’t drive stick and must drive an automatic.

You’re all shopping for a new car.. what kind of car do you guys buy?

Easy: An automatic.

This is an example of how the minority can change the choices of the majority, and it makes sense. Here, everyone can drive automatic, it’s easier to just get an automatic, even though most people drive stick.

Now imagine you each drive different cars of your own.

It’s the same 7 people… everyone can drive stick except 1 person. He can’t drive stick and must drive automatic.

You’re shopping for your own car, and the person who can’t drive stick says “you must drive automatic, or else you will be booted from this community.”

This is an example of tyranny. It doesn’t matter that the person asking is the minority (or what their justifications are), they can still be tyrants. They do not get to tell you that you must drive an automatic simply because they can’t drive stick, or that you must commit to only driving automatics when around them, because it makes them feel inferior if you don’t.

Period.

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