How do you define being open-minded?

A while ago somebody accused me of not being open-minded. In fact, that I needed to be taught a lesson. When I usually live my life with tolerance and values. In fact, based on no amount of evidence, she gathered a false idea of me. Anyways, just wondering.





She stated that she was neutral on this subject but raised a question about people who wear hair extentions being "a liar to themselves and others". She states she's just stating a question open to answers.





In this case, is this considered open-mindedness?





I called the question to attention as being "judgmental, doesn't benefit anyone, those girls in the pics are wearing weaves only b/c they're celebs and should look nice"





I really don't know who that person is, so I'm not judging who she is. I think she just shouldn't have asked that question if she wanted to seem so "open-minded"





:/

How do you define being open-minded?
Open minded in that particular case would mean not assuming that people are being liars to themselves and others just because of their hair style... a ridiculous judgment to make.


Keep in mind that some of the people on here are 14 year olds with the IQ of a large fish.
Reply:"A liar to themselves and others"? Hardly the words of someone who's open-minded.





That's someone abusing the language of tolerance to try and defend their right to be vile and intolerant - unfortunately a common problem.
Reply:I'll teach you a lesson sister!








lol





Not really, I don't play for that team. That is just the first thing that popped into my head.
Reply:Open-mindedness is about not making assumptions or coming to conclusions about things or people which are not supported by facts. You maintain an open mind by perpetually leaving room in your mind for new or additional facts to further shape your perspective.





You cannot assess the character of a person by catching a glimpse of their behavior and then multiplying that out over the whole of their being and personality. If you've ever encountered someone for the first time when you're having a really bad day, you can relate to the fear that the person will assume that's how you are all the time.





Give everyone the benefit of the doubt. Always leave room to find out more about a person. I have never met anyone who wears the whole of their personality on the outside all of the time. There is always more to someone than meets the eye. If you find yourself making judgments about someone based on how they look, that is a problem within yourself and not a problem with the other person at all. Every person has value. Being open-minded is positioning yourself with a willingness to explore and discover the value in everyone.
Reply:To be open-minded is to think with a lot of imagination. It is the ability to think outside the box.
Reply:Being open minded means to listen to other people's ideas and thoughts and being able to either accept them as part of your own, seek clarity and understanding of the person's point of view and allowing other people to have their own ideas and opinions without trying to make their opinions become other people's ideas or opinions. It is not making a statement about someone or another's points of view or opinions and deciding that they are "right" or "wrong". If you often disagree with a person, you should probably move on to another friend. Remember is people talk about other people to you, they will usually talk about you too when you aren't around.


I would not considered this person open minded, she has clearly left no room for discussion of her opinion.
Reply:Hi!





Again, to make things fair, here is a link to the actual question that was asked. Where in this question do you see me telling anyone to be more open minded?





http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;...





Now that the real truth is right above, I again feel offended by the misperception of myself that you have shown here. I did not offend anyone in my question, and my question was broad. Wanting to know what other opinions that others might hold IS the definition of an OPEN MIND:





http://www.merriam-webster.com/cgi-bin/d...





So instead of continuing on with hard feelings, I extend my hand to you, and hope that you will take it and shake on peace with me. Because I see that you are a lot like me. LOL You search for answers too! LOL So I don't want to fight anymore, and I hope you don't want to either.





Peace %26amp; Blessings to You!





~Creolea~
Reply:"Open-minded" has always meant a person's ability to listen to all side of an argument about some topic and then make up his/her own mind. The term is much like the historical definition of the word "liberal," meaning someone who is "free" to hear various sides of an issue without being limited by preconceptions, biases, "small-mindedness," etc.





Unfortunately ultra-conservatives (Rush Limbaugh comes to mind) have taken "open-minded" to be wishy-washy, and "liberal" to simply be a dirty word.





Some people want other people to be open-minded to trhe extent that they will only believe what the person says. "You should be more open-minded!" means, to them, "You should think only like me." But of course that's not open-minded at all, but someone with their own intellectual problems.





Good luck with this...it's not easy being around people whose minds are so made up that facts don't even enter the picture.

pear