Not everyone is a reliable witness .. Sometimes people need to be refused what they want
There's crucial nuance here. if there is a wanting, something is legitimately wrong and needs addressing. Like babies, they might not know what they need (i.e., unreliable) but if they're crying, refusing to tend to them is not the answer. Something is wrong, and it's your job as the intelligent person in power to figure that out.
The ideal is a very liberal one, tolerance of all views. I do think it begins to be a problem where tolerance in of itself is in conflict. There does need a "do not harm others" baseline before tolerance. For example, I just had a conversation the other day about "armed groups" where the other person was in favor of militarizing against oppression, which is an intolerant position (War and warmongering is intolerance.) If my opinion is that I want you dead, it's not an opinion or a view but an incitement to violence.
I can see that, but somehow it gets forgotten when people are in positions of power. Perhaps they do not recognize how much power they wield.
They planned their errand
That's the problem if they didn't consider the limitations. It's a irrational expectation for the bus to be 100% efficient and always on time. Nothing is 100% efficient. It'd be a faulty expectation to assume that things (other than death, disease, aging, etc.) are certain or guaranteed.
not also deserve empathy?
Everyone deserves empathy. All sentient beings, including this hypothetical man.
Do all these other people not also deserve empathy?
Again, all people deserve empathy. It seems that you're making this a binary, "either/or", dilemma when I believe both the angry transit operator and the smoker are "not ideal", though I do have a bias toward the anger because that is aesthetically uglier than the smoking.
No one is raised alone or else they would starve. There are people responsible for you being alive at this moment, and that has always been the case since your birth. This is something easily ignored, like how oxygen is taken for granted
The general analogy is a category error bc "sending people to their deaths" is uncaring as defined as "not good" for wellbeing. All generals are therefore categorically not ideal.
Every moment and daily action would be rational and empathetic. Here are some scenarios I witnessed today. I'll swap them to more ideal
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Example 1
Real scenario: A train operator stops the train and yells at a man for apparently smoking at the train stop prior to boarding. The operator demands the passenger leaves for breaking the "no smoking before pickup" rule. The man is flushed red and has tears in his eyes. The operator is so convicted in their anger that they have no empathy.
Ideal scenario: The train operator does not take his anger out on others. He forgives the man for breaking the rule, as ultimately no one is harmed. The train operator uses his power and authority to ensure the man gets home safely. The train operator values the well-being of the man more than arbitrary rules because he is empathetic, forgiving, and kind.
Example 2
Real scenario: A homeless man boards the bus. He has heavy bags he wrestles with. The bus driver demands the homeless man to hurry up to sit down as the bus operator "has to go." The homeless man obeys but is tangled in heavy bags and uncomfortable to cater to the demands of the bus driver
Ideal scenario: The bus driver is patient and allows time for the homeless man to sit down. The bus driver may even help the man with his stuff. The driver prioritizes their passengers safety and well-being over arbitrary things like timeliness.
Example 3
Real scenario: A boarding passenger of the train takes a big puff of their electronic cigarette and puffs it inside.
Ideal scenario: The boarding passenger throws away their electronic cigarette as it harms their well-being. This has the added benefit of not polluting the common air with toxic & addictive chemicals. ... Meanwhile, all electronic cigarette companies had an epiphany and decides to not sell their products anymore as they realize it is killing humanity, and they do not want to profit off the sickening of their fellow humans.
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In each scenario, the relevant actors try to be more compassionate to themselves and others. I could give more examples, but 3 is good enough.
You and I both resonate on the same fundamental truth, but I get the sense that you're more actively wishing death, "I hope beyond hope that we fully die out", where I am more so just paranoid and avoidant. I agree that that activists do thankless work. The phrase, "We are predisposed to be cruel," sounds Hobbesian in that it presupposes that man is naturally cruel, though I never read Hobbes so I don't know actually. I think people are naturally irrational, but not cruel per se. I think they are also great at adapting, which leads to a frog in boiling water situation; there's a sort of natural adaptation to toxic environments without knowing how or wanting to fix it. I think you're more so an intense "hate humanity" misanthrope while I'm more a "mistrust & fear humanity" misanthrope. Fight/flight, anger/fear, both are responding to the same perceived stress.
Because it has massive implications. When I leave my house, I encounter people and i can't treat them equally. I have to be cogizent that they are batshit insane. I'm using colorful language for effect, and i recognize it's ableist. I mean more-so that they aren't' rational or intellectually honest. However, it's deeper than that because even when I'm home, i can't engage with people online either because they are the same people ahahaha. So I'm naming my cat "realty" so i can pay attention to reality or maybe "Clarity" because there is truth in love (such as petcare), and truth is clear.
Because I'm not insecure, nor do i feel unworthy. If people disagree in my worth, that's their issue, and again, it reconfirms the concept that they are insane
Maybe that would be a shower essay
I agree with points 1 & 2