I believe in human empathy so much that I think I'm capable of understanding a persons struggle even if I haven't directly been through what they've been through. Indeed I think almost all of us are capable of this, even if we don't practice it. I think the argument that you can only talk about things you have personal experience in is essentially a pessimistic view about human empathy.
There is a huge difference between empathy and experience. Ignoring that difference is an important failure of empathy. It's the confusion that lets you say that you believe in empathy while also literally infantilizing people who disagree with you.
Furthermore, realizing this gap exists is not synonymous with claiming that "you can only talk about things you have personal experience". Where in my above post do I say that?
