Timsup2nothin
Deity
- Joined
- Apr 2, 2013
- Messages
- 46,737
So I drove someone to the airport today, which led to some good contemplation time on the way back. This is what I arrived at.
If someone tells me that the moon is made of green cheese, and the earth is made of blue cheese, my response is most likely going to be "good to know." If they are someone I have any personal interest in or concern for, I may remind them that the earth appears to mostly be covered with pavement and dirt so if they want a good blue cheese they should consult the supermarket and get some that has been recovered from deep mining operations, probably in France or perhaps Wisconsin. Note that acknowledging their view does not require my agreement with their view.
I will not feel any compulsion to educate them, correct them, enlighten them, indoctrinate them...or even share my own view with them. I certainly will not feel compelled to incarcerate them, take their children into protective custody, or burn them at the stake, or even mock them.
If someone holding this somewhat unusual view takes the time to walk around my neighborhood offering to share their views, I will listen to them as much as my time permits, because I actually appreciate people who share their views. Perhaps this is why I spend a lot of time on forums. I will not be afraid that in sharing their views with me they are somehow going to wash my own views out of my head and flush them down my driveway, so I see no reason why I should be angered or offended that they would offer up their time in this way. I might tell them that my front yard is all either paved or sodded, so if they get a hankering for a blue cheese snack they need to look elsewhere. If they make a TV show about their views I will probably not watch unless it is hosted by a good comedian.
If someone were to post this unusual view on a forum, as the title of this thread implied that I was going to do, I may very well make a flippant remark like the mines in France thing, not out of concern but just to be flippant. If they were genuinely offended I would sincerely apologize, because if my efforts to be flippant are taken as hurtful mockery I will regret them in this case. In any event I would once again not feel any compulsion to educate them, correct them, enlighten them, indoctrinate them, mock them...or even share my own view with them.
Which brings me to what I was actually contemplating; my lifetime of conflict with wild eyed fanatics. That's my perhaps inappropriate shorthand for the people who do apparently feel those compulsions. We all know them. They are the ones who believe that most times when they share their views it has to start with the word "no" because it is in response to some view they do not share. Like the people who open this thread fully expecting to say "no the moon is made of mostly silicates you stupid twit!", who may have been headed off at the pass if they bothered to read all the way to this paragraph. Or more likely will post below.
If someone tells me that the moon is made of green cheese, and the earth is made of blue cheese, my response is most likely going to be "good to know." If they are someone I have any personal interest in or concern for, I may remind them that the earth appears to mostly be covered with pavement and dirt so if they want a good blue cheese they should consult the supermarket and get some that has been recovered from deep mining operations, probably in France or perhaps Wisconsin. Note that acknowledging their view does not require my agreement with their view.
I will not feel any compulsion to educate them, correct them, enlighten them, indoctrinate them...or even share my own view with them. I certainly will not feel compelled to incarcerate them, take their children into protective custody, or burn them at the stake, or even mock them.
If someone holding this somewhat unusual view takes the time to walk around my neighborhood offering to share their views, I will listen to them as much as my time permits, because I actually appreciate people who share their views. Perhaps this is why I spend a lot of time on forums. I will not be afraid that in sharing their views with me they are somehow going to wash my own views out of my head and flush them down my driveway, so I see no reason why I should be angered or offended that they would offer up their time in this way. I might tell them that my front yard is all either paved or sodded, so if they get a hankering for a blue cheese snack they need to look elsewhere. If they make a TV show about their views I will probably not watch unless it is hosted by a good comedian.
If someone were to post this unusual view on a forum, as the title of this thread implied that I was going to do, I may very well make a flippant remark like the mines in France thing, not out of concern but just to be flippant. If they were genuinely offended I would sincerely apologize, because if my efforts to be flippant are taken as hurtful mockery I will regret them in this case. In any event I would once again not feel any compulsion to educate them, correct them, enlighten them, indoctrinate them, mock them...or even share my own view with them.
Which brings me to what I was actually contemplating; my lifetime of conflict with wild eyed fanatics. That's my perhaps inappropriate shorthand for the people who do apparently feel those compulsions. We all know them. They are the ones who believe that most times when they share their views it has to start with the word "no" because it is in response to some view they do not share. Like the people who open this thread fully expecting to say "no the moon is made of mostly silicates you stupid twit!", who may have been headed off at the pass if they bothered to read all the way to this paragraph. Or more likely will post below.
love it
