The Ideology of Stupid…

What is it that makes a person say or do stupid things? Better yet, how come there is this need to sensationalize this stupidity by attaching it to social media?

The Problem

I can’t scroll through (insert social media name here) without being inundated with people’s opinions on one topic or another (mostly political these days) and suffer through the plethora of nonsense that was once relegated to private conversations or backdoored drawing rooms*.

I mean, I remember when people would say, “You never talk about politics or religion” when it came to dinner parties and places where you were prone to gather with a large group of individuals.

The Reason

The reason you never did was because everyone has an opinion and everyone’s opinion is probably different than yours. Take any candidate and ask a supporter what they agree with about them, and sure enough, another supporter will pop up and say that’s the thing they don’t like about them, but they love this about them.

So, ultimately, an argument is going to ensue to one degree or another. Now, when you take two people who differ widely, that is going to be a much more heated discussion.

And Multiply

Sadly, when it comes to the interweb** your opinion isn’t just cast to a few individuals. It’s cast to tens or twenties (what? I don’t have a large base, your point?) and those tens or twenties are all of their own opinions and are going to usually share back (with likes, loves, re-twerps, shares… or hates, flames, trolling and indiscriminate loathful rhetoric that would make a stripper blush***).

Now, I’m an advocate for “free press” and the “Don’t Censor Me, Bro” movement, but there is this part of that whole thing that so many people don’t understand. You right to voice your opinion comes at the cost of having people lambast you in return.

The Caveat

The fun part is… if you post a comment in the negative to whatever the stand is, you best be fully aware that people who agree with the original statement that you flamed  are going to rally and strike back.

And Thus

I’m pretty sure this is how gang wars start.

In Conclusion

Do you want to know what’s stupid? People getting upset at other people for having differing opinions. Do you want to know what else is stupid? Telling someone they are wrong for what they believe without actually having any evidence to back it up. Do you want to know what else is stupider****?

Do you want to know what else is stupid? Telling someone they are wrong for what they believe without actually having any evidence to back it up.

Do you want to know what else is stupider****? Thinking that you can convince someone to change their mind by showing them that they are wrong.

Yeah. That last part. That’s really stupid.

So, people of the interweb**, stand up and unite in solidarity against stupidity and recognize that you, yes you, are allowed to have an opinion and you have the right to voice it…

BUT!!!

So does everyone else.

Thank you.

********

*I have no idea what those are, it just sounded really cool…she, just accept it.

**yes, I know it’s the internet, but interweb sounds more fun.

***I have no idea what makes a stripper blush, but I assume it would take a lot… but I could be wrong. If so, choose another profession you think that doesn’t blush very much and insert it into that part.

****shh, I know it’s not a word…

Daily Prompt