# Do you "Suffer Fools Lightly?" **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 14, 2010, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-suffer-fools-lightly/553754 "2010-09-14T19:08:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2010, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-suffer-fools-lightly/553754/1 "2010-09-14T19:08:45Z")
Do you “Suffer Fools Lightly?” Not much more to say, really. ---
**Author:** ![otternell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecc23a/32.png) [@otternell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/otternell)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2010, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-suffer-fools-lightly/553754/2 "2010-09-14T19:19:36Z")
I confess, I have little to no patience with fools. And yet when I am a fool, I wish people would be more patient with me. I’ve been trying to remember that people aren’t fools all the time, they just have foolish moments, as do I. I’m not particularly successful. ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Tyger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Silver\_Tyger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Tyger)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2010, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-suffer-fools-lightly/553754/3 "2010-09-14T19:25:56Z")
Nope. And when I’m an idiot I’m usually the hardest on myself. ---
**Author:** ![sherrylynn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3be4f8/32.png) [@sherrylynn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sherrylynn)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2010, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-suffer-fools-lightly/553754/4 "2010-09-14T19:44:03Z")
I prefer the term ‘unique individuals’. ---
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2010, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-suffer-fools-lightly/553754/5 "2010-09-14T20:07:16Z")
I generally prefer Pollyanna-ish ‘treat people the way you’d like to be treated’ imbeciles to self congratulatory ‘I don’t suffer fools’ douchebags. Probably foolishly. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2010, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-suffer-fools-lightly/553754/6 "2010-09-14T20:26:31Z")
My mentor in grad school really did not think I was making a good decision by going into public libraries, and she told me her reasoning wast that I “don’t suffer fools gladly.” By this, she explained, she meant both the general public and the administration of public libraries. It remains to this day one of the most insightful things anyone has ever said to me about me. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2010, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-suffer-fools-lightly/553754/7 "2010-09-14T20:30:05Z")
Not only do I not, I’m one of those people who let’s fools know they are fools. I really don’t think it’s too much to ask that others leave me the fuck alone when it comes to inane philosophies, political rants, religious screeds and the like. But if you’re going to start something like that with me, be prepared for some serious blowback. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2010, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-suffer-fools-lightly/553754/8 "2010-09-14T20:37:04Z")
Yeah. I’m easygoing to a fault. ---
**Author:** ![Al\_Bundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@Al\_Bundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al_Bundy)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2010, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-suffer-fools-lightly/553754/9 "2010-09-14T21:21:36Z")
I’ll go along for awhile, for example if the good of a kid is involved. Otherwise, I’m gone when I sense the person can’t change. Sometimes it has been newly made friends and other times it has been longer term friends that seem to have changed. I favor an old saying: “First decide where you are going. Then decide who can go with you.” Don’t try it in reverse. ---
**Author:** ![janeslogin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@janeslogin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/janeslogin)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2010, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-suffer-fools-lightly/553754/10 "2010-09-14T21:52:53Z")
Why do you want to know? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2010, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-suffer-fools-lightly/553754/11 "2010-09-14T22:28:03Z")
I make them suffer heavily, unless they are useful for entertainment purposes. God watches over drunks and fools. And I know too many people who have doubly blessed. ---
**Author:** ![Otara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a88e4f/32.png) [@Otara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otara)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2010, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-suffer-fools-lightly/553754/12 "2010-09-14T22:34:59Z")
Depends on the setting. Family vs work vs online boards for instance. ---
**Author:** ![Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maggie_the_Ocelot)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2010, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-suffer-fools-lightly/553754/13 "2010-09-14T22:41:21Z")
Option two. Because I am foolish myself, sometimes, and I would like patience and compassion at those times, so I extend that to others. However, I do have a finite amount of patience, and once it’s gone, it’s gone. ---
**Author:** ![Illuminatiprimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/illuminatiprimus/32/11520_2.png) [@Illuminatiprimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Illuminatiprimus)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2010, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-suffer-fools-lightly/553754/14 "2010-09-14T22:43:00Z")
At work I don’t get a choice - so I guess the answer is yes. ---
**Author:** ![Claverhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/13edae/32.png) [@Claverhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claverhouse)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2010, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-suffer-fools-lightly/553754/15 "2010-09-14T23:06:57Z")
Yes. There are many millions of individuals and each is absolutely entitled to their opinion: it doesn’t bother me in the least what they think because I don’t care what they think. Tam Carlyle famously declared the human race to be ‘_Maistly fools_’, and he was right. Which is not invalidated by the fact I consider himself a damned fool most of the time. ---
**Author:** ![Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superfluous_Parentheses)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2010, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-suffer-fools-lightly/553754/16 "2010-09-14T23:22:30Z")
I had a hard time choosing between 1 and 3. I’ve dealt with a few too many fools this week. They can be amazingly hilarious, though. 😃 ETA: I don’t let my “poor fool” feeling stand in the way of telling them, fairly politely, that I don’t agree, and why. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2010, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-suffer-fools-lightly/553754/17 "2010-09-14T23:23:00Z")
Nope, I don’t. Sometimes the best I can do is just keep my mouth shut and not tell them just how foolish I think they are. I’m actually working on this; when people are doing stupid things that they damned well should know better than to do, I’m working on finding a way to suffer them better than just glare at them. ---
**Author:** ![statsman1982](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e79b87/32.png) [@statsman1982](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/statsman1982)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2010, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-suffer-fools-lightly/553754/18 "2010-09-14T23:45:25Z")
Most of the time, yes. I do this because I’m not smart enough to be an asshole. ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2010, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-suffer-fools-lightly/553754/19 "2010-09-15T00:09:05Z")
It’s why I can’t do retail, or customer service jobs. I’ve tried, but apparently I’m a shitty actress and people see right through the “nice” act. When I’m irritated with someone, they know it. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2010, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-suffer-fools-lightly/553754/20 "2010-09-15T00:15:50Z")
> [@pravnik](#): > > Yeah. I’m easygoing to a fault. Yep. Sometimes I wish I weren’t and once in a great while I’m not. But generally I dislike conflict, so will work around the foolish unless actively and maliciously provoked. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-suffer-fools-lightly/553754.md?page=2)