# If a friend has goofy opinions on one subject? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 26, 2022, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-friend-has-goofy-opinions-on-one-subject/958434 "2022-01-26T18:03:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2022, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-friend-has-goofy-opinions-on-one-subject/958434/21 "2022-01-27T15:32:05Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > Usually I’m pretty tolerant. What, you’re rational atheist with a STEM degree that believes in astrology in a casual way? Okay, whatever. > > Sometimes I’m not. Oh, you believe that white people shouldn’t have relationships with black people because it might spread sickle-cell anemia? Fuck off. Pretty much this. There are enough vile beliefs out there that have real-world negative effects that I’d pretty much give a pass to this, if it didn’t seem to be otherwise affecting their life. It’s like religion. I’m not going to get all bent out of shape over a regular everyday Catholic or Methodist, or the like. But if they start coming in with all the hateful bigoted, “prosperity gospel” crap that causes so much real trouble, that’s different. I’ll worry about the little stuff once the big stuff is dealt with, which will probably be “never”. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2022, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-friend-has-goofy-opinions-on-one-subject/958434/22 "2022-01-27T15:34:19Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > “Jewish politicians are eating babies in the basements of pizza shops and they must be rescued”. I guess my reaction would depend on the belief being expressed. Well, I for one would like to come out _against_ rescuing these Jewish Politicians. I know it’s controversial, but they did it to themselves. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2022, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-friend-has-goofy-opinions-on-one-subject/958434/23 "2022-01-27T15:36:54Z")
Rule Of Thumb: If Goofy himself would be disgusted at the thought of saying it, then it isn’t goofy, it is disgusting. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2022, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-friend-has-goofy-opinions-on-one-subject/958434/24 "2022-01-27T15:46:18Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Seriously, somebody save me a trip to Wikipedia and tell me what Younger Dryas means, please. It was a short period of renewed glaciation 13-11 thousand years ago. It wasn’t exactly a global event, either. Hancock ties the start of it into flood myths in his followup to _Fingerprints_, [_Magicians of the Gods_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magicians_of_the_Gods) (haven’t read that one). ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2022, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-friend-has-goofy-opinions-on-one-subject/958434/25 "2022-01-27T15:53:43Z")
@Dinsdale You should find out if your friend is a Donovan fan. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/LmXElrdrJ3U/hqdefault.jpg "Donovan & Friends - Atlantis") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmXElrdrJ3U) ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2022, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-friend-has-goofy-opinions-on-one-subject/958434/26 "2022-01-27T15:56:13Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > You should find out if your friend is a Donovan fan. …and it became even a bigger Delta hub. All hail Atlanta! ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2022, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-friend-has-goofy-opinions-on-one-subject/958434/27 "2022-01-27T16:01:28Z")
_That just raises further questions!_ ---
**Author:** ![Folly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folly/32/3219_2.png) [@Folly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folly)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2022, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-friend-has-goofy-opinions-on-one-subject/958434/28 "2022-01-27T16:11:55Z")
> [@Andy\_L](#): > > That just raises further questions The important thing to remember is that if you fall in love with a mermaid, make sure it is the kind with the fish part on top and the lady parts on the bottom. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2022, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-friend-has-goofy-opinions-on-one-subject/958434/29 "2022-01-27T16:30:04Z")
You’re familiar w/ the song? I think it ends up describing the mermaid’s sister who is set up as you describe and mentions “getting fishhead from the other end.” 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Folly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folly/32/3219_2.png) [@Folly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folly)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2022, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-friend-has-goofy-opinions-on-one-subject/958434/30 "2022-01-27T16:44:01Z")
I’m only familiar with cartoons… [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/dOLaTBMxmbk/hqdefault.jpg "Fry and the Mermaid") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOLaTBMxmbk) ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2022, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-friend-has-goofy-opinions-on-one-subject/958434/31 "2022-01-27T17:09:45Z")
[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/lz37e_R3OxU/hqdefault.jpg "The Mermaid by Shel Silverstein himself") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lz37e_R3OxU) A guy I play music with likes to sing dirty ditties. This is the first time I heard the original version. I guess my buddy added the line about “fishhead” in the last verse. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2022, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-friend-has-goofy-opinions-on-one-subject/958434/32 "2022-01-27T18:28:51Z")
I’ve mentioned this before, but one of my closest friends is someone I’ve known since our college days. We’re now both retired, and have known each other our entire working lives. We get along amazingly well despite the fact that his political beliefs skew to the far right. I guess it’s because he’s not an activist or a proselytizer, he just holds right-wing views. If our conversation drifts into politics as it sometimes does, it’s always in the tone of good-natured disagreement rather than hostility, and we cheerfully move on to other topics. He’s a good guy and there are more important things in life than politics. ---
**Author:** ![Briny\_Deep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/briny_deep/32/17188_2.png) [@Briny\_Deep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Briny_Deep)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2022, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-friend-has-goofy-opinions-on-one-subject/958434/33 "2022-01-27T18:58:12Z")
Treading carefully here, in case this person ever read this board and knew who I was here – no, and no, so far… I have a family member with whom I’m close who believes in all kinds of “woo.” Bigfoot, UFOs, ley lines, you name it – if it’s spooky and kooky and ooky, this person is all over it. They have also had many mystical or paranormal experiences. I will gladly discuss personal experiences with an open mind – I don’t think they’re lying or making stuff up – but as for the broader theories, I just smile and nod. I will not be drawn, and I will not read the relevant literature. I think my respectfulness on the topic of _what they have personally experienced_ gives me some cred regarding my lack of interest in the wacky underlying theories. This person’s political thinking is all over the map as well. I’m not offended, and I never argue about this either, because we don’t have the same frame of reference. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2022, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-friend-has-goofy-opinions-on-one-subject/958434/34 "2022-01-27T19:48:55Z")
I used to think nothing too much of it. But lately I’ve noticed that those with such wacky beliefs seem to be fertile ground for conspiracy nonsense that actually matters–i.e. they become Q followers. That said, I’m not exactly sure how to respond any differently to it. But I do kinda wish I did debunk that guy who was really into end times stuff, and now is a Q faithful. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2022, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-friend-has-goofy-opinions-on-one-subject/958434/35 "2022-01-27T20:59:44Z")
This is only about a quarter way as far back as the younger Dryas, but you will gain renewed respect for what some of the ancients understood if you read about the Antikythera device, an incredible astronomical calculator. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2022, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-friend-has-goofy-opinions-on-one-subject/958434/36 "2022-01-27T21:06:43Z")
Yeah, that is my feeling. As long as he doesn’t start spouting anti-vax or MAGA nonsense, it is not too bad. I have a buddy locked into JFK conspiracies. Harmless. I have a friend who is convinced Bigfoot is real. Meh. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2022, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-friend-has-goofy-opinions-on-one-subject/958434/37 "2022-01-27T21:24:43Z")
Yeh - way cool. I’ve long been interested in how learning has been “lost” and “rediscovered” throughout history. And I’m willing to “fill in gaps” - tho I generally liberally wield Occasm’s razor! But I tend to be pretty skeptical of outlandish claims. ---
**Author:** ![Bootb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19b73/32.png) [@Bootb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bootb)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2022, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-friend-has-goofy-opinions-on-one-subject/958434/38 "2022-01-27T22:42:10Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > “Goofy” is kind of vague to have a single opinion about. It covers everything from “Morning dew is really just the Earth sweating at night” to “Jewish politicians are eating babies in the basements of pizza shops and they must be rescued”. I guess my reaction would depend on the belief being expressed. You seem to have an overly-broad definition of the word. “Goofy” is far more properly defined as something that is odd but harmless. Your first example is definitely an example of goofiness; your second example is emphatically not. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2022, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-friend-has-goofy-opinions-on-one-subject/958434/39 "2022-01-28T14:29:14Z")
> [@Bootb](#): > > > [@Czarcasm](#): > > > > “Goofy” is kind of vague to have a single opinion about. It covers everything from “Morning dew is really just the Earth sweating at night” to “Jewish politicians are eating babies in the basements of pizza shops and they must be rescued”. I guess my reaction would depend on the belief being expressed. > > You seem to have an overly-broad definition of the word. “Goofy” is far more properly defined as something that is odd but harmless. Your first example is definitely an example of goofiness; your second example is emphatically not. I can’t agree. It’s not at all uncommon to refer to politician as being goofy when they say something dangerous. The main aspect is that the idea is so absurd that it’s kinda funny. There’s nothing harmless, for example, about someone thinking that Jewish people have space lasers. It’s still antisemitic. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2022, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-friend-has-goofy-opinions-on-one-subject/958434/40 "2022-01-28T15:03:20Z")
Obligatory joke: Judge: You can’t divorce Minnie just because she is odd. Mickey: I didn’t say she is odd. I said she is fucking Goofy! I read a lot, so I place one of those pseudo history boos on Hold at the local library. I suspect my fried lacks critics thinking/skepticism in this area. Come to think of it, he lives in a condo, and does not have to maintain a yard. He has show himself to be pretty ignorant re: aspects of natural history. This might just be a tale that he finds attractive/romantic. Just kinda odd, because the guy is SO informed as to music/theater/etc. Clearly knows more in those areas than I. Whereas I am more of a generalist - a vast shallow pool of knowledge, expert in nothing! 😉 I’ve more frequently encountered the opposite - scientific folk who are ignorant as to philosophy, art… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-friend-has-goofy-opinions-on-one-subject/958434.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-friend-has-goofy-opinions-on-one-subject/958434.md?page=3)