You see it quite a lot here and other sites. ‘Oh I read the classics, you would never catch me reading that!’ or ‘She watches soaps and reality tv’ These sort of statements really annoy me. Why do people feel the need to be smug and patronising towards peoples lives?
I enjoy reading, I read rather quickly. I read on a variety of subjects, my best friend also reads, he likes books about the special forces etc, he reads slowly. It makes him no better or worse than me, we just have different interests. My wife is an intelligent woman, she enjoys soaps and reality TV good on her, thats how she chooses to relax…
In my area of work, I can work with people who have been at Sea over 40 years, can barely read or use a computer, but they are no less cabable than me, in certain circumstances I would rather be at sea with them than an IT expert…
Why Can poeple not just live and let live? We only get one life, if what they do doesn’t effect you or anyone else then what is issue… Sorry wasnt worthy of the pit or anything just gets me down.
I had my sense of humor quiestioned on another thread because I didnt see someone Snarking behind their BIL back about life ‘Hillarious’ Yea the dreams and aspirations were probably unrealistic but the post seemed nasty and petty. Critical of him spending some compensation whilst young on frivolous things instead of college. Give me $25,000 at 20 and see what I would have done with it, blown the lot, I would look back and think maybe I should have been more sensible but fuck me it was fun! I would like to think his BIL is the same, and happy having his dreams. Reality can do one!
According to some psychological theories it’s part of Freud’s Narcissism of small differences. Which basically boils down to this statement:
It’s a large part of the popularity of social media, the ability to constantly post about yourself and express your uniqueness and simultaneously belittle others for their cultural choices.
At a family gathering a few years ago, a younger 20-something started the typical sanctimonious pooh-poohing because I’m a hunter.
I answered her that I wasn’t really an old redneck, but a Hipster who’d gone meta. No longer satisfied with ironically drinking Pabst, I’d gone full-on and acquired guns and camo. Then I asked her if she had any idea how difficult it was to turn a pickup into a fixie, or how much Aamco charged to change a transmission to single speed?
I think what kayaker is saying (or at least it’s what I got out of it) is that this whole post is judgy and snobby.
paraphrased
‘I read fast’
‘I read all kinds of books’
‘My slow reading friend only reads one kind of book.’
‘my coworkers don’t know how to use computers but I’m an IT pro’
Why would you start a thread just tell us about your accomplishments and their downfalls? I’m kinda glad I’m not one of your friends just so you could talk about why you’re better than me.
You may have gone a bit left of center on live and let live.
Hey, I think I recognize you. Weren’t you the guy who swooped into that thread, and basically pied the dude that I was talking to in the face? Then you two scuffled for a moment, and you took off.
If you two have a history, then I may be barking up the wrong tree here. But in context, that was a strange point of entry. No wonder he got a bit defensive. Drive-by pies to the face tend to be somewhat startling.
Anyway. Feel free to come back to that thread and post something on topic. 'Cause I really want to keep that thread going, and half the time I’m just talking to myself in there right now. So, I’m recruiting. The more the merrier.
We do it because it makes us feel better. I’m smart (not-so-stealth-brag), so I feel better than people who aren’t as smart as me. It helps me to get over the fact that I’m not as attractive, socially capable, strong, athletic, brave, interesting, successful, rich, funny, organized, educated, tall or sexually desirable as they are.
It works the other way, too. A lot of uneducated and uncultured people love nothing better than a good long sneer at folks who enjoy higher art. I mean, which group of people do you think is larger? The group that enjoys watching or reading Shakespeare? Or the group that would say “Shakespeare? You lah-di-dah faggot! Why don’t you just watch football like a normal person?”
