May I suggest the Vapotron 2000 then? It’s very tidy, and cleanup is a snap. You don’t even need rubber gloves.
I don’t understand people who take pride in not being good with math. “I can’t add 2+2 without a calculator! [sheepish laugh]”. To me this would be almost as bad as being illiterate. Being able to manipulate numbers is a core skill that I could not ever function without. It’s as if people who adhere to this mindset are above us “nerds” who can handle math.
People who are so fervent about their political beliefs. No one person or political party has all the right answers, the elusive golden key that will solve all of mindkind’s problems in one fell swoop-- nobody has it and nobody ever will. Really, why do people get so passionate about being a Democrat or a Republican and feel compelled to cut down the other side’s views and ideas, as if they’re automatically worse? To me this sort of hyper-fanaticism is on the same level as hard-core religious zeal, which has already been addressed.
I agree with the comments about sports nuts. Biiiiig waste of time if you ask me.
Oh oh you reminded me of one!
Really truly why should anyone care if I use a Bluetooth? I’m certainly not doing it to impress you–it’s strictly for convenience.
I don’t understand the mindset of some people thinking that when something good occurs (someone’s life is saved, a lost child is found unharmed, someone evades death, etc.) that god has somehow answered their prayers and intervened in their lives.
But when a tragedy occurs and results badly (child raped and killed, lost girl found dead, premature quads all die within a month) they immediately become apologists for god saying how he works in mysterious ways, etc.
Agreed. As if the two political parties are as simple as good vs. evil (good of course being the one they side with). They don’t see that both sides have their extremist nutjobs, their moderates, ties to big business, liars, good guys, etc.
Here are two that I can demonstrate with one story.
Lack of intellectual curiosity to the point where learning seems repulsive.
Love of pro wrestling.
Years ago I was talking to a prospective mate on the phone. She mentioned that she was totally into pro wrestling, and watched it all the time. It was her favorite thing to do in the world. I mentioned that I liked watching the Dicovery Channel*. She found that to be really odd, and couldn’t conceive of anyone EVER wanting to watch something educational. Except she didn’t use the word “educational.” I think she said “learn stuff or whatever.”
It became clear that the phone call was a huge waste of my time when I could have been doing something more productive, like watching dust collect.
*This was before it turned really lame.
I’m with you on everything else, but you don’t get this one? I mean, assuming you believed in a Hell, you wouldn’t just get a teensie bit smiley thinking that the jerk who just cut you off on the freeway is going to spend five more minutes in that Great Toasty Traffic Jam below?
(Obviously Hell is a traffic jam. With no AC, and the radio only plays Neil Diamond and Barbara Streisand. Your ipod doesn’t work Down Here, mua ha ha!)
ETA: (and your cell phone only dials work and your boringest uncle-in-law.)
I’m pretty laid back and easy going, with a “live-and-let-live” attitude…but it drives me up the WALL when people take a stance against gay marriage.
I mean, I can understand why people think being gay is “wrong” (not that I think it’s wrong). Whatever.
I can even sort of understand why people wouldn’t want “their” church or their pastor to marry two gay people.
But I cannot wrap my head around the idea that people think a GOVERNMENT recognized union of two people has ANY BEARING ON THEIR LIVES OR SOULS WHATSOEVER.
There have got to be millions of people who get married every year who have no sort of religious ceremony attached to their marriage. Just a fee and a judge. I’ve never heard people complain about this.
So why does the government have to pass a law that says two people of the same gender CAN get married? And if the government does pass those laws, what the fuck does it have to do with anyone other than the people who can now get married?
I just can’t wrap my head around this mindset. If the Bible says it’s wrong that’s all well and good, but since when does the Bible = American law??? (rhetorical question, I know)
This is one of mine. Pair of teenagers get creamed by a drunk driver on Prom Night. Drunk driver: not a scratch. Teenagers: girl killed, boy hurt badly.
“It’s God’s Will”
And you WORSHIP something that would “will” this? What is wrong with you?
My job and my pet dominate my life so much so that when they are not the subject of every conversation with me they will be at least be referred to.
It’s good because it’s expensive.
I’m good because I have money.
Don’t you want to know how much money I have?
I am no longer a teenager, but must still prove how tough I am.
In the long run, invading Iraq makes sense.
I don’t understand being so upset at the outcome of a sports game that you haven’t even bet money on, that you act like a petulant brat for the rest of the day.
I don’t understand the near-violent intolerance of atheism. If your god is so powerful, why are you so threatened by it?
I really don’t understand people who let their pets take over their house. My neighbor has two dogs and maybe some cats, and when she opens her door, it smells like an overcrowded dirty stable, and garbage literally drifts out of the door. And the excuses! The dogs got into the cat box…again. The animals were upset because I went to work so they tore the couch/garbage/kitchen apart. The dogs peed on the carpets I guess she thinks it’s not worth cleaning it because they’ll just do it again. Get a fucking spine! Pets are trainable. If your animals turn your house into a barn it is your fault, not theirs. It is disgusting to live in your pet’s filth. The landlord is seriously going to have to replace all the carpeting, window blinds, door frames, sheetrock and probably have the floor under the carpets cleaned when she moves out. I have no respect for these people. You go to their house and you don’t want to touch anything or even sit down. Yuck.
Religious belief
Flaunting wealth
Vanity
An interest in ‘sports’ like car racing
So, wait, you can’t even fathom the idea that someone might hold a belief of a religious nature? I find that bizarre, even for an atheist.
I agree with her. I literally cannot grasp how anyone could convince themselves that a deity exists. The possible exception is if one has had a personal religious experience, and I’m not talking about a Zen-like moment of understanding, but of personally encountering the deity in question. I’d still interpret such an event as a hallucination, but at least I could understand the belief in that case.
I don’t understand the near-violent vehemence of some atheists. What’s it to you what someone else believes?
From this thread - people who don’t lock their doors at night or when they aren’t home. What’s the downside? Why wouldn’t you take a simple and quick action to make yourself a little more secure, regardless of how safe your location is? I’ve never lived anywhere I’d consider unsafe, but I always keep the doors locked at night or when everyone’s out - why not?
Social evolution can explain the predominance of religions that condone or are apathetic to violence.
The one I just can’t fathom is:
Be happy, you jerk.
I’ve recently encountered some people that actually take offense at someone who’s not happy. Seriously. Even if you’re not sad or angry, just not happy, that’s not enough. And to make it worse, a couple of them are my coworkers. It’s not enough that I do my job and interact neutrally with people when I have to; no, I have to socialize and chat and do silly activities that frankly make the workplace seem like an adult daycare center. And then they get offended when you express a desire to just get on with your work rather than participate.
huffhuff* Okay, I’m done.
It’s a pain when you come home with your hands full. My landlord might want to go in/come in and retrieve/borrow something. There’s a scary dog in the front yard so no one will come inside the fence to approach my house anyway.
I do lock more door a lot more often than the landlords because it occasionally opens on its own (latch vaguely loose) but I wouldn’t feel worried leaving it unlocked.
Driving is a chore to me, just like something like cleaning the toilet or washing dishes. It takes time away from things I’d rather be doing, like playing computer games, reading, or daydreaming.
You do know there’s an obvious solution to the dilemma of some people finding it fun to drive, and others don’t- the ones who like to drive should drive the rest of us around while we read, daydream, fool around with the cabana boy, or whatever.
But you probably don’t really want to know how everything works- if you did, you’d spend all your time figuring that out, and never get anything done. They might just be interested in knowing about different things than you are. For instance, I’m very interested in knowing about history or astronomy. The details of my health insurance plan- not so interesting. Time not spent thinking about health insurance can be spent thinking about something more interesting.
Mindsets I don’t get:
Status symbols. Who cares if other people are impressed by your car/clothes/whatever? I choose cars, clothes, and so on to my own needs and taste, and don’t care what other people think about them, especially if those other people are not going to be using them anyway.
The idea that you can do a better job at work when dressed professionally, or that you should wear dressy clothes to religious services. Either I’m comfortable in what I’m wearing, in which case I spend no time thinking about my clothes, or I’m not, in which case I’m distracted from whatever I’m trying to do by uncomfortable clothes. Obviously, I will have more mental energy to expend on any task at hand if I am comfortable and not distracted.
People who can’t relax in a cluttered house. It’s easy- just think about something else that’s more interesting. There are many things that are more interesting than your surroundings in your house or what chores need doing.