# Things You Were Surprised People Could Be So Passionate About **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 19, 2018, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-were-surprised-people-could-be-so-passionate-about/816409 "2018-06-19T22:58:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2018, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-were-surprised-people-could-be-so-passionate-about/816409/161 "2018-06-23T18:25:00Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > Are the comics really aimed at adults, or are there just a lot of adults who never evolved their tastes for more sophisticated art? Are you surprised that I’m angry about this comment? ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2018, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-were-surprised-people-could-be-so-passionate-about/816409/162 "2018-06-23T18:38:44Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > Are the comics really aimed at adults, or are there just a lot of adults who never evolved their tastes for more sophisticated art? I’d say works like Lutes’s “Berlin,” Spiegelman’s “Maus,” and Shanower’s “Age of Bronze” are as sophisticated as art in any other medium. There are things that you can do with comics—or sequential art—that you can’t do as well in any other medium. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2018, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-were-surprised-people-could-be-so-passionate-about/816409/163 "2018-06-23T19:45:09Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > Do you seriously not know the history? It is fine if you personally don’t think this should be a big deal, but anyone with a passing knowledge of 20th century history will certainly understand the Taiwan versus PRC disputes. I was too young to understand the isolation of the People’s Republic of China and the gradual acceptance that it should be accepted as China and the change in the UN status of Taiwan. But, the opening of China was important and it was silly to pretend that an island was the ‘real’ China as opposed to a nation of one billion. > > It was a huge breach of etiquette when Trump took the call from the President of Taiwan. Taiwan certainly isnt the 'real China. But it is certainly a independent nation, and not part of China. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2018, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-were-surprised-people-could-be-so-passionate-about/816409/164 "2018-06-23T19:48:29Z")
> [@Buck\_Godot](#): > > Whether Taiwan is part of China. > > Paraphrase of actual conversation I had with two of my otherwise reasonable Chinese roommates. > > Me: Isn’t Taiwan a separate country form China? > Them: Oh no not at all. > Me: But it has its own government, and its own set of laws and its own distinct economy? > Them: yes of course > Me: and this isn’t going to change? > Them: No, no one is advocating changing the current system. > Me: But if they came out and acknowledged what has been obvious for all practical purposes for 30 years, namely, that they are a separate country… > Them (shocked): That would be totally unacceptable! We would have to invade them no matter what the cost! People get extremely passionate about irredentism and nationalism in general. There are a lot of absurdities in diplomacy and international affairs that have to be graciously catered to in the name of keeping the peace. ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2018, 10:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-were-surprised-people-could-be-so-passionate-about/816409/165 "2018-06-24T10:28:19Z")
I’ve had several loud angry arguments with different people over whether or not somebody can have low self-esteem but a high ego. I believe you can have both but there are people who think self-esteem and ego are pretty much the exact same thing and thus that’s a contradiction. ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2018, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-were-surprised-people-could-be-so-passionate-about/816409/166 "2018-06-24T18:24:14Z")
> [@Asuka](#): > > I’ve had several loud angry arguments with different people over whether or not somebody can have low self-esteem but a high ego. > > I believe you can have both but there are people who think self-esteem and ego are pretty much the exact same thing and thus that’s a contradiction. I believe there’s something a little but satisfying about pretending you’re a martyr, but I wouldn’t brag about it. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2018, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-were-surprised-people-could-be-so-passionate-about/816409/167 "2018-06-24T23:56:26Z")
the computer and OS they use. I used to think Apple people were really into Apple products but the Linux people are even more fanatical over using Linux. Red Hat has their HQ here locally and I have heard to work there almost everyone is really into Linux and they don’t want to hear about Windows or the Mac. ---
**Author:** ![Tempe\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tempe_jeff/32/7328_2.png) [@Tempe\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tempe_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2018, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-were-surprised-people-could-be-so-passionate-about/816409/168 "2018-06-25T02:08:09Z")
Colorizing Black and White Movies. Ted Turner got heaps of abuse for that. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2018, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-were-surprised-people-could-be-so-passionate-about/816409/169 "2018-06-25T02:44:11Z")
> [@Tempe\_Jeff](#): > > Colorizing Black and White Movies. Ted Turner got heaps of abuse for that. Oh yeah, that was a tempest in a teapot ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2018, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-were-surprised-people-could-be-so-passionate-about/816409/170 "2018-06-25T03:11:32Z")
Cooking in an Instant Pot. A number of people I know cannot stop going on about their Instant Pot. I have one friend who had a very low profile social media presence until she got her Instant Pot. Now she has a You-tube channel for cooking with her Instant Pot. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2018, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-were-surprised-people-could-be-so-passionate-about/816409/171 "2018-06-25T03:13:58Z")
The insistence that these are [Canada geese](https://goo.gl/images/BBebXe). African elephant, Indian elephant, Sri Lankan junglefowl, Siberian tiger, Eurasian brown bear, American bald eagle, Arabian camel, West Indian manatee … there’s even a Canad **ian** horse, ffs. Why is the goose Canada rather than Canadian? And god forbid you call the goose Canadian… ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2018, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-were-surprised-people-could-be-so-passionate-about/816409/172 "2018-06-25T03:56:52Z")
> [@Rhiannon8404](#): > > Cooking in an Instant Pot. > > A number of people I know cannot stop going on about their Instant Pot. I have one friend who had a very low profile social media presence until she got her Instant Pot. Now she has a You-tube channel for cooking with her Instant Pot. I agree, and I have one myself. It’s great, but I was able to live my life quite well without one, TYVM. My favorite use for it, especially at this time of the year? Cooking pasta. Never had better homemade pasta. It also makes easy-to-peel boiled eggs, something I’d never been able to figure out before, and I’d tried ALL the tricks. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2018, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-were-surprised-people-could-be-so-passionate-about/816409/173 "2018-06-25T03:59:31Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > In the SCA, we call those “garb Nazis” or “authenticity Nazis”. Not like the _actual_[SCA Nazis](https://www.publicmedievalist.com/sca-swastika/), who tried to pass off their Nazi-ism by pleading authenticity… Over the years, I’ve known quite a few SCA members but never had any desire to join myself. Their adherence to authenticity varies quite widely from person to person, and from chapter to chapter. ---
**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:** [June 25, 2018, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-were-surprised-people-could-be-so-passionate-about/816409/174 "2018-06-25T06:12:33Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > Over the years, I’ve known quite a few SCA members but never had any desire to join myself. Their adherence to authenticity varies quite widely from person to person, and from chapter to chapter. I know - if we were _all authenticity Nazis, we [likely wouldn’t know it](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hn1VxaMEjRU). We don’t really have any in our Shire, but in some parts of our Kingdom…it helps their case a little_ that we’re the Kingdom with the \*real \*castles. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2018, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-were-surprised-people-could-be-so-passionate-about/816409/175 "2018-06-25T13:09:41Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > The insistence that these are [Canada geese](https://goo.gl/images/BBebXe). They’re not Canada geese, they’re [cobra chickens.](http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/cobra-chickens) ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2018, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-were-surprised-people-could-be-so-passionate-about/816409/176 "2018-06-25T13:16:10Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > The insistence that these are [Canada geese](https://goo.gl/images/BBebXe). I used to know a girl who got upset and preachy about “German Shepherd” instead of the proper “German Shepherd Dog”. Maybe she was afraid of confusion with dudes who watch over flocks in Deutschland. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2018, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-were-surprised-people-could-be-so-passionate-about/816409/177 "2018-06-25T13:25:25Z")
> [@Rhiannon8404](#): > > Cooking in an Instant Pot. > > A number of people I know cannot stop going on about their Instant Pot. I have one friend who had a very low profile social media presence until she got her Instant Pot. Now she has a You-tube channel for cooking with her Instant Pot. Never quite understood what was so special about those… it seems like an appliance that’s a half-assed version of several other appliances- a shitty pressure cooker that doesn’t get to high pressure, a slow cooker, and something to brown food and saute in that almost certainly doesn’t match up to a saute pan on a stove. I guess maybe if you don’t cook, or don’t cook much, and don’t already have a pressure cooker, crock pot or pan, it might make sense. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2018, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-were-surprised-people-could-be-so-passionate-about/816409/178 "2018-06-25T13:33:43Z")
> [@Jophhiel](#): > > I used to know a girl who got upset and preachy about “German Shepherd” instead of the proper “German Shepherd Dog”. Maybe she was afraid of confusion with dudes who watch over flocks in Deutschland. Most dog people call them GSD, just for that reason I suppose. In a similar vein, I was having a conversation with a man from Arabia about horses when he got a little huffy. “_I_ am an Arab,” he said. “_That_ is an Arabian.” ---
**Author:** ![CurtC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce73a5/32.png) [@CurtC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CurtC)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2018, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-were-surprised-people-could-be-so-passionate-about/816409/179 "2018-06-25T19:02:16Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > I used to know a girl who got upset and preachy about “German Shepherd” instead of the proper “German Shepherd Dog”. Maybe she was afraid of confusion with dudes who watch over flocks in Deutschland. I would look for reasons to tell her about “poodle dogs” or “labrador dogs” or “beagle dogs.” You see that there? It’s a basset hound dog! ---
**Author:** ![CurtC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce73a5/32.png) [@CurtC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CurtC)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2018, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-were-surprised-people-could-be-so-passionate-about/816409/180 "2018-06-25T19:06:29Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > But, the opening of China was important and it was silly to pretend that an island was the ‘real’ China as opposed to a nation of one billion. You’re chastising Buck Godot for something that you and he seem to agree on. Buck considered the giant nation of one billion to be the “real” China too, he just considers Taiwan a separate country instead of a part of China. And everyone else does too, except apparently Chinese mainland nationals, so we all pretend that it’s part of China when talking to them. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-were-surprised-people-could-be-so-passionate-about/816409.md?page=8)