Which is worse: stupidity or malice?

[MeanOldLady]

@Clothahump

And stupidity can be corrected.

But it isn’t. Oh gods, how it isn’t!

@Angry Lurker

I have worked with both. To be honest, stupidity has caused me the biggest problems. By far, actually. Particularly financially, but I think inter-personally as well. I’ve been pretty fortunate not to have worked with malicious people that I couldn’t sort out in my own way.

See, that’s the thing. You can say to a mean person, “Hey stop being such a bitch!” and it’ll work or it won’t. If it doesn’t, usually you can make it so that it is in their best interest to not be a bitch. It is, for example, no longer in HC’s interest to be a bitch to me. In fact, being a bitch to me would be a horribly self-destructive idea. Miraculously, it would appear, the bitchiness has evaporated and she’s all smiles and giggles. When holding the door for me in the bathroom today, she let the door slip about 1mm, and I had to hear six minutes of apologies about it. Really? :dubious: You’re the same bitch who screamed in my face? You became a non-bitch overnight? Highly unlikely, but the malicious behavior has stopped, which is all I care about. We don’t have to be friends, but we do have to work together, so cut it out.

FR (sigh) is still a dipshit, and for as long as we have to work with her, we are fucked. Fucked, I say!

But morally I can never say stupidity is worse. Absolutely malice, indeed I’m amazed this is even a question. I guess the best way of putting this is that stupidity is a character attribute, malice is a character defect.

Malice is a moral failing, yes, and stupidity is not, but knowing this does little to suppress my urge to kill!

[MikeF]

I’ll vote for malice but when someone treats you poorly intentionally, you have options. Sometimes turning the other cheek is not the best response. Use your imagination. That nasty old bitch deserves some of her own medicine.

Stupidity is so frustrating because its beyond your control.

[Happy_Poster]

@MeanOldLady

FR (sigh) is still a dipshit, and for as long as we have to work with her, we are fucked. Fucked, I say!

Malice is a moral failing, yes, and stupidity is not, but knowing this does little to suppress my urge to kill!

I entirely agree, you can even get angry… but with the actions, not the person. But no matter what the stupidity, it doesn’t compare to malice, or even dishonesty.

Someone cost me personally 8 figures in 48 hours once because of an act of stupidity. I am not as angry with them as with the bastard who tried to skim 3 figures from replacing my brake pads.

[Gustav]

Voted stupidity because malice is usually at least productive for the perpetrator, if not the victim, but stupidity just screws over everyone.

[needscoffee]

The only solution for you is to arrange unfortunate accidents for each of them. Barring that, surreptitiously cellphone-record all the tirades by HC and send them off to HR, “signed” by FR.

[rhubarbarin]

Malice, of course! It’s hard for me to get mad at dumb people, even when they do terrible things because they’re dumb. I just feel sad for everyone. For me it’s all about intentions.