#3: People who think their opinions are highly factual statements
This happens everywhere. Not just on the internet, but in real life- but since this is about the internet, that’s what we’ll be focusing on. And, having seen many of these people (who hasn’t?), as well as their various tactics, I’ve got quite a lot to say about them.
So, let’s say you’re on the internet, and you happen to state your opinion (which is often just as safe as walking through a minefield). Chances are someone will see your statement and say “OH MY GOD THIS IS…”
A. Wrong
B. Dumb
C. Super-wrong
D. Not what I think*
- and therefore wrong, dumb, and super-wrong
They will then proceed to tell you every way that you’re wrong, because you aren’t stating your opinion- you’re going against the facts that everyone already knows. And since it’s what they think, it automatically classifies it as a factual statement.
Let’s face it, you can’t escape these people. No matter your opinions/beliefs, someone is going to think you’re wrong. And they often will not stop until they have proven it (or at least they think, but I don’t know anyone who has changed their mind based on something someone said on the internet). They will argue for days, weeks, months, sometimes even years, until you agree with them. They will do anything to win, no matter how bad it makes them look. This may involve citing information from another source, which either involves a Wikipedia article containing information everyone already knows, or a link to a website which contains information of questionable accuracy (which usually doesn’t work too well). Another option is to try to make it look like you have no idea what you’re talking about, although ironically the actuality is quite the opposite. But it doesn’t matter, because they know in their mind that they know only the facts (if you’re going to link me to Wikipedia, how about you take me to the one with the definition of “opinion”?).
A good example of this was someone who was arguing how A is so much better than B. He wasn’t looking sophisticated or knowledgeable on the topic he was arguing about, yet this debate involved him replying over 200 times (and counting!). I only was able to bring myself to read about 40% of the way through before I gave up, but not before reading some of his statements. One of them was in response to a person who actually injected facts into the debate. He was met with his statement being called “opinions and lies”, despite the fact that the information he gave was highly inaccurate (he also liked calling people hypocrites, so that gives you an idea of the kind of person we’re dealing with here). As far as I know, he’s still fighting for his opinions facts. And it doesn’t look like he’ll stop anytime soon.
There are many more annoying tactics these guardians of opinions use in order to get their point across. One particularly annoying tactic is to hide inside a bubble of protection- a bubble where everything wrong with your statement is automatically invalid, and where everyone else makes statement with more holes then Swiss cheese (notably, one of the times I observed this tactic, 60% of what he said was wrong with their statement could also be applied to his statement). Then there are the people who like to demoralize those who disagree with them, sometimes stooping to almost as low as is humanly possible- often this backfires and ends up making them look bad, but surprisingly few people actually take advantage of this. Then there are the people who like to take apart statements and disprove each part individually- this is by far the most pointless tactic I’ve ever seen- I could likely write retribution to a statement without placing big spaces between each response, and most people would probably know which part I’m talking about. Maybe it’s because it’s hard for them to remember exactly what they are insulting, and therefore they require a reminder, or maybe they think that’s a good way to practice for their dream job as a lawyer, but no matter the reason it’s pretty much unnecessary). But the one I find most irritating is when people automatically group you into a certain category, just because you don’t agree with them.
And then, there’s the variation of the “my opinions are right” people- the “my opinions make me superior to all” people (I’m sure it won’t be too hard to think of examples). These people are pretty much exact duplicates of the “my opinions are right” people, using pretty much all the same tactics. They still cram their opinions down your throat, act incredibly immature despite saying they’re better, and are often just as hypocritical (example: when a high-profile person spoke out against one of these subgroups was called the “thought police”, despite the fact that this entire subgroup’s credo is to make everyone see their viewpoint).
Oddly enough, people like these are often laughably predictable. Generally, they’ll all use a tactic described above (I have seen few who are creative enough to use an original tactic), and they pretty much use the same argument over and over. But does it matter to them? Nope- why would it? From their perspective- they’re using the same argument “because it’s true”. And unfortunately, I’ve encountered situations where equally opinionated people group up into an almost relentless force. So if you see one of these people, you know what I want you to do?
Nothing. Just do nothing. Although it may seem like inaction, keep in mind that these people are often very closed-minded- no amount of facts or logic will make them change their mind. Plus, often these arguments may be months or years old- responding wouldn’t change anything. I’ve never actually gotten involved in one of these arguments, for one of those reasons exactly. Of course, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do anything. You need some way to get rid of that rage. Because if not, you’ll end up spending hours on your computer ranting over various events that happened over a long period of time.
So basically, you can have your opinions. Unless you’re going to be a jerk, in which case you can keep it to yourself.
Alright- the next one is a bit more harsh, mostly because I read it just yesterday. And this is pretty much what motivated me to write this.
#4: People who say stupid stuff just because they can
I’m not talking “you don’t agree with me” stupid. I’m not talking about the people who think that America has only 49 states because we proved Pluto wasn’t one (although it is tempting). I’m talking the “how on earth could you say that?” stupid. The people who stoop to immeasurable lows because they can. The people who probably need their moral compass replaced along with their brain. And to be honest, I can’t even say some of the things these people said. Because they’re horrible.
I once was on an article about bad drivers. Predictably, some bad drivers who thought they were good congregated in the comments. They then proceeded to talk about running over pedestrians, and obviously thought they were really funny. No, you look like psychopaths who should probably be arrested if they stand within 10 feet of a motor vehicle. Not to mention that what you wrote was just plain dumb. Also, the jokes were uncreative and unoriginal. So don’t only look like homicidal psychos, you’re also devoid of creativity.
And that’s the basic stupid statement I’m talking about. Pretty much devoid of morality, as well as intelligence. And this isn’t even the tip of the iceberg- some people say way worse things than that. But the bitter irony is, behind all that is someone who really doesn’t have the balls to do what they said they would. Chances are those people would freak out if they hit a mouse crossing the road (they probably wouldn’t be joking if one of their friends was a victim of a pedestrian collision, either). But on the internet, you’re BIG and TOUGH and can run a lap around the world in under an hour.
Basically it’s the “nobody can get me here!” mentality that drives these people things to write this stuff. And why do they? Because they can. There’s really no motivation other than the fact that they can. Which if you ask me, is a really horrible motivation.
But hey, what can you do about it? It’s likely these people have some…ahem…issues, and that’s pretty hard to change unless they’re actively seeing a therapist. So really, the best thing to do is to let them show the world that they are not to be taken seriously by any means (although unfortunately many actually do). Hopefully there will someday be a cure for these types of people, but for now we’ll have to deal with them.
In conclusion, let me just say that just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.
Now that I got that out of my system, have a nice day.
