Everyone has one, and everyone is entitled to it. I actually enjoy finding people that have different opinions that I do and having healthy debates on the subject. But I've noticed something on a bunch of different forums over the years. Most internet users bash people for their opinion.
Since this blog hasn't really taken off at the time of writing this (I'm hoping it will eventually happen), I still only get a small amount of feedback if any on the things I write. Most of my readers are friends or family, people that are linked to my Facebook, Google+, and Twitter account. Most of these people have similar, if not exactly the same, opinions as I do on subjects. And that's fine. But if this blog begins taking off, and I begin getting followers and readers that have drastically different opinions that I do, I am expecting to get berated, insulted, spammed, and probably at some point protested against (especially if my next post does what I think it will).
I'm prepared for this. I've dealt with the trolls and the haters many times on the internet. I usually find them quite funny, especially when they are really trying, and I mean TRYING, to get me to say something I don't want to say so they can further bash me and try to break my spirit or even cause me to shut down everything.
The problem with opinion is that with these trolls and haters running around the internet, people no longer see the difference between trolling and having an honest opinion that is against the subject. So I'd like to take this opportunity to try to clarify that difference.
It is opinion if a person says "I don't like that." It is trolling/hating if a person says "You're <insert insult here> if you like that."
Its as simple as that. Now while a person is allowed to have an opinion, it does not mean you need to accept the opinion. This is where many people have the system break down and fights begin. This is also where healthy debates can start if you know how to get them going correctly.
Say you have two people debating on which car is better. Person A thinks that the Shelby Mustang is the best car out there, while Person B thinks it's a Porche 911. There is justifiable cause here for a healthy debate if the two of them don't immediately start insulting each other and their choice in car. If they wanted to have a healthy debate, the two might quote facts about engines, famous uses of the car, designers that helped build the car or celebrities that own one. Those facts can sometimes sway a person's opinion.
But what is fact? Its something that has been proven, time and time again, to be true. Something that is non-subjective. Two plus two equals four. The sky is blue. JPEG images don't hold alpha while PNG images do. Those are facts. The sky is pretty is not a fact, it's opinion. And as I've stated before, don't believe everything you read on the internet. If you want to ensure something is fact, either do it yourself, or do enough research into it that you have several sources saying the same thing that aren't quoting each other. If I went to five different places around the world and asked people if Macs or PCs were better, I would get a broad range of answers. Once you know what are facts, then you go into what I like to call the 'sales pitch'.
These are less hard 'facts' about the car, and are instead descriptive semi-opinionated facts. Describing the lines on the car as various animals, or using buzz words such as looking 'mean' or 'sexy'. Used correctly, the other person may sway a bit, thinking about it in their head. However, those soft facts can also be turned against you, where those same descriptions can be turned into 'silly' or 'simple' or 'out of style'. But that's where the debate happens. Trying to convince someone to think your way. And it doesn't always happen. Eventually, you have to agree to disagree, and know that there may not be a middle ground between the two points.
Opinions are just that. Opinions. They are an amalgamation of your emotions, experiences, and knowledge mixed together to give you either a good or a bad feeling towards the idea or object. I for one do not like first person shooter video games. I find that their gameplay is lack-luster, and while a few of the non-military ones have intriguing stories, I would much rather watch the story than suffer through the gameplay. Why is this? Because I prefer shooting guns when I can aim with a gun in my hand, rather than trying to use a joystick to position a crosshair on a target. I'll play Time Crisis 1000 times before I pick up Call of Duty.
What I'm trying to say is, don't think that just because someone has a different opinion on something that you, that it's a personal attack. Use that difference to try to understand where the other person is coming from. Get another angle of perspective on the issue. If you feel that they are missing facts, fill them in. They may fill you in on facts you didn't know about. But the idea is understanding one another, regardless of likes and dislikes. That is of course unless your opinion begins to inflict on other peoples' basic rights. And there is one topic that does this more than others. A topic I've been leading up to. A fanbase with so many different sects, so many clashing opinion, and hardly any understanding of other groups' opinions...<to be continued next blog post....>
Note: Shelby Mustang = Awesome...Porche 911 is just okay.
Also, once again, if you don't like me using your pictures, prove to me that they are yours and I will remove them.
Since this blog hasn't really taken off at the time of writing this (I'm hoping it will eventually happen), I still only get a small amount of feedback if any on the things I write. Most of my readers are friends or family, people that are linked to my Facebook, Google+, and Twitter account. Most of these people have similar, if not exactly the same, opinions as I do on subjects. And that's fine. But if this blog begins taking off, and I begin getting followers and readers that have drastically different opinions that I do, I am expecting to get berated, insulted, spammed, and probably at some point protested against (especially if my next post does what I think it will).
I'm prepared for this. I've dealt with the trolls and the haters many times on the internet. I usually find them quite funny, especially when they are really trying, and I mean TRYING, to get me to say something I don't want to say so they can further bash me and try to break my spirit or even cause me to shut down everything.
The problem with opinion is that with these trolls and haters running around the internet, people no longer see the difference between trolling and having an honest opinion that is against the subject. So I'd like to take this opportunity to try to clarify that difference.
It is opinion if a person says "I don't like that." It is trolling/hating if a person says "You're <insert insult here> if you like that."
Its as simple as that. Now while a person is allowed to have an opinion, it does not mean you need to accept the opinion. This is where many people have the system break down and fights begin. This is also where healthy debates can start if you know how to get them going correctly.
Say you have two people debating on which car is better. Person A thinks that the Shelby Mustang is the best car out there, while Person B thinks it's a Porche 911. There is justifiable cause here for a healthy debate if the two of them don't immediately start insulting each other and their choice in car. If they wanted to have a healthy debate, the two might quote facts about engines, famous uses of the car, designers that helped build the car or celebrities that own one. Those facts can sometimes sway a person's opinion.
But what is fact? Its something that has been proven, time and time again, to be true. Something that is non-subjective. Two plus two equals four. The sky is blue. JPEG images don't hold alpha while PNG images do. Those are facts. The sky is pretty is not a fact, it's opinion. And as I've stated before, don't believe everything you read on the internet. If you want to ensure something is fact, either do it yourself, or do enough research into it that you have several sources saying the same thing that aren't quoting each other. If I went to five different places around the world and asked people if Macs or PCs were better, I would get a broad range of answers. Once you know what are facts, then you go into what I like to call the 'sales pitch'.
These are less hard 'facts' about the car, and are instead descriptive semi-opinionated facts. Describing the lines on the car as various animals, or using buzz words such as looking 'mean' or 'sexy'. Used correctly, the other person may sway a bit, thinking about it in their head. However, those soft facts can also be turned against you, where those same descriptions can be turned into 'silly' or 'simple' or 'out of style'. But that's where the debate happens. Trying to convince someone to think your way. And it doesn't always happen. Eventually, you have to agree to disagree, and know that there may not be a middle ground between the two points.
Opinions are just that. Opinions. They are an amalgamation of your emotions, experiences, and knowledge mixed together to give you either a good or a bad feeling towards the idea or object. I for one do not like first person shooter video games. I find that their gameplay is lack-luster, and while a few of the non-military ones have intriguing stories, I would much rather watch the story than suffer through the gameplay. Why is this? Because I prefer shooting guns when I can aim with a gun in my hand, rather than trying to use a joystick to position a crosshair on a target. I'll play Time Crisis 1000 times before I pick up Call of Duty.
What I'm trying to say is, don't think that just because someone has a different opinion on something that you, that it's a personal attack. Use that difference to try to understand where the other person is coming from. Get another angle of perspective on the issue. If you feel that they are missing facts, fill them in. They may fill you in on facts you didn't know about. But the idea is understanding one another, regardless of likes and dislikes. That is of course unless your opinion begins to inflict on other peoples' basic rights. And there is one topic that does this more than others. A topic I've been leading up to. A fanbase with so many different sects, so many clashing opinion, and hardly any understanding of other groups' opinions...<to be continued next blog post....>
Note: Shelby Mustang = Awesome...Porche 911 is just okay.
Also, once again, if you don't like me using your pictures, prove to me that they are yours and I will remove them.
Lol, i'm the king of letting other people win in opinion wars.
ReplyDeleteSomeone has a different opinion than mine. screw it, you win pal.
It's time I could better spend doing cool stuff, like backflips.................
To be honest though, I have a very passive personality, and pretty much form much of who I am by the people around me.
Sometimes I wonder how many opinions i've formed are fully mine, and how many of those have been formed by someone else.
People i've looked up to, or people I have tried to impress.
I wonder if i've ever hurt someone with an opinion i've adapted from another. :/
Just because you have a different opinion does not mean you need to debate with someone. However, don't just adopt an opinion of someone else. Form your own opinion on stuff. It's inevitable that you've hurt someone with an opinion on something, but if they were really a friend, they would be able to look past it, possibly not even showing you that they did not like that stance.
Delete