Funny, I say this from time to time. Every time, it is meant as an ad-hominem. Because my schedule is often packed, and it astonishes me what sorts of antics ot

Funny, I say this from time to time. Every time, it is meant as an ad-hominem. Because my schedule is often packed, and it astonishes me what sorts of antics other people get up to with their resources? No, not really. Typically because the limitless creativity of the human mind deeply impresses me, but not always in a good way. As a college student in DC, I once went out and joined a march on The White House. As usual, it turned into an opportunity to observe people (since I really didn't care much about the actual issue driving the protest). The variety of the intent of the other marchers ranged from people who had traveled some distance at their own expense, putting their lives on hold because the issue at hand was quite important to them to what can be described best as, "Hey! A big group of people making a lot of noise! Wheee! LOOK AT ME!" The problem with this rant is that it lacks context or scope. Although, we should respect each other a la Golden Rule. You might be prompted to dismiss a person because they disagree with them. You have that right. You even have the right to insult someone. Of course, when you do this, the corollary is that you trade away your own passions being taken seriously. I'm pretty comfortable doing that with people who, from context, appear to be jumping up and down, waving their arms and making noise to draw attention to themselves. But I can't not respect that other person who is obviously invested… even if I disagree with them. Also, I'm totally happy to watch some jerk fritter away her credibility. If she can't tell the difference between, "I disagree" and "You have too much free time," her opinion isn't worth squat.