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I believe we should give others consideration at all times, unless or until they earn either our respect or our ire. It becomes more and more obvious how old-fa
by mildtrepidation 13y ago
I believe we should give others consideration at all times, unless or until they earn either our respect or our ire. It becomes more and more obvious how old-fashioned and unpopular people find this view.
That wouldn't necessarily be a problem (well, a public one, anyway) without the great power that's been bestowed upon individuals by The Internet. All hail the internet, enabler of bad behavior from 4chan to Twitter (though with the kind of deeds documented here, I'm starting to wonder where the difference between the two went).
Now we have a total disregard for others coupled with the widespread ability to disseminate any kind of vitriol at the speed of LTE.
Not what I'd call social progress.
- mikeash 13y agoWhy doesn't shoving a private conversation in my ear qualify as earning my ire?
- iamben 13y agoUnfortunately if you ever drink in a bar, eat in a restaurant - hell, pretty much do anything in public - at some point you're going to overhear someone's conversation. If it bugs you that much, you could stay at home (or get headphones) :-)
- mikeash 13y agoIt's pretty minor ire. But on the other hand, it's a pretty minor act to relay a conversation held in public.
- iamben 13y agoHaha, perhaps, yes! But also why do we feel the need to relay it? Tit for tat?! Can't we just be better than that?! If you're really, really annoyed, why not just say to the conversationalists - "perhaps you could keep it down?"
- mikeash 13y agoI'd wager that it's generally just wanting to share something funny. I don't know, it doesn't appeal to me personally. I just don't see why you'd get upset about being the target if you were being that loud in the first place.
- iamben 13y agoSure, but your hilarity may be coming from someone else's tragedy (or certainly something they probably don't consider funny), and maybe you're not being loud you're just sat somewhere you can be overheard? And again - sharing the conversation you've overhead is unlikely to be a selfless act, is it?! That said, horses for courses - we can agree to disagree :-)
- aaronem 13y agoBecause your ear is not sacred. Welcome to human civilization! Sometimes you are going to hear things not meant for you. You will be judged on how you react when this occurs.
- mikeash 13y agoMy ear is exactly as sacred as their public conversation is. I agree that my ear is not sacred, but that just means that neither are their words. If you don't want to be overheard, don't speak in a way that people can easily overhear you.