3 ms·

if you think you can solve the problems of people being assholes, you haven't yet accepted that someone considers you an asshole too.

colmvp 12y ago
I think more importantly, anytime you are on an online discussion board with anonymous members, you're always going to encounter assholes.
- turingfail 12y ago
  You find the same people everywhere, but they are only honest when they are allowed to be.
  - pit 12y ago
    "I think anonymity is authenticity, it allows you to share in a completely unvarnished, unfiltered, raw way and I think that's something that's extremely valuable." -- moot
RankingMember 12y ago
Agreed. This comes back to the need for a common understanding of what being an agreeable human being involves. "Common sense" etiquette doesn't work because, in my opinion, there is no such thing as common sense. On the other hand, I'd probably think you were a bit of a dick if you tried to tell me what being an agreeable human being is. Edit: This comment was...less than coherent. What I'm getting at is that I agree with you, and that I think the core of being "not an asshole" is understanding that other people are just like you in regard to their being far from perfect. The guy that just cut you off in traffic may have terrible hemorrhoids, be angry about something at work, or perhaps just heard that his daughter died. You never know what other people are going through.
possibilistic 12y ago
Are you sure that reverse mapping is universal? I was going to go for a few anecdotal examples of people I would decidedly consider as counter-evidence to your claim: the Dalai Lama, Mahatma Ghandi, Martin Luther King, Mother Teresa, ... Then I realized that you're probably right. :(
- Leszek 12y ago
  The Dalai Lama, Gandhi and Mother Teresa you say? Penn and Teller would be the counter example to your potential counter-evidence: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6voAW_Go5Y https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6voAW_Go5Y
- dragonwriter 12y ago
  I still occasionally run into people who refer to Dr. King as a Communist agitator (a sibling comment addressed the others).
  - humanrebar 12y ago
    The accusations of Communism are thin at best, but he was a plagarist and adulterer, which is especially egregious for a pastor. I'd say it's fair to say everyone has their selfish inclinations.
gress 12y ago
Not everyone is equally antisocial.

colmvp 12y ago

I think more importantly, anytime you are on an online discussion board with anonymous members, you're always going to encounter assholes.

turingfail 12y ago
You find the same people everywhere, but they are only honest when they are allowed to be.
- pit 12y ago
  "I think anonymity is authenticity, it allows you to share in a completely unvarnished, unfiltered, raw way and I think that's something that's extremely valuable." -- moot

RankingMember 12y ago

Agreed. This comes back to the need for a common understanding of what being an agreeable human being involves. "Common sense" etiquette doesn't work because, in my opinion, there is no such thing as common sense. On the other hand, I'd probably think you were a bit of a dick if you tried to tell me what being an agreeable human being is. Edit: This comment was...less than coherent. What I'm getting at is that I agree with you, and that I think the core of being "not an asshole" is understanding that other people are just like you in regard to their being far from perfect. The guy that just cut you off in traffic may have terrible hemorrhoids, be angry about something at work, or perhaps just heard that his daughter died. You never know what other people are going through.

possibilistic 12y ago

Are you sure that reverse mapping is universal? I was going to go for a few anecdotal examples of people I would decidedly consider as counter-evidence to your claim: the Dalai Lama, Mahatma Ghandi, Martin Luther King, Mother Teresa, ... Then I realized that you're probably right. :(

Leszek 12y ago
The Dalai Lama, Gandhi and Mother Teresa you say? Penn and Teller would be the counter example to your potential counter-evidence: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6voAW_Go5Y https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6voAW_Go5Y
dragonwriter 12y ago
I still occasionally run into people who refer to Dr. King as a Communist agitator (a sibling comment addressed the others).
- humanrebar 12y ago
  The accusations of Communism are thin at best, but he was a plagarist and adulterer, which is especially egregious for a pastor. I'd say it's fair to say everyone has their selfish inclinations.

gress 12y ago

Not everyone is equally antisocial.