I think I'm becoming a snob.
A true snob.
One of those elitist, holier-than-thou, my-shit-don't-stank,
"I say boy, pit me an olive" snob.
I've come to a terrible conclusion about myself. I tried to
push it out of my mind for a few days, but I woke up this morning with it still
in my head…and now I know it to be true.
I cannot tolerate the willfully ignorant, or the joyously
stupid.
"Natural" ignorance, yes, that I understand. It's
impossible to know everything about everything. Having said that, it's not
impossible to LEARN about ANYTHING you need to. But it burns my smooth white
ass when I'm presented with an argument, or the supporting evidence, that has
only been investigated as far as Fox news, or an anonymous conspiracy blog. No,
really, it pisses me off.
I've said it before; the truth gets a bad rap. It is, as
they say, unpopular. It has no market niche, no demand for the supply. No one
wants to hear it, they want to hear their special version of it – glossed over with
a nice sheen, to make the stupid more attractive.
I just today had a person throw up their hands, stalk off
irked at me and say "I don't want to hear this", as I calmly told him
he was wrong on a point due to ignorance, and I could show him why. I almost
chased him, as he was a friend of a friend, and I have to deal with him
professionally every week. It was a near-uncontrollable impulse to run after
him shouting "Wait! Enlightenment can be yours! You don't have to live in
the dark!"
Yeah, well – most people prefer the dark. It's safer than
the light…much less glaring. Or revealing. Often the same thing.
Actually, allow me to make a correction: I had two terrible
conclusions: I can't tolerate the willfully ignorant, and I won't tolerate
ignorance upon myself. I get obsessive when I want to learn something, I chase
down facts and conclusions no matter where they lead – even if it's to an end that
will harm me. I can't stop myself, I've been called to the carpet too many
times in my life not to.
Add to that, I think I'm far too old and set in my ways
(Jeez, I sound like some geezer in the woods) to change that.
I'm not 100% sure I would even if I could.
1 comment:
There is, I think, a fine line between holding oneself and others to a high standard, and being a jackass.
A reasonable person will expect that others in a discussion have an appropriate amount of knowledge for the discussion at hand, which is perfectly valid desire, which is what you seem to be expressing. A snob, on the other hand, will put his fingers in his ears and scream "You plebeians will never understand my superior intellect!"
Ultimately, it all depends on how an individual approaches others.
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