Oh boy.
My family and friends know how easy it is to push my buttons, so this list may be an exhaustive one. Here goes.
- People who disdain the younger generation. “When I was your age…” “Technology is ruining our children…” *various cartoons about “the kids today” by self-satisfied baby boomers who resent the fact that they have to call their children to help them work the computer*. Ugh, I have so much to vent about this never-ending phenomenon. As soon as the younger generation is born, the rose-tinted glasses come on and the middle-aged parents start reminiscing about how much better life was back in the Middle Ages or whenever. Yeah, your grandparents lived without the microwave, but I don’t see you giving that up in the name of “the good ol’ days”. Please stop screaming about the eventual Internet apocalypse and how lazy you kids are nowadays. Every generation thinks the newest one is doomed; somehow, humanity has soldiered on.
Yeah, this kind of thing.
2. Arrogance. Especially here on Quora, you get a lot of it “cleverly” masked as innocent questions. “I took an IQ quiz and got a score of 1,500. Is this good?” “Will Stanford accept me if I only have a 4.9 GPA?” Luckily, the more experienced Quorans will often give the questioner some advice, namely that if you really are a genius thirteen-year-old, you should be smart enough not to need the rest of us to stroke your ego.
3. People who will believe anything. Also, people who expect me to believe anything. I pride myself on requiring proof to believe any factoid or statistic people bestow upon me. Often, they turn out to be misleading or just plain wrong. I wonder how much “common knowledge” espoused by Buzzfeed or the like is incorrect, and we’re all repeating falsities smugly.
4. Conspiracy theorists. Often just lonely, insecure people desperately trying to feel special or above everyone else. The worst, the absolute worst, are flat-earthers. I thought humanity had progressed past the days of geocentricity.
5. Sexists. Really any sort of -ists, but sexists really strike close to home for me, as a female human. I really hope I don’t have to explain this one.
6. People who can’t accept being wrong. Conversely, people who verbally abuse others for being wrong. Statements like “I can’t believe you didn’t know that” or “Seriously? That’s what you thought?” or even “That’s stupid” are unnecessary and cause phobias of being wrong, even though being wrong is the best thing to learn and grow.
7. Condescension. Oh god, I’ve saved the worst for last. Condescension takes many forms: a classmate who clearly believes you to be stupid, a parent never allowing a child to make any decisions themselves, or a friend acting like a parent (another pet peeve I’ve had personal experience with and now can’t stand). Please treat me like a person with equal capabilities as your own, and I will do the same. I will not be talked down to, ever. I can deal with everything else on this list, but condescension irritates me like nothing else.
Thanks for allowing me the opportunity to rant.
Read other answers by Margaret Asperheim on Quora: Read more answers on Quora.
from Quora http://ift.tt/2aDeCEu
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