Random Thoughts Thread

[BogusMeatFactory]

I hate the generally held belief that people are stupid. It's everywhere, woven into the fabric of society. It's in the TV execs that try to dumb down smart shows for mass appeal. It's in the advertisements that sometimes subtly, and sometimes not at all subtly, treat their customers like we are stupid people that need stupid products that they are stupid enough to buy. It's in our simplified, soundbite news followed by a false "debate" between angry pundits. It's in our happy, simple pop music with its watered down lyrics. It's in our macho man and titty girl video games. It's on the fucking warning labels on everything from curling irons to mayonaisse. It's so ubiquitous it's even in our god damn stupid heads.

This belief leads to a self fulfilling prophecy where we treat each other like we're stupid so often, that it just gets beaten into your skull. You're surrounded by shit for stupid people and without any real culture to anchor yourself to, you are at constant risk of becoming stupid yourself. You have to raise your blade against this sea of inane bullshit. You have to educate yourself. Find value. Define yourself. Read a fucking book. It's the only way to take arms against this constant attempt to dumb you down, so you can walk through this life with some dignity and self respect.

I agree wholeheartedly. I work retail and my co-workers go on some large diatribe about how dumb people are. My response has always been the same, "What we see is not what a person is. We see people in a guarded state. People do not know what they do and how they affect others. Some times we come across intelligent people and other times we come across simple people. Why should we encourage and enforce ignorant behavior? Treat everyone with love and respect and people start to change themselves for the better."

I have always felt that people need to be loved and respected. To talk to them and challenge them in a place from said love and respect. It changes people, even if it is slowly. People start to behave differently... think differently. No one is dumb. I feel a lot of times people just aren't aware of what they do and when you talk to them, they start to notice.

[KalessinDB]

This is just reminding me of the Carlin bit

"Think of how stupid the average person on the street is. Now realize that half the people out there are dumber than that!"

[Forlorn Drifter]

Well if we're going to go into this...

I have another view to throw in. I dislike when people look at someone they believe has potential, and just throw their hands up in the air and question why "they didn't do something with themselves" or "aren't trying". As much as it is bad to admit, I understand where those people are coming from. When I am home, like currently, I'm constantly questioned why "a smart young man like you would want to be a farmer", or something similar. I dislike how they imply I'm making a bad choice, along with how they also imply farming (which I'm not even considering, I'm looking at ranching. Two very different things people) is somehow beneath me. When you get constantly told you are smart, and have expectations shoved on you, you want away from it. You want to be like the dropouts and junkies... because they seem happy most of the time. They don't have social problems, hell, they are usually the center of attention when they are around. They get dates, they get to focus on what they want to do, school is secondary to them. When you finally get out in the world enough to make your own choices, you might want to try that for a while- you might even find you like it better. I know in a case like mine, where I am actually not particularly smart, this is all aggravating. I was top ten percent in my class. Whoopte doo. So were others, and the top ten percent of every other high school around. Oh I got into a good college? They had to accept me (at least here, IDK about other states and such) because I was top ten percent. It means nothing. It proves nothing.

Not to say some people don't go off the absolute deep end, but the only case of that I can think of is someone who had other problems- depression, high anxiety, some neo-hippie-nihlist-anarchistic views on everything,(screw it, I'm going to die anyway and the world can't be helped by me alone idealism) etc. He wasn't going anywhere anyway.

It goes in to my whole thing a couple pages back about liking "trashy" girls. Its everything I've never gotten the chance to be, the things I've grown up around and gotten wiffs of without ever actually being it.

[AppleQueso]

^I'm kinda an advocate of the idea that it's important to define your own life path on your own terms, so I mean, yeah.

It's 3am.

I'm tired as fuck.

[dsheinem]

What I (and I think JT) were commenting on was largely a culture that treats everyone as stupid, one that discourages people from valuing education, intellect, science, history and culture, etc. The concern is that this climate breeds and celebrates ignorance, and is a detriment to many (Idiocracy in the making).

As I read it, J T said:

You have to raise your blade against this sea of inane bullshit. You have to educate yourself. Find value. Define yourself. Read a fucking book. It's the only way to take arms against this constant attempt to dumb you down, so you can walk through this life with some dignity and self respect.

This sentiment has nothing to do with privilege, nothing to do with belittling people with learning disabilities, nothing against careers that are blue-collar, etc. etc. It is arguing that people should give a fuck about their world, their place in it, and their intellectual growth. The saddest people, to me, are those who decide that the end of their formal education is the end of needing to learn about things outside of perhaps their own narrow areas of interest (e.g. career interests, hobbies, etc.). Not everyone needs to become an "intellectual" but everyone, regardless of ability, should strive to become increasingly more intelligent than they are.

[jp1]

What I (and I think JT) were commenting on was largely a culture that treats everyone as stupid, one that discourages people from valuing education, intellect, science, history and culture, etc. The concern is that this climate breeds and celebrates ignorance, and is a detriment to many (Idiocracy in the making).

As I read it, J T said:

You have to raise your blade against this sea of inane bullshit. You have to educate yourself. Find value. Define yourself. Read a fucking book. It's the only way to take arms against this constant attempt to dumb you down, so you can walk through this life with some dignity and self respect.

This sentiment has nothing to do with privilege, nothing to do with belittling people with learning disabilities, nothing against careers that are blue-collar, etc. etc. It is arguing that people should give a fuck about their world, their place in it, and their intellectual growth. The saddest people, to me, are those who decide that the end of their formal education is the end of needing to learn about things outside of perhaps their own narrow areas of interest (e.g. career interests, hobbies, etc.). Not everyone needs to become an "intellectual" but everyone, regardless of ability, should strive to become increasingly more intelligent than they are.

I thought I clearly stipulated that I didn't believe either of you was making this argument. There was no agenda on my end, other than to point out the things I pointed out. In a random thoughts kind of way, however related. These types of conversations have, in the past, led to this kind of looking upon "stupid" people as something less...

I was throwing it out there, but if it were meant as a direct response towards your comments, I would have quoted you. It was clear that both yours and JT's intentions were exactly as you're describing here, that wasn't lost on me. It was simply my point of view on the topic. Like the differences I pointed out with my own children, or the experience with my sister, I just wanted to make note (if we were headed down this road of speaking about our stupid culture) that it isn't always a choice someone makes. Nothing more behind my comments, even if they seemed loaded.

I don't mean to infer that JT or Dsh was passing said judgment, I simply wanted to point out a different view.

Perhaps I should have worded this as "my view" rather than "a different view" which would imply a divisive nature. I don't know, I had a lot of cold medicine last night.

[dsheinem]

My last post was more as a point of clarification aimed at the general discussion that followed your earlier comment, as I took your post as you intended...it was stated well.

[jp1]

My last post was more as a point of clarification aimed at the general discussion that followed your earlier comment, as I took your post as you intended...it was stated well.

Good, because I actually stand behind the sentiment JT and yourself were expressing. I simply wanted to make notes in the margins.

[Jmustang1968]

All this talk about how smart people are, and then you go and read twitter posts and comments sections and that whole foundation crumbles.

Is it tv shows and movies making us more dumb by what they show, or is it that they show those more because they sell more and are more popular? Most often, the stuff that does try to be smarter, doesn't sell.

Also to me, intelligence does not equal education.

[BogusMeatFactory]

All this talk about how smart people are, and then you go and read twitter posts and comments sections and that whole foundation crumbles.

Is it tv shows and movies making us more dumb by what they show, or is it that they show those more because they sell more and are more popular? Most often, the stuff that does try to be smarter, doesn't sell.

Also to me, intelligence does not equal education.

I think it has a lot to do with how we are reinforced with how to spend our time. The two biggest pass times here in the U.S. is eating and watching TV/Movies. I am boggled at how many people do not know how to cook and prefer it that way. I think that advertising and entertainment drown the rest of the world out. We don't see the book clubs, the local social events or classes because we don't know they are there amidst a sea of advertising.

I agree that intelligence does not equal education. In reality, it is a passion to learn mixed with a bit of humility in that pursuit that really defines a person.