Why Your Opinions Are Garbage

And what you can do to generate some better ideas.

Today, I eavesdropped on a conversation between a pair of gentleman. They talked about politics, poverty, and theory-crafted why things “are the way they are these days”.

The old, outdated, and very one-sided ideals that they tossed back and forth were a little disheartening, to say the least.

They gave such riveting and unique suggestions for the poor, saying you “can’t ask for handouts without first taking responsibility for your situation”, assuming anyone who is poor put themselves there, essentially victim blaming and inadvertently claiming anyone who is homeless, living paycheck to paycheck, or just not having a good time with capitalism, is inherently lazy and entitled.

Sometimes they downright said that was the case.

Then they proceeded to preach to the POC communities (who coincidentally weren’t there to defend themselves or share any dissenting opinions) about how,”…slavery is long gone, and this country has monuments to Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, Jr. so obviously we care about black people”.

Right, because spending tax dollars on a memorial in DC, where virtually NONE of the people who’d deserve to see it will actually get the chance to, is the solution to systemic racism and inequality.

Crisis averted, racism has ended, everybody go home.

Opinions on Things You Don’t Understand

That was condescending and harsh, and for good reason.

I sat and listened quietly to two upper middle class white guys, who have never lived below the poverty line, and whose experiences with the communities that they shamed and belittled were through documentaries and misguided political pundits pushing their childish agendas.

They claimed to have the answer to all the social and political turmoils, that have cursed generations of hard-working and struggling Americans, without ever having experienced a fraction of the pain and hardship that is visited to these people on a daily basis.

And in that dynamic lies the core of why most opinions, takes, theories and whatnot spouted by white men are lacking severely.

You Have No Empathy

If you start, end, or punctuate any part of your critique of another with,” I just don’t understand why…”, then you can bet that by the time you finish that sentence, your mouth and your ass will have melded together like a one-man Human Centipede, and the anal echo chamber you’re shouting into will only ever reverberate your shitty opinions back into your empty skull.

The mere fact that you cannot comprehend someone’s view, though completely opposite of yours, is a failing on you.

You have refused to take into consideration that another person’s life can, and will, play out in a matter, that they will not learn the same lessons you have. Their truth looks much different than yours.

These two supposedly well-meaning and horribly uninformed boys claim to have grafted logic and reason into the bedrock of their decision making, and yet cling to logical fallacy as though it were toilet paper in a pandemic.

They reference “studies” and “scientists” to claim their view points are backed up by common sense and statistics, yet have no names to share, studies that they can quote from, or even an anecdotal experience that they personally have encountered that can back up their claims against the plight of black communities, LGBTQ+ communities, and anyone who isn’t a white man in the 21st century.

Simply put, they’re regurgitating someone else’s ideas as their own, and take no effort in creating a bridge between themselves, and those they say they want to help.

Understand Before You Undermine

The way they crafted ideas and spitballed solutions reminded me of when I was 14, and I was still heavily reliant upon my parents for my philosophies, values, and morals. I would watch what they watched, read what they read, and reach the same conclusions they did.

But then I grew up.

I matured, and decided that it was more correct to assume I’m wrong about virtually everything, and my only goal should be to become less wrong as my life goes on.

This is the invisible gap in reasoning, where projecting entitlement onto others actually proves your own entitlement.

You were born to parents with good credit, a safe community, and never a financial care in the world, yet you claim to have “worked hard” for what you have.

No one has ever OUTRIGHT OPPOSED your progression, and in fact, you were most likely ENCOURAGED by your support group to continue developing, with minimal opposition.

Yet you look at those who fight an uphill battle of systemic housing and funding disadvantages, legislative bias, and a plethora of generational traumas that date back centuries, and claim they should simply “be more like you”.

You are not the ideal, and in fact, are part of the reason inequality perpetuates itself. To admit there’s an imbalance would be to admit that you benefited from it, and you’re FAR too entitled to admit you had ANY help in the process.

Your Heroes Would Despise You

The purpose of this article was partially to rant about privileged people spitting on those with less than them, but mostly to throw a glass of cold water in your face, and expose your crappy mentality for what it is, assuming you think like these ignorant man-children.

Childish entitlement.

You cannot claim to follow great philosophers, orators, and leaders then turn around and spit in the face of those who they would demand you serve.

“Waste no more time arguing what a good man should be. Be one.” -Marcus Aurelius

Would Marcus spend his time and influence shaming the homeless of his cities, telling them to “be more like me, and work harder. You only have yourself to blame.” Or would he donate his time and excess to those in need?

Does a good man spend hours belittling fellow citizens, who have the misfortune of losing faith in themselves and have given up, or does he teach them to remember their worth, and lift them up?

These guys were Christian, and yet at no point during this conversation did they stop to consider, what would Jesus do? Cheesy, I know, but isn’t that the thesis of Christianity?

Recognizing you only hold the tiniest fraction of the puzzle, that your perspective is so niche it’s actually unreasonable for any other human being on Earth, is the first step to empathizing with someone different than you.

Today, choose to step back from your soapboxes, stop shouting your frat boy philosophy at your fellow bros, and pick up a book written by a black author. Read the story of how a transgender woman overcame domestic violence to experience peace within her tragedies, or maybe just shut up and listen to someone who disagrees with you for once.

You might learn something new, instead of recycling your old garbage.

Consider you might be wrong, ask for another’s viewpoint, and learn something new.