Better, Worse... Whatever -- It's All Personal Opinion.
I've thought of this before, and I think I've mentioned a variation of this elsewhere: indirectly criticizing someone else's likes.
Person #1: I like [thing]!
Person #2: Uh-huh sure but know what's better? [Other thing that has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with the first thing]!
This bugs me. Just reeks of "I'm looking down on you for what you like because what I like, regardless of how relevant that interest is in this conversation, is clearly superior. I don't care that you didn't ask and you're specifically talking about that first thing, let's now focus on what I like." [...]
I caught myself before I did it [...] It was a slightly different form of this, though... some one posted "please pray for me" and I almost commented along the lines of "I don't pray, but I'll send good thoughts" essentially. Was what I almost said cruel or ill-intended? No. But if I'd said that it'd STILL be me commenting and making it about ME. Who the fuck cares if I pray or not? She didn't ask. No one did. Commenting with that would have been self-centered and egotistical and I would have been taking the focus off of her for no good reason whatsoever. [1]
I think it a situational thing. If someone is going through a tough time, such as the example above, and asks for "prayers", i think it is rather a insensitive thing to insert your own religious views. Don't believe in a god but do care about the person? You could say, "I'll send good thoughts," or, "I hope everything works out."
In another situation, say someone is discussing their favorite show. If they want to get into the pros and cons, then I think criticism is welcome. But if they're just talking about what they like, saying another show is "better" or mentioning you "hate" the show can be annoying and at times, can come off as saying their tastes are superior. Upon reflection, I realize I myself have mentioned in discussions something "isn't my cup of tea" or, "I couldn't get into it", but I don't think I'm one to say X show is better than Y. It might be better for my tastes, but what I like might not be better for someone else. I think it's more polite to say something like, "If you like X, you might want to try Y", and let them decide what they think is better.
Person #1: I like [thing]!
Person #2: Uh-huh sure but know what's better? [Other thing that has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with the first thing]!
This bugs me. Just reeks of "I'm looking down on you for what you like because what I like, regardless of how relevant that interest is in this conversation, is clearly superior. I don't care that you didn't ask and you're specifically talking about that first thing, let's now focus on what I like." [...]
I caught myself before I did it [...] It was a slightly different form of this, though... some one posted "please pray for me" and I almost commented along the lines of "I don't pray, but I'll send good thoughts" essentially. Was what I almost said cruel or ill-intended? No. But if I'd said that it'd STILL be me commenting and making it about ME. Who the fuck cares if I pray or not? She didn't ask. No one did. Commenting with that would have been self-centered and egotistical and I would have been taking the focus off of her for no good reason whatsoever. [1]
I think it a situational thing. If someone is going through a tough time, such as the example above, and asks for "prayers", i think it is rather a insensitive thing to insert your own religious views. Don't believe in a god but do care about the person? You could say, "I'll send good thoughts," or, "I hope everything works out."
In another situation, say someone is discussing their favorite show. If they want to get into the pros and cons, then I think criticism is welcome. But if they're just talking about what they like, saying another show is "better" or mentioning you "hate" the show can be annoying and at times, can come off as saying their tastes are superior. Upon reflection, I realize I myself have mentioned in discussions something "isn't my cup of tea" or, "I couldn't get into it", but I don't think I'm one to say X show is better than Y. It might be better for my tastes, but what I like might not be better for someone else. I think it's more polite to say something like, "If you like X, you might want to try Y", and let them decide what they think is better.