Seven "ideological" things that really annoy me
I've realized it isn't really about politics, after all. The seven ideas that just drive me nuts, for some reason, are:
1. Pessimism - Those who always see the glass as half-empty, one third empty, or 5% empty, no matter how good things actually get.
2. Misanthropy. Probably related to #1.
3. The "I'm a victim" mindset.
4. The "I'm a victimizer without even meaning to be" mindset.
5. Collective guilt, and those who spread it around.
6. People who refuse to give any credit to those who disagree with them.
7. Totally illiberal viewpoints - honestly, they really make me want to smack the person's face. For instance, racists and male chauvinists, etc. The only reason I'm not on the "liberal" side about this is because, in my view, many liberals have gone too far into #3, #4, #5, #6, and, to my greatest annoyance, #1.
All of these are pretty much bipartisan.
Admittedly, I myself am probably some of these, or have been in the past. That's probably why I react so strongly to them - We all tend to do this, due to the psychological phenomenon of projection. I have heard of cheating spouses who suddenly start accusing their spouse of cheating on them, and avid pornography readers who accuse their not-even-teenage children of being "dirty", for instance.
So, in some cases, I have come on "too strong" with some of my friends when I suspected them to possess any of the above mindsets, and I apologize for that. (Yeah, another thing I have learned: You shouldn't judge a person's entire worldview by a few blog posts. :D)
Another thing: Just this morning, I took the bus past Auckland University again, past two political signs. One advertised the liberal Labour party (a big one, in power right now), and the other the libertarian Act party (a small one, hasn't been in power for ages, if ever at all). Last time I went past those signs, someone had graffitied all over the Act party sign. This time, it had been torn down. Whether it was due to the damage, I don't know...but I've also seen a vandalized National (conservative) party sign and Libertarianz (the other libertarian party, even smaller than Act) last election.
Is this a pattern? Maybe I'm just biased here, but I don't seem to recall any vandalized Labour or Green Party signs. I'm guessing it's because all those vandalized signs have been near a university where there are a few radical student organizations. I know, I've seen their posters when I took my science degree.
(Not in my science class, though, thank goodness.)
1. Pessimism - Those who always see the glass as half-empty, one third empty, or 5% empty, no matter how good things actually get.
2. Misanthropy. Probably related to #1.
3. The "I'm a victim" mindset.
4. The "I'm a victimizer without even meaning to be" mindset.
5. Collective guilt, and those who spread it around.
6. People who refuse to give any credit to those who disagree with them.
7. Totally illiberal viewpoints - honestly, they really make me want to smack the person's face. For instance, racists and male chauvinists, etc. The only reason I'm not on the "liberal" side about this is because, in my view, many liberals have gone too far into #3, #4, #5, #6, and, to my greatest annoyance, #1.
All of these are pretty much bipartisan.
Admittedly, I myself am probably some of these, or have been in the past. That's probably why I react so strongly to them - We all tend to do this, due to the psychological phenomenon of projection. I have heard of cheating spouses who suddenly start accusing their spouse of cheating on them, and avid pornography readers who accuse their not-even-teenage children of being "dirty", for instance.
So, in some cases, I have come on "too strong" with some of my friends when I suspected them to possess any of the above mindsets, and I apologize for that. (Yeah, another thing I have learned: You shouldn't judge a person's entire worldview by a few blog posts. :D)
Another thing: Just this morning, I took the bus past Auckland University again, past two political signs. One advertised the liberal Labour party (a big one, in power right now), and the other the libertarian Act party (a small one, hasn't been in power for ages, if ever at all). Last time I went past those signs, someone had graffitied all over the Act party sign. This time, it had been torn down. Whether it was due to the damage, I don't know...but I've also seen a vandalized National (conservative) party sign and Libertarianz (the other libertarian party, even smaller than Act) last election.
Is this a pattern? Maybe I'm just biased here, but I don't seem to recall any vandalized Labour or Green Party signs. I'm guessing it's because all those vandalized signs have been near a university where there are a few radical student organizations. I know, I've seen their posters when I took my science degree.
(Not in my science class, though, thank goodness.)