I am Jack's complete lack of surprise
Cross posted to my myspace account.
I normally just make posts to inject an opinion (usually in general) about the state of affairs somewhere in the world, something stupid or bizarre online, or something really interesting that I might want to reflect back on at some point.
But on rare occasions I find something that just reviles me to my very core being. It is that issue I will expound upon now.
When I was growing up I started to notice this part of me inside building up a degree of intolerance and actual hatred for certain things. Originally it was brought about by the whole teen drug scene in my youth. You weren't -cool- if you didn't do them and all that crap. My inner anger kept me from making some seriously stupid decisions as a kid because I simply could not tolerate watching 'friends' get high or drunk knowing damn well it wasn't legal. That aside watching how stupid they acted (all in the name of 'fun' of course) knowing that they knew it was wrong and if they got caught it could go on their permanent record.
Flash forward many years later: I know I have a strong will and opinion. I know I think a lot through and I'm usually pretty quick on my feet mentally. I know also my greatest strength is also my greatest weakness and that my type of personality can be viewed as abrasive, exclusive, and possibly even demeaning. But I wouldn't have learned that if I didn't pay attention to myself and the opinions of people I know and trust explicitly. In short, I learned from my past mistakes.
And in life that is all it really takes. We're going to make mistakes in life. We learn and we adapt and we become better afterwards.
Well that is unless you're the type that simply doesn't pay attention to life. Forgive my simplistic break down here but I'm doing this for the sake of time and typing. But this type of person can be broken down into two catagories:
1) The innocently ignorant
2) The forcefully ignorant
The two can sometimes be mixed up, especially in children. As a child we often have to experience something (be it ourselves or first hand) to learn from our mistakes and the innocently ignorant often just forget that the glass had alcohol in it. Or maybe they've never heard of PCP or didn't think driving really fast was a bad thing until it was too late and fear took over. Ultimately the innocent are just that, innocent. It doesn't absolve them of their actions but in most cases they didn't think -and- didn't know better. Like a child sticking a fork in a light socket or tasting one too many drinks at a Christmas party and finding the rum mixed with Coke (that would be me).
The forcefully ignorant are your truest form of 'rebel' and do what they want when they want it without a care of those around them. Even when warned of the danger ahead and the severe consequences, they just don't care. This is the type of person I tend to have the most problem with. Life and friends tend to be on their terms. Friends generally cease to be friends when they try to warn said faux friend of problems, issues, or impending crisis. And in their minds they are justified because they are right. And in most cases I've run into this type of person they are "right" simply by default not because facts back them up. Or they are "right" and justified due to some mistake the soon-to-be-former friend made. If they make mistakes its the other person(s) fault. They weren't willing to work with me, blah blah blah.
I know the path I walk is not a path for everyone and I never impose that on anyone. But at the same time if I or someone else is a 'friend' do not just haphazardly rebuke what you hear without thinking first.
And that is my problem with the forcefully ignorant. They have stuck their heads in the sand for so long and lived in their own little world of 'right' for so long that they lack the humility to even tell themselves they erred. It's like the saying "lie enough and you begin to believe it is true". They inhibit their own higher brain functions with their own self worth and stick with base emotions of greed, lust, or any other seven deadly sins.
The difference between someone this forcefully ignorant and most other folks is when they get too greedy and hurt the one the love they realize this and seek to make amends. Or if they said something in anger and hate they do what they can to repair this rift between them. The forcefully ignorant will throw up defensive accusations and greedily defend their stance of 'right' at all costs. Because by this point the mere thought of being wrong is so counter to their self-messianic view of their lives simply cannot fathom what humility actually feels like. This narrows their view to merely themselves in most cases and nothing they do, they think, affects those in the 'outside' world. And it gets so bad that when others start mirroring opinions that are in opposition to the forcefully ignorant they see war and raise the battlements rather than even to try and break down the logic. "Everyone is attacking me" they whine in some rare act of communication with what few will listen anymore.
The innocent generally don't have a problem with trust as they often realize their problem (albeit often too late) and seek to make amends, learning from their mistake. And you can trust in their words when they say that because honesty is the hallmark of someone who truly didn't know. This isn't to say they can't take a turn for the worse later on and become forcefully ignorant but I'm leaving that out for now.
The forcefully ignorant however are not so trustworthy. This isn't to say that they all just lie and lie for the sake of lying. But that by their own one track logic, lying will come easier to them because they are inherently 'right'. Now to explain this: Everyone has thoughts that others would deem as 'evil' or not morale. Theft, wrath, guile, etc. It's just apart of the human nature. What we do with those thoughts is what defines us as a person. The forcefully ignorant knows right from wrong, but accepts on some level that because they can get away with 'it' then its ok and and thus not wrong. This circular logic only further drives a wedge into the forcefully ignorant's life, but it is one that they will not admit is their fault because again, most lack humility to begin with. This isn't to say someone who is forcefully ignorant can't just try and change their ways and repair the damage they caused. Just that if they ever do get to that point it's often a nigh impossible mountain to climb due to their own works and not those of others.
With all of that out of the way: Whether people believe it or not I'm actually a fairly forgiving person. I try to let the little stuff slide if I can. But if it continues I do try to speak up and get the word out. Because despite how well I can sometimes predict how people will act and react, I want to give them the benefit of the doubt. They might just not know. It happens. I even made a former boss mad at me once because I didn't let someone get to me (to my boss the guy in question was annoying and good for nothing but annoying) and I could carry on a conversation with him.
And I can forgive folks who don't think things through sometimes. Its part of my job in the workplace to mentor and I like doing it. So I use those same skills and try to help those around me. But just like at work, if you keep making the same mistakes and not learning from them you are in for a rude awakening. If you break a policy at work you could be fired. If you keep running through red lights you might end up with a ticket if you're lucky. If you weave through traffic constantly you're probably going to meet someone with less driving skill than you and be lucky if the only thing that happens is your insurance premium goes up. If you have an affair with another woman then you've probably irreparably ruined someones relationship. And so on and so forth.
Life is simply too short to not actively try to learn from your mistakes.
And when someone is warned what they are doing is at it's core inherently wrong and could seriously effect other people only to go ahead and do it later at the expense of others.....
Lets just say that I don't have the time to raise any more children than what I have and thus wash my hands of the forcefully ignorant.
I normally just make posts to inject an opinion (usually in general) about the state of affairs somewhere in the world, something stupid or bizarre online, or something really interesting that I might want to reflect back on at some point.
But on rare occasions I find something that just reviles me to my very core being. It is that issue I will expound upon now.
When I was growing up I started to notice this part of me inside building up a degree of intolerance and actual hatred for certain things. Originally it was brought about by the whole teen drug scene in my youth. You weren't -cool- if you didn't do them and all that crap. My inner anger kept me from making some seriously stupid decisions as a kid because I simply could not tolerate watching 'friends' get high or drunk knowing damn well it wasn't legal. That aside watching how stupid they acted (all in the name of 'fun' of course) knowing that they knew it was wrong and if they got caught it could go on their permanent record.
Flash forward many years later: I know I have a strong will and opinion. I know I think a lot through and I'm usually pretty quick on my feet mentally. I know also my greatest strength is also my greatest weakness and that my type of personality can be viewed as abrasive, exclusive, and possibly even demeaning. But I wouldn't have learned that if I didn't pay attention to myself and the opinions of people I know and trust explicitly. In short, I learned from my past mistakes.
And in life that is all it really takes. We're going to make mistakes in life. We learn and we adapt and we become better afterwards.
Well that is unless you're the type that simply doesn't pay attention to life. Forgive my simplistic break down here but I'm doing this for the sake of time and typing. But this type of person can be broken down into two catagories:
1) The innocently ignorant
2) The forcefully ignorant
The two can sometimes be mixed up, especially in children. As a child we often have to experience something (be it ourselves or first hand) to learn from our mistakes and the innocently ignorant often just forget that the glass had alcohol in it. Or maybe they've never heard of PCP or didn't think driving really fast was a bad thing until it was too late and fear took over. Ultimately the innocent are just that, innocent. It doesn't absolve them of their actions but in most cases they didn't think -and- didn't know better. Like a child sticking a fork in a light socket or tasting one too many drinks at a Christmas party and finding the rum mixed with Coke (that would be me).
The forcefully ignorant are your truest form of 'rebel' and do what they want when they want it without a care of those around them. Even when warned of the danger ahead and the severe consequences, they just don't care. This is the type of person I tend to have the most problem with. Life and friends tend to be on their terms. Friends generally cease to be friends when they try to warn said faux friend of problems, issues, or impending crisis. And in their minds they are justified because they are right. And in most cases I've run into this type of person they are "right" simply by default not because facts back them up. Or they are "right" and justified due to some mistake the soon-to-be-former friend made. If they make mistakes its the other person(s) fault. They weren't willing to work with me, blah blah blah.
I know the path I walk is not a path for everyone and I never impose that on anyone. But at the same time if I or someone else is a 'friend' do not just haphazardly rebuke what you hear without thinking first.
And that is my problem with the forcefully ignorant. They have stuck their heads in the sand for so long and lived in their own little world of 'right' for so long that they lack the humility to even tell themselves they erred. It's like the saying "lie enough and you begin to believe it is true". They inhibit their own higher brain functions with their own self worth and stick with base emotions of greed, lust, or any other seven deadly sins.
The difference between someone this forcefully ignorant and most other folks is when they get too greedy and hurt the one the love they realize this and seek to make amends. Or if they said something in anger and hate they do what they can to repair this rift between them. The forcefully ignorant will throw up defensive accusations and greedily defend their stance of 'right' at all costs. Because by this point the mere thought of being wrong is so counter to their self-messianic view of their lives simply cannot fathom what humility actually feels like. This narrows their view to merely themselves in most cases and nothing they do, they think, affects those in the 'outside' world. And it gets so bad that when others start mirroring opinions that are in opposition to the forcefully ignorant they see war and raise the battlements rather than even to try and break down the logic. "Everyone is attacking me" they whine in some rare act of communication with what few will listen anymore.
The innocent generally don't have a problem with trust as they often realize their problem (albeit often too late) and seek to make amends, learning from their mistake. And you can trust in their words when they say that because honesty is the hallmark of someone who truly didn't know. This isn't to say they can't take a turn for the worse later on and become forcefully ignorant but I'm leaving that out for now.
The forcefully ignorant however are not so trustworthy. This isn't to say that they all just lie and lie for the sake of lying. But that by their own one track logic, lying will come easier to them because they are inherently 'right'. Now to explain this: Everyone has thoughts that others would deem as 'evil' or not morale. Theft, wrath, guile, etc. It's just apart of the human nature. What we do with those thoughts is what defines us as a person. The forcefully ignorant knows right from wrong, but accepts on some level that because they can get away with 'it' then its ok and and thus not wrong. This circular logic only further drives a wedge into the forcefully ignorant's life, but it is one that they will not admit is their fault because again, most lack humility to begin with. This isn't to say someone who is forcefully ignorant can't just try and change their ways and repair the damage they caused. Just that if they ever do get to that point it's often a nigh impossible mountain to climb due to their own works and not those of others.
With all of that out of the way: Whether people believe it or not I'm actually a fairly forgiving person. I try to let the little stuff slide if I can. But if it continues I do try to speak up and get the word out. Because despite how well I can sometimes predict how people will act and react, I want to give them the benefit of the doubt. They might just not know. It happens. I even made a former boss mad at me once because I didn't let someone get to me (to my boss the guy in question was annoying and good for nothing but annoying) and I could carry on a conversation with him.
And I can forgive folks who don't think things through sometimes. Its part of my job in the workplace to mentor and I like doing it. So I use those same skills and try to help those around me. But just like at work, if you keep making the same mistakes and not learning from them you are in for a rude awakening. If you break a policy at work you could be fired. If you keep running through red lights you might end up with a ticket if you're lucky. If you weave through traffic constantly you're probably going to meet someone with less driving skill than you and be lucky if the only thing that happens is your insurance premium goes up. If you have an affair with another woman then you've probably irreparably ruined someones relationship. And so on and so forth.
Life is simply too short to not actively try to learn from your mistakes.
And when someone is warned what they are doing is at it's core inherently wrong and could seriously effect other people only to go ahead and do it later at the expense of others.....
Lets just say that I don't have the time to raise any more children than what I have and thus wash my hands of the forcefully ignorant.