NationStates Jolt Archive

inspired in part by that 'should guys wear eyeliner' thread, this is the flip-side of the usual positive answer for that sort of question: "what does it matter to you what other people think of you?" (ie. wear eyeliner if you feel like it)

the opposite to that is "what does it matter to other people what you do?"
i mean, not that thinking the standard/first way is egocentric or anything (thats not my point), but why is it that as soon as somebody does something worthy of forming an opinion on, suddenly everybody wants to be shoving their opinion down everybody else's throat?


i mean take my trip to utrecht in the netherlands over the summer for example. we were out for a bike ride for the day with my mate's family, and as we passed the red light district Jan (mate's uncle) said (in his best dutch accent) "so this is where people come to pay to have sex."
and then we cycled on.

that attitude was magical to me. here in britain (and im sure america and many other european countries of course), going past the red light district would provoke an outpouring of opinion, bile, moral judgements, etc... juts because.
Jan's dutch attitude (which i saw echoed all round the place) was one of: 'its there, it doesn't bother me; if people want to come here and pay for sex, who am i to stand in their way?'
i love that attitude :fluffle:

people in amsterdam just seemed to do what they please. if they can gather up enough guts to overcome the first question ("what will other people think of me?") then so many people just let themselves go, and thats in part, i'm sure, down to the 'live and let live' attitude... knowing that people really don't give a shit what you do


so i suppose my question is this; why do people feel the need to shove their opinions on others, or make others do as they would do?

i'm sure morality is the real measure of it. and morality being subjective, you get different opinions as to what is "allowed" before you should step in...


thoughts?? (yes, its a aimless rant)

*claps for the duch*
one day they will take over the world thats all i have to say

*claps for the duch*
one day they will take over the world thats all i have to say
hooray! i sure hope so :)

and that OP was a bit pointless really wasn't it :p

not pointless just a bit long winded.....but that does not matter:)

so i suppose my question is this; why do people feel the need to shove their opinions on others, or make others do as they would do?

It's called democracy. The more people there are on your team, the more likely you are of winning.

not pointless just a bit long winded.....but that does not matter:)
next time i'll think about it before i type it :D

but yay for the dutch :fluffle:

that attitude was magical to me. here in britain (and im sure america and many other european countries of course), going past the red light district would provoke an outpouring of opinion, bile, moral judgements, etc... juts because

You must be from the south of england.

There are plenty of tolerant people all over the world, actually. It's just depressingly rare for us to be in the majority. If the Dutch have achieved a majority of tolerant people, then what is it the Dutch are doing right that the rest of us are doing wrong?

:p

If the Dutch have achieved a majority of tolerant people, then what is it the Dutch are doing right that the rest of us are doing wrong?

If you mean the U.S., our problem is the growing number of bible thumping christians, backdoor catholics, and televangelists who are only out to get money. There is a *colony* in South Carolina for some Christian group that calls for a utopian society. America has shifted towards the right in it's religion in public.
Apparantly Christians must tell everyone of their wrongs and bring them back to the light.

At least Catholics are now accepting everyone in terms of religion. They are lighter on non-believers, and that is why I stick to the Catholic church, even if I am a NPC (not nonplayer character, but non-practicing catholic :p )

Some people can't stand to see people go against what they believe. People need to stick to themselves and leave us alone!

There are plenty of tolerant people all over the world, actually. It's just depressingly rare for us to be in the majority. If the Dutch have achieved a majority of tolerant people, then what is it the Dutch are doing right that the rest of us are doing wrong?:p
i shall tell you....they know that there is nothing better than good chocolate for breakfast, nothing more fun than running accross mud flats in wooden shoes....and nothing more comforting than strong family.
they know that you have to work hard for what you want in life.... just take a look, half the county is below sea level.
just a few reasons why the duch have whoped us all :)

*claps for the duch*
one day they will take over the world thats all i have to say

No they won't - too laid back but that is what is cool about them.

No they won't - too laid back but that is what is cool about them.
ah well i guess its just wish full thinking

There is a delicate balance of why the fuck should people care and doing it because there are people that care.

I'll use the mohawk as an example. 'Round here the mohawk just isn't a big deal. Not many people care. So when I was in college I had a roommate from Clevland who showed up with a mohawk thinking it might have the same effect. (I would have thought that the mohawk was passe in Clevland, too. But judging by his expectations regarding peoples reactions it didn't seem so. Maybe he hung out with squares...)

Anyway, that's where he stuck his freak flag. But the general manager of the store I had just worked for had a bihawk. It just wasn't a big deal. Even the 'squares' didn't care.

And this upset him, because he wasn't unsettling people. At least in part, he had that mohawk to unsettle people.

The freak flag has a function beyond helping fellow freaks find safe waters. It's a filter. If someone is bothered by a mohawk or eyeliner or, say, a three-inch long Uncle Sam goatee and long hair, it says something about that person. And we (the freaks) are as put out by those people as they are by us. So we fly the flag so we don't have to deal with those uptight muthafuckas.

So if the eyeliner didn't freak at least a few people out there wouldn't be as much of a point.

This is not to say that the only reason people do these things is to freak people out, nor that it is the chief reason. If it is the chief reason, as is the case with my roommate, you're a poser. But it does factor in.

Dudes, I agree with you all
Why the hell can't everyone just shut the Fuck up about all of it?
MY rally point is "Who Cares?"

Oh, and also, Fuck Christians. They are complete assholes who only want to convert everyone to Christianity. When is the last time you heard of Shito-ist funding a mission project.

*Shinto*

... i suppose my question is this; why do people feel the need to shove their opinions on others, or make others do as they would do?
There are almost as many reasons for that as there are people. Some people don't use the same definition of "opinion" when it applies to things they hold dear, particularly if they have some sort of cosmic rationale to justify their opinions.

Others truly believe that some things lead to a general degradation of society as a whole.

Others decide that they don't want their children growing up thinking that such things as drug use, prostitution, etc. are ok because the law says it's ok.

Still others have actual historic reasons for opposing particular courses of action that may be seen as "only opinion" by those who favor them.

Take your pick.

Hey, Eutrusca, screw them all because, to me, the stupid reactionary, fundamentalist, conservatives have always stood in the path of progress.
Just take a look at science.

Oh, and also, Fuck Christians. They are complete assholes who only want to convert everyone to Christianity. When is the last time you heard of Shito-ist funding a mission project.
That's usually considered flaming on here.

Why should you care what Christians believe or what they practice? WTF is it to you if they fund missions?

Fuck Christians . . . They are complete assholes . . . the stupid reactionary, fundamentalist, conservatives
The face off tolerance ladies and gentleman. Ain't it cute?

Hey, Eutrusca, screw them all because, to me, the stupid reactionary, fundamentalist, conservatives have always stood in the path of progress.
Just take a look at science.
And you're from NC too? You must have a rather rough time of it in some locales.

The face off tolerance ladies and gentleman. Ain't it cute?
Yeah ... right up to the point where it causes another in the seemingly endless series of flame-wars on here. :rolleyes: