Originally Posted By Inspector 57 [I apologize for the non-specific thread title. I hate "teaser" titles. But I couldn't think of a better one.] So you want to be critical of an entity or its product. But -- because you don't want to support that entity -- you haven't actually consumed [much of] its product. And because you haven't consumed the product, your criticism is dismissed as uninformed. Examples: "OMG. $145 for running shoes. They cannot be THAT much superior to the $40 competitor's pair." "Have you worn the new TrainerX?" "No, I don't buy Nike. I won't support their marketing stance or their overpriced products." "Then shut up." "Roger Moore is a self-aggrandizing sensationalistic attention whore who will do whatever it takes to get some face time." "Have you seen his latest film?" "No. Why would I?! I'm not going to put a DIME in his pocket!" "Then shut up." "Farrakhan is a racist." "Did you attend his rally when he was in Detroit this year?" "Uh, no. It was about black empowerment. I'm white." "Then shut up." "I can't believe they're making a 'Hostel 3.' The world is sick." "Did you see either of the first two?" "No, I'm not going to pay to see what's basically a snuff film, thank you very much." "Then shut up."
Originally Posted By trekkeruss You can't make someone listen to whatever POV you have; all you can do is hope some do and will.
Originally Posted By BlueDevilSF Well, the first thing I'd do is tell Person #1 to stop watching Bill O'Reilly. I'm not sure what the next step is. On one hand, I think someone can have a dismissive opinion on some matters without going to lengths to justify that position. To use your example #4: you could simply say you don't care for horror movies of any kind. By making an almost completely uninformed statement, you invite the reaction you describe. But then what do I know?
Originally Posted By LPFan22 ~~~"I can't believe they're making a 'Hostel 3.' The world is sick." "Did you see either of the first two?" "No, I'm not going to pay to see what's basically a snuff film, thank you very much." "Then shut up."~~~ The world can be sick... or lots of people in it. I don't agree with movies like this even being out there (for anyone to see) so before ever seeing or knowing much about it I would still criticize the creator (or entity or whatever).
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Originally Posted By ecdc Why would someone hate Roger Moore? Sure, he's no Sean Connery, but he was better than Timothy Dalton. Wait...you meant Michael Moore Actually, this is an interesting question. On the one hand (to pick a common example), I don't need to be a smoker to know it's not good for me. On the other hand, my brother who is a smoker has little patience for people who act like smoking is the dumbest thing in the world when they've never tried it. He says even though he'd like to quit for his health, it is the single most enjoyable, pleasurable habit on earth I think the best way to handle this is to be educated about something. For some reason, our culture has topics where it's perfectly acceptable to be completely ignorant and really opinionated all at the same time. Evolution springs immediately to mind. Among both critics and supporters, few have actually read anything about it beyond the most basic rhetoric. Some "products" are harder than others to avoid consumption of and still speak intelligently to. I don't see how one can intelligently criticize Michael Moore without having seen his films. But one could just hear the sound bite of what Don Imus said and know you don't need to listen to the rest of his show to know he's an insensitive dolt.
Originally Posted By jonvn Smoking IS the dumbest thing in the world to do. One of them, anyway. You don't have to experience something to know it is bad. You don't have to have a broken leg to know a broken leg hurts. You can base your ideas on things based on what you have heard from people you trust on other issues. This is what everyone does about everything always. People can't know everything. This does not mean you should never change your mind, though. That's the annoying part. If you have an opinion based on what you feel you know about something, and find out new information that should cause you to change that view, you should be willing to change your view, rather than stick to your opinion NO MATTER WHAT. That is what makes for a reasoned person.
Originally Posted By ecdc >>Smoking IS the dumbest thing in the world to do. One of them, anyway.<< I tend to agree I'm just saying, people who've never done it also don't know just how enjoyable it is (apparently, never tried it myself). So it does mean that, although they can definitely see that lung cancer certainly outweighs any benefits, they also speak somewhat ignorantly having never done it themselves.
Originally Posted By CrouchingTigger Hey, don't knock lung cancer until you've tried it. That's what I always say.
