It's Not All About You (I Swear)

by Switch (@ thefannish.org for email)

This one is gonna be short and sweet. You don't view someone as a threat? You don't think anyone can be worried about something you're not?

Do you feel that it gives you a much better perspective on things and the ability to tell people the way things Really Are?

Have you ever found yourself saying that someone is irrational for getting along or failing to get along with someone who has hurt their (or your) feelings, your feelings, their dog's feelings?

Dude, fuck you.

People are complex little screwed up organisms who are, in fact, different than you. Some are scared of snakes. Some have realized that certain people will always flip out at them. Some hate having people give away personal info about them. Etc.

You're not afraid of snakes? So and so has always been nice to you? You plaster your address everywhere?

That's nice. Go play with your snakes, spend some time with your friend and go find a new messageboard for your address. It doesn't affect my quality of life any.

It's a battle you're usually not going to win and just shows them for being insecure, and you for being a asshat who can't shut up long enough to just let people be... especially when it's something completely harmless, as the biggest fights seem to be. What is that? I've seen flamewars over the colour of the sky, for god's sake. Are you people insane?

A lot of fandom falls into this fallacy. The chances of everyone being exactly like you on every point is next to nil, unless you're a batman/jason shipper at which point you're all reprehensible and like to kill puppies. Assuming (instead of shrugging and moving on or asking) just causes more stupid flamewars that I have to wade through, while I listen to people bitch at you and about you when all I want to do is get drunk and set fire to something.

Also, the 'it's just my opinion I HAVE THE RIGHT' also means I have the right to tell you to fuck off if you won't leave me alone. Which means I kind of accept any batman/jason shipper hate that I might get. But you all still suck.

But the point is, in the end, that a lot of arguments start because of this. Just because something bugs you means that it should bug them or because it doesn't bug you means they should just laugh and embrace it. Also following along these lines is the fact that you're all fucking batshit and can't handle it when you don't get along. Please, you learned in kindergarten that everyone would hate you all through life. Accept that the internet is pretty much the same. Nerd.

Ahem.

Just stop telling other people what they can, and cannot be wary of, should and shouldn't like, why they're ridiculous if they don't agree with you every single second of every single day on every single topic. It makes you look like a putz. Especially since except for thirty percent (people do suck that much) of the time, you're dead wrong. For more on this, see Lilac's 'queer het' rant in the gimmicks section.

Also, stop justifying every. single. thing. Honestly. I don't care why you write porn, it's probably because you were dropkicked as a baby or something and not because it's secretly high art that elevates you as a person.