~~ "Brown Sugar" by The Rolling Stones
I think you all know that I'm a total fangirl and my fandom is vast and varied. Music, TV shows, movies, books, actors, even journalists (and one particular former FBI Director). While I don't mind dissenting opinions when it comes to things having to do with the news (because that's how things work), it pisses me off royally when people dismiss others' entertainment opinions as nonsense.
Well, who appointed you the Grand Poobah of what others should or shouldn't like?
Before I go any further with this and before you think I am pretending to be blameless in this regard, let me say that I have done this in the past. Usually it was just teasing a friend about something they liked and I thought I was being funny. Other times it probably had a tinge of superiority to it. As I've gotten older and thought about it some more, I've learned that it really was more the latter than the former. Basically, I've learned that it's a dick move.
Who knows the reason for why someone loves something? It might be the most insipid song you can imagine, but maybe a person fell in love to that song. Or maybe they lost their one true love when that song was playing. Maybe it was a movie that made them think about their own experience or maybe it was a book that made them question their dearly held thoughts. Maybe it's a band that they have loved for years and has meant a lot to them in ways both fun and profound.
You know what I say when I see someone post something and I think, "Wow, why do they like that? That's crap." Nothing. That's right, I just put on my travelin' shoes and mosey right along. Again, I haven't always been that way, and I'm sorry for that. I apologize to every friend whose feelings I ever hurt by making a snide remark because I thought it would be funny to tease them. It's not funny and it's not cool and it was a dick move for me to do that.
I'm sure there are plenty of things that I love that others find absurd. I don't care. The heart knows what it wants. You know what else I don't care about? Your opinion about why you think it's absurd. If that's what you think, get together with your friends and talk about how and why it's absurd, but don't do it to me. I have zero patience for it and I have ways of avenging myself. You might not even realize it, but it will happen. I can be as passive-aggressive as the best of them.
Just in case any of my friends think this is about them, no worries. This happened with a stranger who commented on a post I made in a group and it's what really made me think about why it's so rude and how condescending it can be. You're never too old to think about how your actions affect people and to try to do better. So I plan on trying to do better from here on out.
I'll probably still make fun of Nickelback, though. Just not anyone who loves them! (But seriously, what are you thinking??)
