Contemplation: We’re All Assholes in Someone’s Opinion

A bit of wisdom from Mr. John Scalzi:

. . . as a general rule I try not to be an ass online, but it’s also true that when you comment on anything, from controversial topics to the topics you can’t possibly imagine are controversial to anyone but apparently are for some people, someone will find your particular position on it asstastic. If that person has a point (and from time to time they do), then I try to learn from it moving forward. If they don’t, then I shrug and move on anyway.

In the days and age of our comment crazy online society it is a bound certainty that eventually somebody will think that something you say was pretty assholery of you.  Perhaps that assholery was intentional (I mean seriously, maybe you’re just an ass all around) but if you are like me (or Mr. Scalzi it sounds) then more likely, it is just that there is a matter of disagreement.  What then becomes really telling is how you respond to accusations of assholery.  As I see it, you can try and be resonable and learn something, you can ignore the accusation, or you can do something that helps support the claim (e.g. doing something particularly dickish and childish).  The choice is yours.

But with this in consideration, I’d hope that people think of the fact that somebody, somewhere has thought of them as an ass, before going forward with an assholery accusation.  Just a consideration.

~ by Nathaniel on July 23, 2012.