Ireally wish people would keep their opinions to themselves. This may be very ironic and perhaps slightly hypocritical of me, given that I scribble down several of mine and thrust them into your face every Friday right here, but I remain firm in the opinion (see what I did there?) that you have the choice to read it or not.
(I hope you read it anyway.)
The thing about people and their opinions is that, often, instead of just saying “hey, I hear what you’re saying but I believe this or that”, people try to force you to believe whatever it is that they believe simply because they believe it.
Instead of saying “I know you think the sky’s blue, but I’m pretty sure it’s turquoise”, some people feel compelled to force you to see their point of view, point out to everyone how embarrassingly and hilariously wrong you are for yours, and on top of that, mention that you’re ugly anyway. For control.
Every day, without fail, you’ll see this happen on Twitter. Every day, there’s a new topic of discussion that we’re all mad about, and there will always be that one person who knows absolutely nothing about the topic or has nothing valuable to add, but will feel obliged to say something for the sake of saying something.
FOMO or nah?
There’s a saying that goes “opinions are like assholes, everybody’s got one and everyone thinks everyone else’s stinks”. Maybe I’m just the asshole who thinks that some opinions are absolute shit. But if you’re giving your opinion on other people’s relationships, looks, bodies or lives, you’re treading dangerous ground.
To an extent, I think social media is to blame. Facebook’s “what’s on your mind?” and Twitter’s “what’s happening?” have brainwashed us into believing that we should share every single thought we have. Regardless of whether that thought was well thought through or not.
Every asshole has an opinion and they’re convinced it’s their full right to not only share it with the rest of us, but practically shove it down our throats. And before you interrupt: Of course you are entitled to your opinion. What you are not entitled to, however, is forcing me into believing everything you do.
Sometimes it’s OK to not have an opinion. Or to not share your opinion with the rest of the world. You won’t spontaneously self-combust if you keep one or two thoughts to yourself. Pinky promise.
Instead of flinging your two cents at innocent passersby, every now and then, just mind your business. Those three little words are guaranteed to make you a much happier (and a much better liked) person. When in doubt, mind your business.
Or like my colleague Ndapewoshali always says: “Stay in your lane to avoid traffic”. Easy.
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