On opinions...
Dec. 28th, 2004 01:23 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
conuly
A lot of people, in arguments and whatnot, try to say that something or other is "just their opinion" or that "you're entitled to your opinion". And then they get upset when people try to argue with their "opinions" because, of course, an opinion is a statement which can't be right or wrong.
Okay, let's clear this up. You're certainly entitled to your opinion. However, when your opinion is based on ignorance, it's not valid. For most people, it's easy to have an opinion on the prettiest color. If you're completely colorblind, or have been blind since birth, you *can't* have an opinion on the prettiest color. You don't know the difference betweeen red and green and yellow and purple. Two doctors may have different opinions on how to treat a certain disease. Hopefully, they know what they're talking about. However, if my cousin Buck comes up, and he doesn't know anything about medicine, and he tries to give me advice... sure, he's entitled to his opinion, but that doesn't mean he knows what the fuck he's talking about. You may be of the opinion that the earth is flat, but that doesn't give you the right to yell "it's my opinion" at everybody who points out the evidence that suggests otherwise. In fact, doing so is obnoxious, and makes you look stupid.
So, to sum up: not all opinions are created equal. And, I'm sorry, but I'm always going to accept opinions based on *fact* and *knowledge* and *research* over those based on "well, this is my opinion, I'm entitled to my opinion, you're not the only one who can have an opinion". I'm silly that way.
And yes, I'm still cold. There's no heat in my room. It's 19 F outside, which means it's only slighty warmer than that in here. I can see my breath.
Okay, let's clear this up. You're certainly entitled to your opinion. However, when your opinion is based on ignorance, it's not valid. For most people, it's easy to have an opinion on the prettiest color. If you're completely colorblind, or have been blind since birth, you *can't* have an opinion on the prettiest color. You don't know the difference betweeen red and green and yellow and purple. Two doctors may have different opinions on how to treat a certain disease. Hopefully, they know what they're talking about. However, if my cousin Buck comes up, and he doesn't know anything about medicine, and he tries to give me advice... sure, he's entitled to his opinion, but that doesn't mean he knows what the fuck he's talking about. You may be of the opinion that the earth is flat, but that doesn't give you the right to yell "it's my opinion" at everybody who points out the evidence that suggests otherwise. In fact, doing so is obnoxious, and makes you look stupid.
So, to sum up: not all opinions are created equal. And, I'm sorry, but I'm always going to accept opinions based on *fact* and *knowledge* and *research* over those based on "well, this is my opinion, I'm entitled to my opinion, you're not the only one who can have an opinion". I'm silly that way.
And yes, I'm still cold. There's no heat in my room. It's 19 F outside, which means it's only slighty warmer than that in here. I can see my breath.
