diversity of opinions
i think we should talk about the diversity of opinions more. it seems like we tend to categorize things into good / bad, right / wrong, ingroup / outgroup a lot. a good example of that is someone making a post sharing a cherry pie recipe (ok, not a post but a short video, same thing though) and getting the comments of "i hate cherries", as though the possibility of someone liking cherries when you do not is so foreign that it needs to be quickly asserted.
i am not even talking about the hot topics of social issues / politics / religion.
more examples of different opinions which are OK:
- someone hating a book you love (or someone loving a book you hate). i've seen people conclude very harsh things about the reader based on them liking or disliking a single book (again, not talking about clearly political books, in that sense it is a harsh opinion based on the person's political views - not my point here).
- kids wearing whatever they want to wear, including tails, is ok. adults thinking it's weird is ok (as long as they do not harass the kids about it). adults dressing "old-school" is ok (as long as teens are not assholes to them about it). teens thinking adults are dressed lame is ok, needed even.
- people liking music you hate. i can think that taylor swift is a really bad musician, but you can like her and i will not harass you with my opinion. likewise, do not make generalizations that i don't "get music" or have a bad music taste if i dislike her.
- people wanting to be with their friends all the time, or someone spending most of their time with their significant other. here i am in the minority i think: most seem to think there needs to be a balance there, i think the balance can be skewed. like, if you spend most of your time with your bf and some time with your friends and you are happy and everyone agrees to this - awesome! if you are single and you are really close to your friend group, but you are feeling social pressure to date - i hope it gets easier, i personally do not think that dating is needed for everyone to have a fulfilling life. i can want a specific thing to be happy, but that means nothing to anyone else, and it is not the only way to be happy!
- being with kids of child-free. both are valid. just don't be annoying to people, like if a mom complains about her kids, let her. if a person without kids is upset their friends are getting kids and it's more difficult to find time to hang out - let them!
- any relationship with your parents. if your parents have been bad to you in a way that you feel it is needed to cut contact with them, you have the right to do that. it is not "wrong". i have talked to people who thought that they would not be able to have a stable monogamous relationship unless they made peace with their parents. i agree to a certain degree, but making peace does not mean being friends, or even talking to them.
- (a hot take) any diet. i had gotten shit before when i was vegetarian, honestly people should have let me eat my lentils in peace lol. my friends at that time seemed to have a strong urge to mention how much they looove meat when i ordered something vegetarian in a cafe. why? why can't people just eat what they want to eat? caveat is if a person has an eating disorder, or it is a pregnant woman, or a very picky child (who is picky, because they have not been properly introduced to a variety of foods - i dunno about this one, where is a person's choice and where does it cross the line into neglect to a certain degree?)
is it just me, or is there a strong divide on each of those? it's like, we are incapable -- or unwilling -- to accept all the width and the variety of the possibilities, discarding opinions that are too unlike our own.