I'm an introverted

[Baley]

It was only funny in the sense of "oh, look that guy's caught his balls in the meat grinder" or "hey look at that fatso falling down on his fat mug", i.e. if I was to laugh I would laugh at him not with him, I would laugh at his beliefs, I would laugh at his behaviour, at his "victim complex", I would laugh at his boundless pretension and pathetic arguments.

 

But I didn't, because it wasn't funny, just sad.

 

And I'm not sorry that I didn't, nor am I accusing anyone else of having an overly-potent sense of humour, I am merely stating my beliefs. Please laugh at them.

[LadyCrimson]

Well, I'm certainly not saying that everyone should have the same sense of humor....but to me it's like saying Dave Barry is arrogant because of his humor articles on relationships.

 

One can have a basic belief and also be tongue-in-cheek about it. I just don't think it was arrogance...any more than anyone stating their opinions could be called arrogant, since belief in the superiority of one's own point of view can, and will, always be seen as arrogant by someone.

[Baley]

I've already stated that I do not care about his arrogance, I am arrogant, I wallow in it.

 

What I found offensive were the following things:

• His portrayal of introverts as wholly superior.
   
  
• His portrayal of introverts as constant victims.
   
  
• His absurd self-glorification.
   
  
• His puerile social and political commentary.
  

It is hardly satire, it is hardly humorous, it appears to be honest, I am naturally disgusted, it disgusts me as much as the pseudo victims among the American Creationists or Klansmen, Neo-Nazis or Marxist "city-commandos".

 

It's perplexing and silly beyond reason, the most pointless form of elitism I have ever encountered, it's a call to arms, a far cry aimed at all the loners and social miscasts, to unite? For what? Do they somehow deserve more? Society knows what it wants, the majority has always culturally imposed it's standards. Do you want the world to change in a way it has not from the dawn of time? That time might have come, but I doubt it.

 

Humans with social skills are simply more valued. Man is a social beast, it has always been, it is at our very core, bred into us. It's not hard to see why the most social of humans are beloved, because evolution often depends on them, it has done so from day one, the ones that seek to conquer the outside world and bend it to their will, oozing charm and sleekness along the way.

 

Mankind depends on extroverts as much as it does on introverts (and as Kaftan pointed out, the classification is a pretty shallow thing in itself). It's simple.

[Rosbjerg]

I find your lack of faith disturbing!

 

seriously, haven't you heard of sarcasm? a twist of irony?

 

.. I'm an introvert too ..

[alanschu]

Outside of Reagan's heavy military spending, I'm not sure how what he did was so horrible for the American people..especially their welfare.

 

Median income went up, while inflation slowed (in spite of Cold War deficit spending). Pretty impressive by any means. To successfully increase the amount of money in the marketplace, while slowing the rate of inflation is not an easy thing to do.

[Baley]

No, I just like writing long-winded posts on internet nerd-forums. It's what keeps me going on these gloomy spring nights.

 

That article was far from sarcastic, if it wanted to entertain in an intelligent way it failed miserably, and the beliefs expressed seemed honest enough.

 

Haven't you heard of Albinism and hemorrhagic diathesis?

[Kaftan Barlast]

Outside of Reagan's heavy military spending, I'm not sure how what he did was so horrible for the American people..especially their welfare.

 

Median income went up, while inflation slowed (in spite of Cold War deficit spending).  Pretty impressive by any means.  To successfully increase the amount of money in the marketplace, while slowing the rate of inflation is not an easy thing to do.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

Ronald Reagan was president from 1981 until 1989

 

Its easy to give the economy a push by an enormous raise in the military budget. Unfortunantly, spending money that isnt yours have consequences.

Edited April 25, 2006 by Kaftan Barlast

[alanschu]

He didn't push the economy forward by increasing military spending. He increased military spending beause of his ideological beliefs about the Cold War and Communism (which is bad, which I already indicated.....his excessive military spending did NOT help the country).

 

Especially seeing as his improvements in the economy were before the sharp increase in national debt (according to your graph anyways).

[Baley]

I'm not in any way an economy buff, but I found the following analysis interesting:

 

http://www.oxan.com/about/news/2004-06-14Reaganlegacy.asp

 

To be honest my dislike for Reagan is fueled more by his social actions, the gross anti-intellectual emotions he infused on the people, the criminal neglect shown during the AIDS crisis, the neo-con and Christian right's rise to power, conservatism showing it's ugly face.

 

But we're going nowhere, shall we get back to subject on hand?

[alanschu]

Thanks for that.

[LadyCrimson]

What I found offensive were the following things:

• His portrayal of introverts as wholly superior.
   
   
  
• His portrayal of introverts as constant victims.
   
   
  
• His absurd self-glorification.
   
   
  
• His puerile social and political commentary.
  

 

Ah....so you're upset by a principle that he struck a nerve upon somehow. I realize the definitions of arrogant and elitist are slightly different (group vs. self) but in my mind they're not as different as some think. Arrogance & intolerance tends to lead to elitism of one form or another, whether it's "outsider harmless" like shunning family for having certain beliefs, or ends up having world consequences of some kind ala political dictators.

 

I don't see what, in this particular instance, is so upsetting. Do you imagine that a bunch of introverts are going to band together under this author's 'call to arms' and march on the world government and try to 'take over the world' and create some kind of dictatorship? Do you think this writer truly thinks introverts are so much better/intelligent etc. then extroverts, when he apparently fell in love with/lives with an extrovert?

 

I am an extreme introvert and I found the article funny because so many of his little statements I've experienced myself - I once went out with a very extroverted man, and the conflict-situations that arose from that were...amusing. Therefore, I see a lot of the statements that you and others are quoting as examples of "elitist arrogance" as funny, because I have this point of reference and personal viewpoint/reaction from my experiences that makes it so, to me. This, of course, colors my viewpoint towards this article's many outrageous statements as being humourously meant, since I assume he's coming from the same 'page' as myself.

 

While I certainly don't think introverts are oppressed in the same percieved morally unjust sense as when people say "this race is opressed" (and I doubt very much that the author does, either), I do think they are often misunderstood by extroverts and the social world at large. Of course, the reverse is also true - but the article is not about the reverse, it's a tongue-in-cheek single-point of view article, not a balanced debate thesis, like you seem to think it should be.

 

If you research/read everything else this writer has written for more perspective on said author to back your viewpoint of this writer's 'elitist' views, perhaps I'll think your seeming vitrolic antipathy has some credence. Until then, as intelligently argued as your statements are, I still disagree with them.

 

Btw, your specific posts were not the sole focus of my original comments. They were directed at the general disparaging of the article that I saw in this thread.

[Baley]

I'm gonna keep this simple, because frankly I'm tired and sleepy, I don't care about the author, I care about the text, the words, the ideas they form, the beliefs they express, what I understood from that piece of text was of course different, personal and perhaps unique, I fear that raging social rejects will read those words and move even further from the world, and I do not know why, but I care, I care about people I will never meet, smell, touch, hear, I care and that's annoying.

 

Words are what we are. More than flesh, more than blood, the person whose thoughts formed that article is to me, loathsome, that's all that I know.

 

I know it's pretentious and puerile, is it tongue-in-cheek? I do not know. I do not care. And I am rambling here as the night turns into day, and I'm all so sleepy. Maybe I'll rewrite this someday, but as it stands here, it is honest.

 

I am upset because I care too much.

[Atreides]

I thought it was funny.

[Llyranor]

My name is Baley. I'm an introvert and I hate myself.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I hate Baley too!

[LadyCrimson]

I fear that raging social rejects will read those words and move even further from the world, and I do not know why, but I care,

Well, if they do, that's their choice and not much anyone can do about it. One can still care about the world at large without expending a lot of personal energy constantly worrying about what we can't change, when there's so many things that we *can* affect which our limited stores of mental energies may be better spent on.

I know it's hard to seperate those anxieties at times tho.

 

I am upset because I care too much.

 

That I understand. I think you'll find a lot more people feel similarily, at least at one time or another in their lives, than it feels like when we're sitting in our chairs at night, musing on the crappy state of the universe.

 

Feeling helpless always sucks, no matter the cause. Perhaps you could write your own counterpoint of view article/letter and send it to the author in question - never know - he might respond, and your views might change - or his might change, or maybe you'd decide he's not so loathsome after all even if you still disagree.

 

Or you (and the others) can continue to bash him here, which achieves nothing, and probably doesn't even make you feel better...but maybe it does, for you, and in that case, I guess it's kinda like forum-therapy.

 

Anyway, sorry, I didn't mean to start sounding like a mom - people come to forums to get away from such things, right? I sincerely hope you find a way to express and utilize your empathic energy in a manner that makes you feel less helpless than reading other's disagreeable & (unchangeable?) (can't personally influence?) opinions seems to do - and that life doesn't beat that empathy out of you, as it does with so many others. Cheers.

[metadigital]

Do you imagine that a bunch of introverts are going to band together under this author's 'call to arms' and march on the world government and try to 'take over the world' and create some kind of dictatorship?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Irony!

[astr0creep]

That article was far from sarcastic, if it wanted to entertain in an intelligent way it failed miserably, and the beliefs expressed seemed honest enough.

 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

What if you are not intelligent?

[Diamond]

That article was far from sarcastic, if it wanted to entertain in an intelligent way it failed miserably, and the beliefs expressed seemed honest enough.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

[Shadowstrider]

A bunch of "I care" stuff.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Where is the weeping Laurence of Arabia picture when we need it most?

[WITHTEETH]

[Calax]

Do you imagine that a bunch of introverts are going to band together under this author's 'call to arms' and march on the world government and try to 'take over the world' and create some kind of dictatorship?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Irony!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I think that already happened... it's called China.

[Baley]

A bunch of "I care" stuff.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Where is the weeping Laurence of Arabia picture when we need it most?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

You just hate me cause I'm more in touch with my female side.

 

And so was Lawrence, though in his case that meant getting gangbanged by a bunch of horny turks.

 

I should never post when I'm in my late-night care-bear mode, it's just all kinds of embarrassing when I wake up.

Edited April 26, 2006 by Baley

[Shadowstrider]

I wish I were more in touch with your female side...

[metadigital]

I wish you were more in touch with his feminine side ...

[Baley]

So does me mum.