I TOLD you that what you said about Preach was disrespectful and insulting, but you think your words are acceptable purely because you are "friends"? Regardless of that it still doesn't discount from what U suggested about him, and I honestly don't blame him for replying to you in the way he did.
That's fine. You have a different take on life than I do. I was never trying to change your mind, only see things partially from my perspective. In the same way, I try to partially see things from your perspective and maybe find some commnon ground. It's not always possible. I know that. My intention was not to disrespect, or insult, and I think you can probably see that. I have my fire, and my moments. I think you know if I really wanted to insult or disrespect someone....that's not how I would do it.
I think you honestly have a large problem with accepting other people's opinions, values and suggestions. You don't seem to be able to take criticisms well, because you go all defensive and shit, arguing against even the most minute & insignificant of points. I mean, an illustration of this is you trashing Preach's character, portraying him as an unstable, paranoid emo - which was solely prompted by him going against your initial post.
My problem with this point is this......it's hypocritical in the sense that by saying someone can't accept an opinion, in a way the same thing can be said about the person who is stating that. Do you know what I mean?
I was never attempting to character-trash. I called it how I saw it and it wasn't intended to discredit his opinion. Like I said, I'm picking up a pattern from Preach of late and it's not a good one. I'm fully ready to admit to I may be completely off - everyone makes mistakes. If Preach says his life is absolutely hunky-dory, he's happy with life, he is not in any way depressed, paranoid, even slightly mentally-shifted from smoking a lot of weed...then I'm wrong, and I'm happy to be wrong - I wish heaven for everyone.
Lighten up a little, the world doesnt revolve around you bro, and you are not always right. keep that shit in mind.
Hmmm...who's world? Yours? Preach's? Any individual reading this board? I don't look at life that way. The World is an infinite place when it comes to
individual's thoughts, emotions, feelings, spirituality, motivation, etc. Look at the word in bold. My world - revolves around me. Sorry if you think that's arrogant. I know you dislike that, you've made that clear. It may take a full perception of my mind and soul to understand that, perhaps something that can never be understood by mere expression....let alone text on a message board.
Like I said - my world, does indeed revolve around me. It revolves around the people I love and care for. The spiritual balance that only I can control. The progression that is my responsibility. I'm not the guy that plays a supporting role in my own life story, unless the lead character is a higher power
I live in my own world. I follow my own morals. Whether or not those morals fall into the boundaries of the law or not is something for which I care not. I was not consulted upon those laws, therefore if my own action is outside that boundary, it does not bother me. What bothers me is living a just, compassionate, truthful life to the best degree I can. I'm not perfect and everyone has their own individual flaws - but who judges what's a flaw? You percieve me as arrogant and you see that as a flaw. Others see me as a strong-minded, loyal to my beliefs and as someone who would not easily falter. That's a positive to them. It's solely based on the relationship those two people have. Some people look for flaws to make themselves feel better because they are unable to control the feeling of jealousy. (Just to be clear, I'm not talking to you or anyone in specific on that, just generally).
You know, I can't be everything to everybody. I don't think I'm always right, but when I have an opinion that has come from my own personal experiences - that opinion is always justified, until it can be analysed and in some cases proven wrong by a further experience. Isn't that the case with everyone?
ike when Tupac spoke of the Nazi skinhead that hated black people - he showed him compassion. That experience probably changed that dude's stance on black people, probably stopped him from being racist. If all his life he was raised around racist morals and beleifs, and all his personal experiences to that point had been negative, (let's say, he may have ben robbed by a black dude, or witnessed some violence, whatever) - his experiences have caused to him to be the way he is. Is it right? Well, in his mind it would be. To others it wouldn't. He was open minded enough to not act nastily towards a black man when in a situation such as the one with 'Pac....and then he would have realized that what he had been shown, taught and concluded from personal experience was not infallible.
I'm fully, fully aware that I'm not always right. I don't claim my opinions as facts. Perhaps I don't always acknowledge a concession publically. If anything, that's probably the underlying issue and something I need to work on.
In what way does it contradict his next paragraph? He is trying to convey the idea that he can empathise with this woman and see things from her point of view. Like we both said before - she was, perhaps, very conscious about her health and safety, or perhaps as Preach suggested, she might be some nurse who works in the cancer ward or some shit. You never know.. most of the time this stuff can't just be shrugged off as being an unwarranted attack on you, despite it being annoying as fuck and interfering with the enjoyment of your ciggarette.
That's not the point I was making. The point I was referring to was the statement of "I know how the human mind works". That statement goes against the very notion of individuality. What Preach may have read or learned about how "the human mind" works, is not how my mind works. Everyone's mind works differently, that is what being an individual means.
I didn't see it as an unwarranted attack. I understood the statement she made to be wrong, which it was. I was not breaking the law, or being anywhere NEAR to breaking the law.
If she is unable to express how she actually feels, you can't speculate on that, yet you and Preach are. "Maybe she's a nurse on a cancer ward, maybe this, maybe that".
I responded to what she said. If that's not what she meant or what she felt, well I'm not a mind reader. Like I said, you want respect, you show it. Had she respectfully said, "I'm sorry sir, can you move slightly further away, I don't want to risk any chance of second hand smoke inhalation". I would have said "No problem", and moved even further away than I was. But that's
not what she said. If you want to be angry, disrepectful, patronising and plain wrong - don't expect the same treatment than if you were polite, respectful and able to express exactly what you're feeling. Like Da_Funk said, don't expect me to act the polite gentleman unless you've approached me in the same way. Approach me like I'm lower than you, a thug, lower-class, criminal, whatever.....and I'll treat you the same way. That principle applies to everything. Ask a stupid question, get a stupid answer. Etc etc etc.
....continued in next post......