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Things Worth Hating
Hate takes as much maintenance and energy as does love. Should you decide there is something or one that you hate, make certain you find value in the expenditure else all you are doing is giving that person or thing an overshadowing influence in your life.
On occasion you may stumble onto someone who hates you back and so you will have this bizarre dynamic that looks like a love affair from the outside but will be like dry humping over a phone line for the parties involved. A lot of action, no payoff.
There are also the occasions where you hate someone enough that they begin to hate you back, but you really have to work at it for a long time before they come around. See the above paragraph for how this looks from the outside.
And then there is the saddest hate of all, the unrequited hate. You hate someone so deeply and so passionately that they consume your day, you constantly check up on them to fuel your hate for them, but they never treat you seriously. Oh they may mock and condescend to you occasionally, but they are just doing it to screw with you and aside from the entertainment value of watching you react, they could care less.
As for me, I can't say there is anyone I've found worth hating. Oh there are people I don't like just as there are foods I don't like.
I don't care for the taste of strawberries. As such you will not find me in the produce isle buying strawberries. Nor will you find me calling those who do like strawberries names, nor any other actions that consume my time and resources. Should I be forced to interact with strawberries I will either decline them or, should good manners absolutely require, interact as slightly as possible.
Because let's be honest, each moment I were to spend railing against strawberries is a moment I would not be writing or sleeping or dating or playing COD4 or watching TV or trimming my toenails or something that is so much more desirable.
The only thing I've found worth hating is arrogance and even that is something I mock rather than actively pursue unless it is confrontational.
So, what does this have to do with anything?
Love and hate are two sides of the same coin and the opposite to either is indifference. At Neopoet the worst insult you can give to someone is not to love or hate their work, it is to be unconcerned with it. The issue is that love without a purpose is no more nourishing than Styrofoam.
If all you do is tell people you love their work you are not being supportive, you are being indifferent and the people whom you ignore should take comfort that they are not objects of your indifference.
If you cannot tell why you like or dislike something, you are serving no purpose in a workshop environment and all the careless awards and praise you pretend to give is worse than worthless. Oh people may lap it up for a while but people get stuck in abusive relationships all the time, thinking they deserve nothing better.
Some people will decide this blog entry is a personal attack leveled at them. These people are idiots.
On occasion you may stumble onto someone who hates you back and so you will have this bizarre dynamic that looks like a love affair from the outside but will be like dry humping over a phone line for the parties involved. A lot of action, no payoff.
There are also the occasions where you hate someone enough that they begin to hate you back, but you really have to work at it for a long time before they come around. See the above paragraph for how this looks from the outside.
And then there is the saddest hate of all, the unrequited hate. You hate someone so deeply and so passionately that they consume your day, you constantly check up on them to fuel your hate for them, but they never treat you seriously. Oh they may mock and condescend to you occasionally, but they are just doing it to screw with you and aside from the entertainment value of watching you react, they could care less.
As for me, I can't say there is anyone I've found worth hating. Oh there are people I don't like just as there are foods I don't like.
I don't care for the taste of strawberries. As such you will not find me in the produce isle buying strawberries. Nor will you find me calling those who do like strawberries names, nor any other actions that consume my time and resources. Should I be forced to interact with strawberries I will either decline them or, should good manners absolutely require, interact as slightly as possible.
Because let's be honest, each moment I were to spend railing against strawberries is a moment I would not be writing or sleeping or dating or playing COD4 or watching TV or trimming my toenails or something that is so much more desirable.
The only thing I've found worth hating is arrogance and even that is something I mock rather than actively pursue unless it is confrontational.
So, what does this have to do with anything?
Love and hate are two sides of the same coin and the opposite to either is indifference. At Neopoet the worst insult you can give to someone is not to love or hate their work, it is to be unconcerned with it. The issue is that love without a purpose is no more nourishing than Styrofoam.
If all you do is tell people you love their work you are not being supportive, you are being indifferent and the people whom you ignore should take comfort that they are not objects of your indifference.
If you cannot tell why you like or dislike something, you are serving no purpose in a workshop environment and all the careless awards and praise you pretend to give is worse than worthless. Oh people may lap it up for a while but people get stuck in abusive relationships all the time, thinking they deserve nothing better.
Some people will decide this blog entry is a personal attack leveled at them. These people are idiots.