What is Stupidity Really Saying?

April 27, 2008 by Keli.

We all get this. Sometimes more often than we care to. None of us are immune to the two Cs: the common cold and criticism. For purposes of this blog, the latter C is defined as: the irritating habit of the feeble minded to attempt to improperly judge and define the merits of another person.

It’s a well known fact that stupers (short, yet again, for fearlessly stupid persons) excel in criticizing others. Is there any validity or meaning to their ludicrous and often hurtful critiques? In a word: hardly.

First, take note that such baseless criticism is really just a silent plea by the stuper. Read between the lines and you’ll realize what they’re saying: “Don’t focus on me or you’ll discover my many idiocies. Let’s talk about you. You’re far more interesting and intelligent than I could ever dream of being.”

In a major effort to divert attention away from their non-functioning selves, stupers become trigger happy, taking aim at the attributes of others, often mistakenly turning them into faults. It’s a sort of stuper self-defense mechanism.

There’s also a secondary meaning to this cracked criticism. I recall the tale of a minister almost a century ago who weekly warned his congregation against the generic sins along with one lesser known, moral violation that he took to be equally unholy: the purchase of a fur coat. He regularly decried fur wearers, insisting they were doomed to damnation. But what was he really saying?

“I want a fur coat.”

Often the criticism is not of others, but of something missing in the stuper’s own seemingly impaired life or just a simple insecurity. How many times have you shared an idea you felt passionate about only to have it immediately dismissed or criticized? Chances are that the person who offered such a reaction was a stuper. Stupers criticize not only because they’re incompetent, but because the object of the incapable critique may possess a talent, toy, a working mind or some other prize the stuper does not have.

The best way to manage careless criticism is to consider the source. Is the unappreciated critic incompetent? Jealous? Or just plain ridiculous? If so, just listen; thank them if you’re so inclined and move on. Learn from the criticism if at all possible, but do not return the favor by criticizing others.

Criticizing others is a dangerous thing, not so much because you may make mistakes about them, but because you may be revealing the truth about yourself. ~ Harold Medina

Think for yourself.

Keli

Keli@counterfeithumans.com

Posted in Plain Old Fashioned Stupidity | 5 Comments »