superpeeve Oh my Gawd! - Totally unOfficial Pet Peeve Thread.

[Madelaine McMasters]

17 minutes ago, Arielle Popstar said:

Just so I am clear, it is ok for us foreigners to the US to make fun of the stupidity of their politicians (republicans one at the least) but not their beauty pageant contestants?

I think it's okay to go after anyone who seeks the public eye. There is a significant distinction between politicians and beauty pageant contestants, though. Politicians seek power, beauty pageant contestants are pawns of it. As one who rails against the powerful, wouldn't you cut the beauty contestant more slack?

I do not like the "stupid people on the street" interviews of late night television shows. Those say more about the interviewer than the people on the street". I am similarly suspicious of news reporters eliciting opinion from bystanders.

[Love Zhaoying]

12 minutes ago, Kiera Clutterbuck said:

Pet Peeve: People who don't take into account context in comparisons create invalid comparisons. An inability to comprehend context and a tendency to make invalid comparisons are not qualities a "free thinker" would embody.

I'm bad at this, but would the term "false equivalence" apply?

[Love Zhaoying]

4 minutes ago, Madelaine McMasters said:

I think it's okay to go after anyone who seeks the public eye. There is a significant distinction between politicians and beauty pageant contestants, though. Politicians seek power, beauty pageant contestants are pawns of it. As one who rails against the powerful, wouldn't you cut the beauty contestant more slack?

I do not like the "stupid people on the street" interviews of late night television shows. Those say more about the interviewer than the people on the street". I am similarly suspicious of news reporters eliciting opinion from bystanders.

I like your answer, it makes my answer appear smarter!

[Ayashe Ninetails]

To clarify, that was the post that was specifically called out, but you'd have to go back a bit (days, weeks maybe) for context as to why.

Anyhoo, today's peeve: Fatigue. Blaaaaaaaaaaaah!

[Kiera Clutterbuck]

12 minutes ago, Ayashe Ninetails said:

To clarify, that was the post that was specifically called out, but you'd have to go back a bit (days, weeks maybe) for context as to why.

Or have a working memory?    

[Garnet Psaltery]

In this heat my brain reacts like one of Pterry's trolls (or ptrolls?).  It slows down terribly, so it's even hard work to watch a 'Heroes' episode (the Beeb is running them and probably got them for a bargain basement price as they're poor, you know).

I also lose my concentration and haven't a clue what I'm trying to say.

[Da5id Weatherwax]

41 minutes ago, Garnet Psaltery said:

In this heat my brain reacts like one of Pterry's trolls (or ptrolls?).  It slows down terribly, so it's even hard work to watch a 'Heroes' episode (the Beeb is running them and probably got them for a bargain basement price as they're poor, you know).

I also lose my concentration and haven't a clue what I'm trying to say.

That's ok, I understood you as a kid when your voice was done with a slide whistle, I can manage to make some sense of it now

[kali Wylder]

I feel for those of you who feel deep political peeves.  I don't.  Not that I don't have opinions, I do, but life is way too short to spend time arguing about them. I just kinda fog out and pass over what I don't agree with. Sometimes I get a good laugh though.

[Madelaine McMasters]

1 hour ago, Kiera Clutterbuck said:

Pet Peeve: People who don't take into account context in comparisons create invalid comparisons. An inability to comprehend context and a tendency to make invalid comparisons are not qualities a "free thinker" would embody.

This is not a criticism of your comment, Kiera, but a deeper dive into my thinking on it.

I absolutely agree that ignoring context produces invalid comparisons. Context is sometimes fairly obvious, sometimes fairly impenetrable. What determines our "ability" to comprehend it? It's too easy to jump to the "intelligence" conclusion, which is what those "stupid person on the street" ambush interviews depend on for laughter and derision.

"Ha, ha! I'm glad I'm not as dumb as that person!"

But, more often than not (probably much more), it's a lack of knowledge, not intelligence. I'm pretty sure that, if I were to ambush late night talk show street interviewers, and ask them questions about science, they'd look as dumb as I would if they ambushed me with questions about pop culture.

If knowledge is the most important factor in the ability to comprehend context, we can wonder why knowledge is so unevenly spread across the world's population. This is where the conversations get interesting, and often contentious.

 

[Love Zhaoying]

5 minutes ago, kali Wylder said:

I feel for those of you who feel deep political peeves.  I don't.  Not that I don't have opinions, I do, but life is way too short to spend time arguing about them. I just kinda fog out and pass over what I don't agree with. Sometimes I get a good laugh though.

I hope it's more, "Ha-ha, look at the funny person!" than, "Ha-ha, they fell down!" I never really got slapstick humor!

[Love Zhaoying]

Just now, Madelaine McMasters said:

1 hour ago, Kiera Clutterbuck said:

An inability to comprehend context and a tendency to make invalid comparisons are not qualities a "free thinker" would embody.

This is not a criticism of your comment, Kiera, but a deeper dive into my thinking on it.

I absolutely agree that ignoring context produces invalid comparisons. Context is sometimes fairly obvious, sometimes fairly impenetrable. What determines our "ability" to comprehend it? It's too easy to jump to the "intelligence" conclusion, which is what those "stupid person on the street" ambush interviews depend on for laughter and derision.

"Ha, ha! I'm glad I'm not as dumb as that person!"

But, more often than not (probably much more), it's a lack of knowledge, not intelligence. I'm pretty sure that, if I were to ambush late night talk show street interviewers, and ask them questions about science, they'd look as dumb as I would if they ambushed me with questions about pop culture.

If knowledge is the most important factor in the ability to comprehend context, we can wonder why knowledge is so unevenly spread across the world's population. This is where the conversations get interesting, and often contentious.

Hey! People like me who are "comprehension-challenged" gots feeling to, y'know!

[Yorkie Bardeen]

2 hours ago, Sukubia Scarmon said:

So, we got a big supermarket here a few weeks.. well maybe months ago, but now they've finished their inventory. They don't have some of the products I saw in the store they've in munich, but.. that's to be expected, I mean, we're MUCH smaller here. But they have the international section now, and it's fully stocked! So, I got to try rootbeer! It's.. okay? I mean, not used to it and stuff, but it wasn't bad, just not really my thing. I tried it as a float too, cause I happened to have some vanilla icecream here. That was better.
What I am peeved about is, tho, that with the exception of the rootbeer - everything else was stuff we already have here. Like.. marshmallows. Same with marshmallow fluff. I brought that stuff ten years ago in a super market already, it's not new, or hard to come by. That was a tad dissapointing. I don't really know what I expected, tho. Propably more iconic US-brands.

I used to think root beer tasted like dentists' mouthwash. Since moving to the US it's one of my favourite sodas. I'm not saying it doesn't taste like dentists' mouthwash, but I like it!

[Scylla Rhiadra]

3 hours ago, Arielle Popstar said:

Just so I am clear, it is ok for us foreigners to the US to make fun of the stupidity of their politicians (republicans one at the least) but not their beauty pageant contestants?

Maddy's answer was great. To amplify what she said, though, the qualifications for being a politician are somewhat different than those for being a beauty contestant for a reason: politicians are making decisions that impact in a very direct and often brutal way upon real people's actual lives. Beauty contestants are not. Politicians make claims about their fitness for office by boasting about their grasp of the "issues." Beauty pageant contestants do not.

This politician was, and continues, to vote on laws that impact the reproductive health and rights of women. Somewhat unsurprisingly, Barbieri is "pro-life," but regardless of his stance on this, it would be nice to think that those determining what women can or cannot do with their own bodies have at least a vague understanding of the relevant science and biology. Most politicians are not, I imagine, trained gynecologists, but the ignorance displayed by this gentleman, who has pretensions to making laws concerning women's reproductive rights, is kinda breathtaking.

Were the beauty pageant contestant running for the position of coordinator of educational programming somewhere, I'd say that she should be subjected to the same standards. But she is not.

By way of passing, I'll also add that I criticized Sarah's posting not so much because the video was mocking this woman's ignorance for our entertainment (which, I agree with Maddy, is gross, mean-spirited, and cruel), but because Sarah was using it to mock Americans.

ETA: Just saw @Love Zhaoying's post on this, which makes much the same point as mine more succinctly. Thank you, Love!

Edited July 15, 2022 by Scylla Rhiadra

[Persephone Emerald]

3 hours ago, Sukubia Scarmon said:

So, we got a big supermarket here a few weeks.. well maybe months ago, but now they've finished their inventory. They don't have some of the products I saw in the store they've in munich, but.. that's to be expected, I mean, we're MUCH smaller here. But they have the international section now, and it's fully stocked! So, I got to try rootbeer! It's.. okay? I mean, not used to it and stuff, but it wasn't bad, just not really my thing. I tried it as a float too, cause I happened to have some vanilla icecream here. That was better.
What I am peeved about is, tho, that with the exception of the rootbeer - everything else was stuff we already have here. Like.. marshmallows. Same with marshmallow fluff. I brought that stuff ten years ago in a super market already, it's not new, or hard to come by. That was a tad dissapointing. I don't really know what I expected, tho. Propably more iconic US-brands.

Root Beer is one of those strange American foods that non-Americans just don't get. It's super sweet, with a kind of weird flavor profile. It has to be drunk very cold. Room temp or warmer makes it horrible. The best way to have root beer is in a Root Beer Float, a scoop of vanilla ice cream in a glass, with ice cold root beer poured carefully on top. Then you need a long spoon as well as a straw to eat/drink it.

Edited July 15, 2022 by Persephone Emerald

[Madelaine McMasters]

44 minutes ago, Yorkie Bardeen said:

I used to think root beer tasted like dentists' mouthwash. Since moving to the US it's one of my favourite sodas. I'm not saying it doesn't taste like dentists' mouthwash, but I like it!

...puts you on her Xmas list.

Most root beer recipes contain wintergreen oil or it's most active ingredient, methyl salicylate. It can be overdone. When underdone, you get cream soda, where the vanilla dominates.

Edited July 15, 2022 by Madelaine McMasters

[Madelaine McMasters]

11 minutes ago, Persephone Emerald said:

Root Beer is one of those strange American foods that non-Americans just don't get. It's super sweet, with a kind of weird flavor profile. It has to be drunk very cold. Room temp or warmer makes it horrible. The best way to have root beer is in a Root Beer Float, a scoop of vanilla ice cream in a glass, with ice cold root beer poured carefully on top. Then you need a long spoon as well as a straw to eat/drink it.

...puts you on her Xmas list, too.

[Scylla Rhiadra]

15 minutes ago, Persephone Emerald said:

Root Beer is one of those strange American foods that non-Americans just don't get. It's super sweet, with a kind of weird flavor profile. It has to be drunk very cold. Room temp or warmer makes it horrible. The best way to have root beer is in a Root Beer Float, a scoop of vanilla ice cream in a glass, with ice cold root beer poured carefully on top. Then you need a long spoon as well as a straw to eat/drink it.

We have root beer in Canada, although it's not particularly popular or easy to find

I can't look at a glass of the dark, viscous stuff without imaging a tentacle slowly emerging from it in a threatening, or at least, non-appetizing way.

Now, ginger ale and/or ginger beer, on the other hand . . . I don't drink pop much, but those are my go-to when I do. Because they are clear and you can be sure there are no creatures lurking at the bottom of the glass.

I did once buy a bottle of root beer in SL for Maddy, for a pic I took of the two of us together. THAT'S the kind of friend I am.

 

[Sukubia Scarmon]

The sweetness didn't actually bother me as much, really jsut that I didn't know that flavor before. I could imagine the same would happen if people try woodruff (Waldmeister) for the first time, since that too is a rather unique flavor.

[Madelaine McMasters]

1 hour ago, Love Zhaoying said:

I hope it's more, "Ha-ha, look at the funny person!" than, "Ha-ha, they fell down!" I never really got slapstick humor!

I love slapstick, particularly in cartoons (and SL!) which have their own laws of physics. What must be clear though, is that no actual harm comes to the person who fell down. Slapstick is a safe way to experience schadenfreude.

As a child, I favored the Roadrunner. I have grown to think of him as vapid and smug.

I now aspire to be Wilhelmina E. Coyote.

“Success is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm.” – Winston Churchill

Edited July 15, 2022 by Madelaine McMasters
I now aspire to be able to spell Wilhelmina.

[Rolig Loon]

11 minutes ago, Madelaine McMasters said:

“Success is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm.” – Winston Churchill

I must save that one. I have been looking for another Churchill quote, probably apocryphal, that I remember as,

"Making progress does not mean that you have solved your problems. It means you are working on different problems than you had yesterday."

If you recognize it, please raise your hand.

Edited July 15, 2022 by Rolig Loon

[Madelaine McMasters]

4 minutes ago, Rolig Loon said:

I must save that one. I have been looking for another Churchill quote, probably apocryphal, that I remember as,

"Making progress does not mean that you have solved your problems. It means you are working on different problems than you had yesterday."

If you recognize it, please raise your hand.

...raises her hand into the roof of her Miata, and curses you.

[Ceka Cianci]

3 minutes ago, Rolig Loon said:

I must save that one. I have been looking for another Churchill quote, probably apocryphal, that I remember as,

"Making progress does not mean that you have solved your problems. It means you are working on different problems than you had yesterday."

If you recognize it, please raise your hand.

One thing I'm always curious about with politicians and them saying things that become great quotes..

I always wonder, did they have someone writing for them that came up with those?

A lot of times politicians get the credit or the fire because of speech writers..

I just wonder is all hehehe

[Rolig Loon]

1 minute ago, Ceka Cianci said:

One thing I'm always curious about with politicians and them saying things that become great quotes..

I always wonder, did they have someone writing for them that came up with those?

I suspect politicians get quoted because people expect them to say things that ought to be quoted. I actually say many more insightful and quotable things on any given day than Churchill ever did, but the press is never around when I say them.

[Love Zhaoying]

6 minutes ago, Ceka Cianci said:

One thing I'm always curious about with politicians and them saying things that become great quotes..

I always wonder, did they have someone writing for them that came up with those?

A lot of times politicians get the credit or the fire because of speech writers..

I just wonder is all hehehe

 

3 minutes ago, Rolig Loon said:

I suspect politicians get quoted because people expect them to say things that ought to be quoted. I actually say many more insightful and quotable things on any given day than Churchill ever did, but the press is never around when I say them.

They could actually be misattributions. Someone else said it first (or something similar), and the polit got credit whether or not they ever said it.

[Nalates Urriah]

5 minutes ago, Ceka Cianci said:

One thing I'm always curious about with politicians and them saying things that become great quotes..

I always wonder, did they have someone writing for them that came up with those?

A lot of times politicians get the credit or the fire because of speech writers..

I just wonder is all hehehe

Whether the politician got it from a creative writer or actually thought it up... they chose to stand up and say it. So I am fine with throwing my eggs at the politician.