If your surrounded by Jerks then guess who the Jerk is.

Are you surrounded by fools? Are you the only reasonable person around? Then maybe you’re the one with the jerkitude
Picture the world through the eyes of the jerk. The line of people in the post office is a mass of unimportant fools; it’s a felt injustice that you must wait while they bumble with their requests. The flight attendant is not a potentially interesting person with her own cares and struggles but instead the most available face of a corporation that stupidly insists you shut your phone. Custodians and secretaries are lazy complainers who rightly get the scut work. The person who disagrees with you at the staff meeting is an idiot to be shot down. Entering a subway is an exercise in nudging past the dumb schmoes.

We need a theory of jerks. We need such a theory because, first, it can help us achieve a calm, clinical understanding when confronting such a creature in the wild. Imagine the nature-documentary voice-over: ‘Here we see the jerk in his natural environment. Notice how he subtly adjusts his dominance display to the Italian restaurant situation…’ And second – well, I don’t want to say what the second reason is quite yet.

http://aeon.co/magazine/philosophy/if-youre-surrounded-by-idiots-guess-whos-the-jerk/

There are some classic bits in this - well worth a read.

Lefties often display this superiority complex...

Tommy Monk wrote:Lefties often display this superiority complex...

Actually the rudest people I routinely encounter are conservatives -- they seem to think they're some sort of select group of people.

The article was an interesting read; I looked a bit more into it and hadn't realized before that "jerk" used to mean something more like "fool." The Steve Martin movie "The Jerk" used it in that sense, rather than "rude person."

Given that the majority of people are of average or below average intelligence and generally conform to mainstream media led populist thinking... also convinced they are right because so many others of The same think the same... the intelligent free thinker is often viewed as being 'wrong' And alienated for being 'different' and perceived as being a bit weird etc...


A genius can be out voted by two idiots who's opinions are driven by media influence and then reinforced as being right because so many other like minded people think the same.


A sort of mob rule mentality.

Tommy Monk wrote:Given that the majority of people are of average or below average intelligence and generally conform to mainstream media led populist thinking... also convinced they are right because so many others of The same think the same... the intelligent free thinker is often viewed as being 'wrong' And alienated for being 'different' and perceived as being a bit weird etc...


A genius can be out voted by two idiots who's opinions are driven by media influence and then reinforced as being right because so many other like minded people think the same.


A sort of mob rule mentality.

Nah. Maybe back in the days of carrier pigeons, but now we have fact-checkers fact-checking the fact-checkers ... as a hobby!

But your thoughts actually reinforce what I was saying -- you see yourself as superior, look on most of the public as stupid, etc. You're not a genius, Tommy ...

I'm an asshole but generally a kind asshole

anyway I get away with people call me
'passionate'

veya_victaous wrote:I'm an asshole but generally a kind asshole

anyway I get away with people call me
'passionate'        

I have a song for you too, then!

This one takes me back, haven't even thought about it in ages:

Tommy Monk wrote:Given that the majority of people are of average or below average intelligence and generally conform to mainstream media led populist thinking... also convinced they are right because so many others of The same think the same... the intelligent free thinker is often viewed as being 'wrong' And alienated for being 'different' and perceived as being a bit weird etc...

A genius can be out voted by two idiots who's opinions are driven by media influence and then reinforced as being right because so many other like minded people think the same.

A sort of mob rule mentality.

Which I believe confirms Ben's point.  As John Stuart Mill once said: "I did not mean that Conservatives are generally stupid; I meant that stupid persons are generally Conservative."  Conservatives are generally the people who are moved like sheep by the likes of Rush Limbaugh, Glen Beck or Fox News.  They tend to think of themselves as independent-minded; but the only independence the exhibit is to listen to the same news show or read the same rag.

Conservatism does have a streak of elitism in it, which motivates the anti-humanity sentiments they have.  Republicans, for example, are the ones who come up with voter suppression schemes; for them, it is legitimate to rig the race.  Anyone who believes that is bound to set himself aside for special treatment.  

The Koch Brothers try to bypass fair elections by use of money.  Only the elite have that kind of money.  That is an attempt to single out a class of elevated citizens...whom, I'm sure, they believe should rule.

Conservatives are likely to believe that they are special, and "the majority of people are of average or below average intelligence."  This helps them in their singular mission of serving privileged interests.  Although, they do not see it as selfishness...they call it their 'reward' for saving the world.  How's that for hubris?

(Sorry timmy.  'Hubris' means "excessive pride or self-confidence."  Although you are special, I know you don't like big words.)  

Your conservatives sound like our lefties!


And you totally missed the point of The post you were replying to

Ben_Reilly wrote:

Tommy Monk wrote:Lefties often display this superiority complex...

Actually the rudest people I routinely encounter are conservatives -- they seem to think they're some sort of select group of people.

The article was an interesting read; I looked a bit more into it and hadn't realized before that "jerk" used to mean something more like "fool." The Steve Martin movie "The Jerk" used it in that sense, rather than "rude person."

I think the nearest we have to "jerk" is "pillock"

to jerk over here is to erm.......pleasure oneself