I'm Too Old for This Crap

I wrote a big, long, ranty post the other day.  It's still sitting in my drafts, but I think now that I will never post it.  When I was young, I was willing to debate and argue and try to persuade people to see reason.  Now?  I'm too old. 

I keep seeing stuff about looking at things from other viewpoints.  I've seen a variety of other viewpoints ad nauseum, and I didn't like the view.  And really, after spending a lot of time considering the viewpoints of others, I can spot where they're coming from a mile away.  Why exactly would I want to see that again?  Been there, done that.

Trying to convince others is tiresome.  Oh, I give full points to those that are still out there fighting the good fight, trying to change things, but I am so tired of it.  The chance of changing someone else's mind is so slim, especially these days, that I don't see the purpose of expending so much effort for so little reward. 

Oh, there's always a chance I'll change my mind about something - if presented with facts and logic and reason that I can independently verify.  The problem is there's so little of those things floating around in any argument contrary to what I know that the chance is super slim.  These days it's all about feelings and assertions we're all supposed to just accept on faith.  That's not how I work. 

It's like this gal who used to live here.  She was big on going around telling people stuff that just wasn't true.  But believable because she spoke with such authority and she was older so it might seem like she knew what she was saying, you know, if you're someone who doesn't rely on facts and proof.  And I spent some time refuting the things she said when someone else would bring it to my attention. (She stopped trying to talk to me, but I still heard about it.)  Tiring stuff, but I hate lies and now that she's moved on, it's so much quieter here. 

And then there's the 'news'.  So much misinformation is being spread around under the guise of truth when it's not truth.  And it's getting tough to know who's got the facts and who doesn't. 

Anyway, these days I'm most likely to just walk away when someone starts spouting crap.  In real life, it means ignoring them and not associating with them anymore.  Online, it's unfollow, unfriend, block.  Life is too short to spend my time trying to parse the good stuff they might have to offer from the bad stuff they are passing along like a venereal disease.  I give a little more leeway to people I've known for a long time, but even then, when the crap piles high enough for me to continue to see the good in them, it's time to walk away.  Which makes me kind of sad, but in the long run, my mental health is better for it.  So's my blood pressure. 

How about you?  Still fighting the good fight or are you tired, too?