We all love a good rant. Nothing feels better than getting something off your chest. Arguing your point. Scoring points from those who you’re in disagreement with.
It is a sweet release letting that newborn rant out into the world and then watching it grow into big boy clothes and give someone with a differing opinion a good metaphorical kicking.
And the internet makes it so so easy. Too easy you might say. We now believe that we’re all entitled to our opinions. The amount of times you’ll see that exact expression used on social media nowadays is growing.
And for some reason this ‘opinion’ seems to carry more weight than actual ‘facts’.
It goes like this…
“All men called Peter have herpes!”
“Urm, that’s not exactly true is it?”
“That’s my opinion. That’s what I think!”
“But it’s not true.”
“Don’t you persecute me! I’m entitled to my opinion!”
In this populist world that we now find ourselves in, it’s becoming more and more common for people to throw their opinions around like mini grenades with no real basis in fact.
Facts have now been sidelined as no-one wants the pesky truth to get in the way of a good rant.
“I’m right. You’re wrong. That’s my opinion.”
It’s understandable when it comes to moral based issues and beliefs. They are not fact based and form the very basis of opinions.
But now more and more people are taking what these opinions are as gospel. Shaping their entire belief systems around the very shaky foundations given by some bloke called Dave on the internet who has a thing against people called Peter because he thinks they’ve all got herpes.
In this instance I feel sorry for Peter.
Especially when Dave uses some completely irrelevant fact as a means to persuade people of the veracity of his claim.
“Marsupials only have a gestation period of four to five weeks so that proves that all Peters have herpes.”
“Urm, no it doesn’t.”
“Don’t you persecute me. I’m entitled to my opinion!”
The thing is that these so called ‘fake facts’ are dangerous leading to scapegoating, racism and in some instances ill health especially if you look at the ‘fake facts’ being thrown around by the anti-vaxxers.
But other times they’re completely ridiculous and harmlessly silly like the flat earthers. They’re entitled to their opinions but they are wrong. And that is a fact.
As a rule though these ‘fake facters’ can’t be argued with.
They don’t want to be wrong no matter what pesky facts you throw at them.
It’s why they use so many capital letters and can’t spell. But that’s just my opinion.