Some Things Are Subjective
It’s okay if people don’t like the same things you do
Last night, one of my friends posted on Facebook, “If you didn’t like the half-time show, you’re wrong.” Actually, it was one of my former students, which made the logical fallacy so much worse. She was in my Advanced Placement Language and Composition course. I worked so hard to teach her to make logical arguments.
And here’s why that is an absolutely ludicrous statement — you cannot be wrong about an opinion.
If I say, “I didn’t like the half-time show,” you cannot follow the statement up with “You’re wrong,” unless 1) I’m lying and 2) you’re a mind reader who knows I’m lying. “I didn’t like the half-time show” is a statement of my subjective feelings about the performance. It’s not the same as saying, “That half-time show really sucked.” In that case, a person could maybe argue that it was, technically, a good performance. But even if it was technically a good performance, I still may not have liked it.
You can’t argue a person into liking something. Subjective tastes don’t work that way.
I didn’t mind the half-time show. It was fine. That’s pretty much the total sum of my opinion about it.
This rant isn’t about the half-time show. It’s about logic — or the lack thereof. It’s about people who cannot distinguish opinion from fact. It’s about people who argue vehemently about topics that are purely subjective.
It’s about an entire school year spent teaching students the art of persuasion, and then they grow up and post on Facebook, “If you didn’t like the half-time show, you’re wrong.” *beats head on desk*
If you like something, you like it, and if you don’t, you don’t. There’s nothing right or wrong about it.
Abraham Lincoln said it best, “People who like this sort of thing will find this the sort of thing they like.”
I like cats. Some people don’t. They’re not wrong — they are different than I am. Our tastes are shaped by our personalities and our experiences. We don’t all have to be the same, and it’s silly to get offended that someone’s tastes are different than your own. I’m guessing some people hated the half-time show. They’re not wrong — they really did hate it. And that’s perfectly fine with me.
