To use, or not to use the F word.

When I was growing up, there seemed to be a motivation to try to be different. Whoever could be the first to do something different, to set the trend, was just so damn cool. To be quite honest, I was never different. I was not the first to set trends, and I never tried. To some, it came natural, and I respect that. They genuinely were trend setters, that's who they were, and it was pretty cool. But of course others wanted to be cool, so they had to try to be different, they had to try to set trends. For me, it was pretty easy to differentiate the imitators from the innovators. This is something that I have observed for over a decade now, and still see prime examples of the imitators today. What's so comical is the vicious cycle that this creates. The first movers define coolness, the followers follow, it's all done for the sake of being cool, then everybody is the same because they all tried to be different.

Somewhere along the way, being different and setting the trend turned into "I'm different than the main stream crowd, and I don't care what people think about me." As I said, I always felt like I had the ability to tell apart the real from the fake, and those who were really different, the ones who were just being themselves, never found the need to vocally tell people they were different and didn't care. It wasn't just enough anymore to try to be different, now you have to announce it and justify why you're doing it. The justification of course is simply, "I don't give a shit what people think about me." 

Establishing the disparity between innovators and imitators is not what this post is about. All of that was an intro into the main topic. What I am trying to establish here is a progressive timeline. Paragraph 1 was my observations about ten years ago: trying to be different, because different was cool. Over the years it evolved into the observations I explained in Paragraph 2: the need to tell people you are different (therefore obviously cool) and the fact that you don't care what people think about you being different. Well now in Paragraph 3, I explain what I feel this theme has evolved into. It's really just a branch-off from Paragraph 2, but instead of being different and not caring it's more of saying what you feel and not caring. We've heard it oh-so-many times: "I speak my mind, that's just the way I am. Sorry if I offend you, but I'm going to tell like it is." Well first of all, you're not sorry if you offend anyone, so leave out that insincere apologetic disclaimer, and secondly, just because you think your opinion is the way it is doesn't make it so. 

It's something that I absolutely cannot wrap my mind around. Maybe it's the way I was raised, or maybe it's a trait that I was born with, but I have no desire to piss people off. And if I have to bite my tongue to stay on neutral territory, then so be it. I like to make new friends and keep the ones I have, not run any of them off with a loud obnoxious mouth. I do have an opinion on most topics, albeit usually not a strong one, and that opinion often remains with me. When I do have a strong opinion on something, it gives me even more of a reason to keep things to myself. When opinions are involved, no one ever really wins. And how ironic is it that here I am posting my opinion to a public social network where potentially hundreds will read it. The difference is I'm not taking a stance on one side of a topic, explaining why I think it is superior, and telling the half of my readers who disagree to piss off. I am merely discussing the actions of those who do so. Honestly, I do care what each and every one of my readers think. And to prove it, I just inserted "piss" in the place of another four letter word I would have preferred to use two sentences ago. But that's how I live my life. I have a filter and I don't let anything from my brain to my mouth bypass it (brain to fingers in this case). I take into consideration how it will be perceived. I know people out there don't want to hear the F word, so I'll leave it out of here just to be safe. (I think I just found my title)

So does this make me a mealy-mouthed pushover that has no opinion, or at least not one that I will share? Or even worse, does this make me fake because I won't express my opinion due to a genuine regard for other people's feelings? I'm sure there is a large number of proudly brazen people who will answer yes. And for their sake I will concede to the argument that it is not only acceptable, it is healthy to have an opinion. Hell, it's normal, it's natural. It's great to take a stance on something, and have a strong emotional belief in it. What I am condemning is feeling the need to walk around town flaunting it with complete disregard for how others will discern it.We've all heard the old saying, "Opinions are like assholes - everybody has one, and they all stink." Well, it's kind of true. Trust me, I enjoy mooning people for a little giggle every now and then, but I don't run around with my pants down because I understand most people don't have a longing for my sphincter. So opinions are like assholes in another way - we should generally keep them to ourselves most of the time. And it's not about keeping your feelings, opinions, or thoughts bottled up all the time, but rather showing a little consideration to your potential audience before letting it leave your lips. It's all about effort, and making an attempt to respect society, instead of being proud for speaking your mind because it's cool now-a-days to not give a shit.

So, if you don't like what I have written, don't bother commenting because this is my opinion and I don't care what you think. . . . . Just kidding you guys. Please comment, share your thoughts, whether you agree or not. It's an open discussion so sound off. Thanks for reading.