What's up with people that want to correct your personal opinion or view about a

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   snapbackbettyposted 11 years ago

   What's up with people that want to correct your personal opinion or view about a subject?
   
   Everyone is entitled to their own opionion. If someone says something I don't agree with I don't try to change their mind or make them feel they shouldn't feel a certain way. I only offer my opinion on the subject. What they do after that is up to them.

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   il Scetticoposted 11 years ago

   If someone believes, or has strong feelings about something (like religion, health care, due process rights, etc.), and someone has an opposing view to them, they simply want to put their opinion out in the open to help change someone's view to what they believe is a better one.
   
   If you had a very close friend who was using cocaine, and believed it would not hurt him even if he took it multiple times in an hour, would you try to help him by replacing his view of it with yours?
   
   Most people who try to "force" their opinion on someone else simply have a problem communicating: they let their emotions get in the way because they care about it, or they are in the heat of the moment, and stop thinking rationally, and start cramming things down your throat hoping you will see it their way.
   
   Personally, I love hearing someones views, especially if they are against mine because it gives me a broader understanding of the subject, and of what other people around me are thinking and feeling.

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      snapbackbettyposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Great answer. I also like hearing other peoples point of view.I just wish more people knew how to agree to disagree. The next time this happens to me I will take into consideration that the other person may not know how to communicate well. Thanks!

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      lupineposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      When someone tries to "force" their opinion on you, that's when one becomes resistant, even if trying to help. It is a good idea to have an open mind and respect someone else's opinion, let them decide.

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   TIMETRAVELER2posted 11 years ago

   People who want to correct your personal opinions and views do so because they think they are somehow smarter than you are or know more than you know.  Your attitude is the right one and it's too bad others don't follow suit!

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      snapbackbettyposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I often think that they feel they are smarter than me too. Thanks for your answer.

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   Larry Wallposted 11 years ago

   Someone may want to change their view because they are convinced that their view is the "right" view. Some will do this in a professional manner that might cause you to rethink part of your viewpoint or not. The result is that the readers have two intelligent views to consider and from that may form a third view that provides some consensus.
   
   Some people are never wrong and will tell you so. There is one hubber who states on his profile page that he will voice his opinion and you should not argue with him, because there are his views. This does not fall into the open-minded category.
   
   I think your explanation sums up the matter very well. Unfortunately everyone does not share such a civil approach. I once offered a comment to a hub and one one remarked "well that shows you how little Larry Wall knows about" the subject that was being discussed. He did not offer any explanation and no one picked up on what he said, thus his efforts to change the view was futile.
   
   Everyone is entitled to an opinion. People who basically agree will often have some minor differences. This is an ideal situation because that is where the flaws in the opinions can be aired out and a more accurate consensus reached.

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      snapbackbettyposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I agree. Thanks for your answer.

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   Lisa HWposted 11 years ago

   I live with a real problem of having a few too many people feel free to correct what I say (in offline life).  Being a woman (and not an intimidating one), I seem to bring out the mother, father, or teacher in people; and it doesn't just drive me nuts...  It disgusts me because I can say something about MYSELF and STILL have someone else second-guess or correct me.  So people who can't seem to get it through their heads that a grown, middle-aged, person isn't a child who needs "correction" (and by someone who really doesn't know what he's talking about either), I don't know what the answer is.  (Either tell them off and destroy relationships or live with it and maybe find some humor it - of something).
   
   BUT, on the other side of things, I know there have been plenty of times in discussions when I'll offer a different point-of-view (which is different from a "correction") because I really do assume (sometimes incorrectly) that the other person enjoys sharing different points-of-view as much as I do.  So, correcting isn't my motive, but I can see how the person who doesn't enjoy "back-and-forth" discussion regularly may see it as that.
   
   Sometimes, though, I am actually guilty of well intentioned "correcting" online.  For example, a teenage girl may say something like, "My mother doesn't want me to go out with my boyfriend because she's just jealous of me and wishes she were young and dating."  I certainly wouldn't presume to act as if I know for a fact that the girl's mother isn't jealous of her (because maybe she is); but here's the kind of thing I might do:  I might say something like, "There's a chance your mother isn't jealous of you, and maybe there's something about your boyfriend that she's worried about."  Then I might go on to add that I'm a mother who has had a teen daughter, and there have been times I didn't like the boyfriend and it had nothing whatsoever to do with my being jealous.  So, it's a correction; but it's not opinion.  As someone with lots of friends who are mothers, I know that jealousy is not the reason so many don't like boyfriends.  What am I thinking when I hope to point out that maybe the mother's motives aren't jealousy?  I'm hoping to, maybe, offer objective feedback/perspective from someone who may have something additional to offer.  if she sees more to possible picture maybe she'll figure out her own correct answer more easily.  I mean well and see it as a Devil's Advocate thing - not really correcting her.

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      Larry Wallposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      With people spreading their entire lives out in the social media world, they should expect comments. I think if people quit sharing so much information, people might not feel others are trying to run their lives or change their opinions.

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      snapbackbettyposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I completely understand. It's good to give other perspectives but how you give it makes a world of difference. Offering a different perspective instead of telling someone they are flat out wrong can really change the outcome of how a person reacts.

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   lupineposted 11 years ago

   There is nothing wrong with someone wanting to voice their opinion, as long as they are respectful, but to be insistant and correct someone could be degrading to both.

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      snapbackbettyposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      So true.

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