The Need To Be Right

Image: becominghiseve.wordpress.com 

I come from an unique generation. Having been born in the late 70's, I spent my childhood without the internet. But when I hit college, I 'found' the internet and have been a fan ever since. The internet is a great thing but it has led to some odd behavior in people.

Because you aren't taking to someone in front of you, trolls came about. But not just trolls, normal people feel the need to argue a point to death in order to prove that they are 'right'.

Admittedly in my many years on the internet, I've done that a time or two. But as I've grow older, I haven't seen the point. Most of the arguments end in an impasse because both sides feel the need to be right. And sometimes the need to be right can transform a normal person into a troll.

I'm on a lot of different Facebook groups for all my different interests. One is for Christians who are all geeks, Someone posted there how they had been arguing with an atheist about the existence of God.

This seemed completely pointless to me. We Christians can't prove that God exists, it's a belief we have. We've felt His Hand in our lives. An atheist hasn't felt that so they believe firmly that there is no God. It's not something that they could even have found a middle ground on.

I have lots of atheist friends as well as friends of other religions. Trying to prove that I'm right and they are wrong seems like a way to lose friends. Sadly the internet, for all it's good things, fosters the want in some people to browbeat them into believing what they want.

Later that evening, I posted the start of my newest cross stitch project in the cross stitch group I'm in. It is a kit that I've been wanting to do forever and a friend gifted it to me.

I started it at the tippy top of the fabric because I've had issues with kits and running out of room. So I wanted to make sure that I had enough fabric. This is also the most complicated chart that I've ever done, so I've been putting off starting because I was intimidated by it.

After stitching a little bit, I posted on my cross stitch group. Basically a 'Yay I started' and a picture. And then I got the 'advice' I didn't want. Several people told me that I was doing it "wrong".

I told them that I was doing it this way, and while I appreciated the advice, I was going to do it this way. Most of them stopped with the advice, but a couple didn't. One in particular was very fervent in proving how wrong I was. It got to the point that I had to get the group owner involved.

As it's my project, I do have the right to stitch it they way I want, but this person's need to be right pushed her over into troll territory. Even after the owner stepped in and posted for them to leave me be, she had to continue trolling.

It's a strange internet phenomenon because you wouldn't scream at a person in real life about how wrong they are. It does happen over the phone, but it wouldn't generally if you were calling someone you knew.

Being right is nice, I suppose, but I think more people need to realized that there are other ways to do things, and other opinions. In our diverse world today, there are many things that aren't just right or wrong.