Where are all these "stupid people" that supposedly exist?

[Apollo45]

Maybe you just don't live in a Republican state like I do. That would probably help.
I love Texas, but a HUGE proportion of the people here are top notch dipshits.

Not just Republican states my friend. Ever been to New Jersey? The population there makes Texans look like freaking Einstein. I'll clarify that this is a huge generalization, but I've done my fair share of travelling, and the most idiots I've ever met in one place was in Jersey. It's not just the douchebags that crop up near the shore either. I heard a couple of people arguing about how America brought 9/11 on itself by invading Afghanistan and Iraq. These people couldn't have been more than a year or two younger than me, meaning they were likely in middle school when the attacks happened, so they must have lived under a rock for a decade or so during that timespan. Not only that, but in a library there there was a couple chatting about the Olympics when it was painfully obvious that neither of them had either watched the games or knew anything about the sports that were played there. I heard the name Michael Jordan come up more than once, and I'm not sure if they meant to say Michael Phelps or were referring to basketball, but either way they were horrendously incorrect. There was also a point when the girl, completely seriously as far as I could tell, complained that cheerleading wasn't an Olympic sport.

I could write an essay on the people I ran in to there. I can tolerate a certain amount of ignorance, but somehow the people who were legitimately stupid in that area also carried a certain amount of douchebaggery with it that made it so much worse. I don't know what it is, but it seemed like most of the people - both the idiots and others - were just rude. On the other side of the fence, most of the Texans I run in to are nice people. Sometimes a bit... erm... conservative, even by my standards, but very nice.

 

[OneBig Man]

If everyone seems smart to you, then you might want to check the mirror.

 

[Farseer Lolotea]

Unfortunately? Willful ignorance, often tempered with a healthy dose of self-absorption, is distressingly common.

 

[Blood Brain Barrier]

It's a pretty bitchy thing to say. If someone calls a person "stupid", they're saying that person is of no use to them. Or if it's as a joke, to get laughs. You never see someone calling someone else stupid if they are friendly, or a co-worker or needs to maintain good relations for their own sake.

A comment about how someone is, no matter what it is, says more about the person saying it than the target of the comment.

 

[Jonluw]

I've been living in a dorm for the last few months, and from this I can confirm: Yes, stupid people do exist.

 

[Gavmando]

As someone who works in public transport, let me assure you, they're out there. They're all over western and south western Sydney.

 

[getoffmycloud]

As someone who has worked in a call center yes stupid people do exist. One guy I spoke to didn't even know if he owned his own house or not.

 

[ThreeWords]

Yes yes, obvious subject line designed to draw attention. Here's the real thing:

People complain about stupid people all the time. But I almost never meet someone that functionally retarded. I go to work in an office, do my job, come home, watch TV/play games/whatever. If there's a party or meetup going on that I'm interested in, I'll go. Simple as that.

The thing is, I never meet people that I really hate. I see so much complaining online about stupid facebook status updates and stupid conversations with friends, but I never find myself engaging with that type of person. I know that the recent election made a lot of people very confrontational, but not one facebook friend I had posted that kind of reaction. Nobody gloating, nobody complaining.

So why is it that I have some kind of anti-stupid field around me? Yeah, I've met stupid people, especially when I was working retail, but despite how common they are, they're practically a legend to me.

In my experience, the stupid people are usually the ones who are spewing rubbish about people they hate. If such people genuinely hated even one in ten of the things they rant about, I warrant their life would be near unlivable.

[sup]Maybe I just don't like people misusing words[/sup]

 

[MagunBFP]

Woman in the US says if Obama wins she'll move to Australia... because they have a Male, God-fearing President.

Her statement in an of itself is stupid, probably an overexageration to make a point, but 30 seconds of research would also tell you that Australia has a Female Athiest Prime Minister.

 

[The Funslinger]

Thats because I am the stupid people.
Yep. I'm all ofthem, at the same time.
Being everywhere is a tough job and I can't get to everyone sometimes. I'll be sure to visit you at east once in your lifetime.
Don't worry, plenty of stupid to go around.

Now to go complain about how government pollution is causing light diffraction.

Are you sure you wouldn't rather come with me to warn people of the perils of moon cancer?

 

[Nyaliva]

I was gonna say until I read that last line: You've obviously never worked in retail.

I have to admit, since going to uni, I haven't met anyone that I didn't like, except at my job and on the internet. I don't think you so much have an anti-stupid people field around so much as a good choice in acquaintances and a tendency to avoid most of the places on the internet where "stupid people" tend to frequent (I use quotation marks because most of them are just loud, although I have to disagree with Tony, some people can be considered stupid without having a conflicting personality).

 

[AngloDoom]

I think it has something to do with the fact that when people are asked on the Escapist polls "How high would you rate your intelligence?" the overwhelming majority suggest they are 'Over Average'.

I know I'm thicker than some of my friends but, you know what, I work hard enough that I manage to keep up. People like me, I have a job, I pay my taxes, and I'm hoping to go into a profession where I'll save lives on a regular basis and if I get there through hard work rather than raw talent then I really don't mind.

 

[CrazyGirl17]

Oh they're out there, just don't know where they are... other than on the internet.

 

[Doclector]

Maybe I'm just a stupid person magnet, then, because I see them all the time. Maybe it's just the way that I look at things, but I can't take a walk without coming across some dumbass saying something stupid or doing something stupid, like having hour long conversations in the middle of a supermarket aisle.

 

[Sir Pootis]

They're camping out for the premiere of Breaking Dawn Pt 2.

 

[Jason Rayes]

As someone who has worked in a call center yes stupid people do exist. One guy I spoke to didn't even know if he owned his own house or not.

I can empathize, a customer once called me saying he had dropped his phone and the screen was cracked. I told him he would have to take it into the store for repairs. He got angry at me because I couldn't fix it over the phone. He ended up swearing at me and hanging up.

 

[conmag9]

I've known a number of stupid people, but it's almost entirely through indirect contact (the fact that I'm rather introverted and don't meet new people often likely has some effect on that, mind). Through the internet, we discover the wonderful effects anonymity has on people. Individuals who might otherwise be perfectly polite and willing to be reasonable are no longer constrained to do so by subtle societal pressures. Some take this too far and believe that it absolves them of the idea of polite interaction. Now, manners don't make a person smart. The problem is, people often make the reverse mistake: if you're rude and "refuse to sugar coat" something, you're clearly smart. You are the rational, sharp minded cynic amongst a world of sheep and you refuse to protect their fragile little egos against the blunt force of you incredible brain and desire for truth! This isn't a sensible position, but it's one that shows up more than I care to see.

So there's that.

The other bits of stupidity I see tend to involve politics. I was never very involved in politics. I started getting involved around the SOPA/PIPA debates and my frustration for incredibly dumb political maneuvers, many only performed out of the need to be seen doing something no matter how counterproductive, has exposed me to a whole new world of logical fallacies, stubborn refusal to acknowledge stupidity and a willingness to contort truth into shapes that should never have been seen without heaping doses of sarcasm and bitterness.


That said, I would like to point out the importance of differentiating stupidity and ignorance. I normally don't hold ignorance against someone. You can't always be expected to know something, and it's idiotic to assume people can somehow just pull new information out of thin air without context. Actual stupidity is not a lack of information. Sadly, I see alot of this as well.

 

[Pink Gregory]

There are no intrinsically stupid people, only hateful shitheads who don't want to learn.

 

[Mr.Squishy]

Try working retail for an extended amount of time. You will encounter them.

 

[Gabanuka]

Take a trip to your local church/mosque/temple and bathe in the ignorance and stupidity.

Problem solved, stupidity found.

There's one right there. I'm sure there are more lurking around here, just start a religious discussion on the forum.


The best way to sum up stupidity is this: " A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals."