Idiots and Harassment

Have you ever been on the receiving end of an uninformed person's rant?  Have you ever had to endure the painful ramblings of a person that had no idea what they were talking about?  It sure is tough to smile and nod to a person that obviously has no idea what he/she is talking about.  I remember while at college, there were a few people that had a tendency to speak up in class concerning the topic at hand, only to wade out into the waters of intelligent discussion and begin an idiot's attempt at proving a point that they don't understand at all.  I used to say about those people that when they opened their mouths, stupid fell out.  This happened more than once in my four years at VFCC.  It was a recurring thing for a select few people that I was sure to only to be a waste of a perfectly good cerebral cortex.  But I still had to remember that Jesus calls the fools to confound the wise at times.  And I had to remember that God didn't ask for us to always get our ducks in a row.  He only asks that we follow him and point others to him.  

I can live with stupid people.  I am one at times.  It is when someone's "stupid" idea leads them to harass someone else.  For example, the stupid idea that Women are inferior to Men.  We can deal with it only being an idea inside someone's head, but when that idea turns into gender discrimination and harassment it turns my stomach sour.  Or another example, the stupid idea that one race is superior to another.  We can overlook it when it is only a thought, but when it turns into racial slurs, harassment, and racial preference, it chills my blood.

Recently the public's eye is on the election.  Today is the day.  Time to vote.  Many people will vote for one candidate over another for reasons differing from the next person.  The reason you vote for one person is decided because of an idea or thought about certain issues.  Your idea is different than the next person.  Some people share similar ideas.  Others share very differing ideas.  But the fact is we all have a "notion" or "idea" that shapes our decision.  Some will think your idea is stupid.  Just like as if stupid is falling out of your mouth.  This is not a problem.  People will disagree, that is normal.  Even inside your very own home, you will disagree.  The problem comes when your idea starts to make you lash out at another person's idea.  

Debate is healthy, but harassment is not.  It is called voter intimidation.  And this is actually a crime.  But so many ideas are silenced by another because they felt it necessary to verbally/physically/emotionally harass the person till they gave up.  Many start to think, "is this really worth the pain I am going through?  Is my idea really worth this?  Would it be ok to give up; abandon my ideas so that I would not have to endure the punishment of people turning against me?"  Many give in.  Some grow ever so stubborn and push forward; receiving hate mail, rocks thrown through windows, slashed tires, or people they love turning their backs on them.  This is not a pain that anybody should have to endure.  No one ever should have to put up with the pain that is inflicted because their thoughts are not the popular one in that particular region.

Some say one person is the devil.  Some say another person is a fool.  Still others don't know what the difference is between reading and researching.  But that is the life that we live in.  People make decisions based on different things.  Some are followers, some are leaders, some go against the grain, some ignore it all together.  We must all respect the idea and thought of the next person even if we do not agree with it.  And we must not act out and hurt someone that does not share in our thoughts.