I'm not anti-dog. I'm anti-stupidity.

Some of my friends who know I prefer cats to dogs have asked if I hate dogs. They've probably heard me mutter "dogs are dumb" everytime I see one fighting its leash to sniff at something or stopping in the middle of the road because it feels like taking a crap.

Contrary to the word proportion of the title, this post isn't about dogs, but more about stupidity. I don't hate dogs. By "hate", I mean I don't go around kicking dogs, or torturing puppies or veer away from them when I see them. I don't taunt them. In fact, if my friend has a dog, I'd play with it and pet it. But once I see a dog do something silly, I'll mutter again, "dogs are dumb". Barking at a squirrel hiding up in the tree won't make it come down or dance for the dog. But the dog still does it anyway. And sometimes it'll sit there for a good half hour just watching the squirrel and barking intermittently. What does that achieve?

Cats do not want to appear stupid. Some of you will argue that they hardly do anything, so there's very little chance for them to screw up and look stupid. I'd grant you that. But if you've seen a cat trip and fall, you'll know it gets up again and pretends nothing happened. If it sees a squirrel up a tree, it'll try to climb it. No loud mewing. Just silent, steady actions. (Of course, that means it'll get stuck on the tree later on, but at least it tried to change its circumstances rather than watching the squirrel from ground level.)

So, as the title proclaims, I don't hate dogs just because they're dogs. I generally hate stupidity. If I caught a cat doing something silly I'd still mutter "now that's a stupid cat". And it appears that with the help of the internet, people's stupidty can be broadcast for the whole world to see. This is most apparent when you can observe the cross-section of internet-users, namely in forums and the comments function some websites have.

For today, I'll focus on the comments some people leave on Youtube relating to the videos they've just watched. To set the proper context, here's the video that got me thinking about stupidity: My Name is Lisa

I felt that it was a very nice short film, so I read the comments to find out what others thought of the film and perhaps hear some insightful comments. If you've never been to youtube, allow me to say this blatantly: don't expect insightful comments. Below are the 3 classic examples of stupid internet-users.

1) "I don't understand it"
Well, it's nice that there are people honest enough to admit their shortcomings. The world isn't so rotten after all. I guess the movie's cuts were not meant for people brought up on no-brainer Californiacation. The show doesn't scream in your face "The mother's got Alzheimer's!". Instead, you see her gradual loss of memory through short snippets. So perhaps some people don't understand why this woman's acting strange in the show.

I'm fine with people not understanding shows that require some from of neural activity. Even I don't understand some of the artsy shows I've watched. What I found totally stupid was the fact that posted right beside the video, under the poster's video description was.... hmmm, let's see now... "'My Name is Lisa' is a short film about the Alzheimer's Disease, which is one of many serious and scary diseases still without a cure. Alzheimer's causes gradual memory loss."

The note clearly points out that it's about Alzheimer's and that it's about memory loss. Some idiots just didn't read and understand the context of the video before shooting his mouth off and saying that he doesn't get it. It's just like crossing the road without looking both ways first: when he gets honked at by cars he'll say, "I don't get it."

2) "Hey, you're hot!"
Another comment revolves around people saying that the actress is good, or that she's pretty. I have nothing against comments that go "I think the girl conveys the stress that such a family member is facing very well. I think you should let her act in more of your shows." because these people understand that the video was posted by the production team, not the actress herself. However, some people again miss this context and post comments like "Hey girl, your (sic) good. I hope to see you act more.". Even if people wanted to comment on the actress, would it hurt just to find out if she really was the one who posted the video?

3) "Your opinions are different from mine, so you must be an idiot"
Now this is prevalent in any form of online discussion. These discussion boards are natural grounds for people to air their opinions. In the case of this video, most of them sing to the tune of "very moving story. good vid". However, there are bound to be people who don't like the video and that's fine with me. They can put comments like "I didn't like it". They don't even have to substantiate why, because it's the internet.

What I think is stupid is how some of these people go on to call everyone else an idiot for liking the show. I'd imagine they won't do very well in the service industry. ("Hi, welcome to McDonald's. What would you like? A Big Mac? No, you idiot! Big Macs suck! I'm placing an order of Apple pies for you instead.") Opinions and choices have been weighed in each individual's own mind. Everybody attaches a different connotation to each choice they make or each opinion they have. And that's what makes us human. Calling someone an idiot just because he has a different opinion simply reeks of ignorance. And ignorance is stupidity.


My JC teacher used to say how democracy is based on the assumption that the voting population is made up of rational individuals. These individuals will make the best decision for themselves. If more rational people think this person should be elected, he should be the better choice. Democracy has its drawbacks (not everyone is happy, the individuals may not get all the information they need to make the best decision), but at least the theory of majority is a self-checking mechanism against possible stupidity from autocracy. -Jimmy