Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

 When someone criticises my articles, the first thing I ask them is "have you read it?". More often than not, they say no. They might say "I don't need to!" or "I know what it will say", but if you don't know for sure what you're taking issue against, that's a hell of a gamble with which to begin your argument. 

This is how it's come about that people have decided I am "anti-vaxx", or a "crazy conspiracy theorist". If you've read my other posts you'll be aware that this is not the case, but people glancing at my Facebook feed may get a different impression. I'm not usually one to be bothered by people making false assumptions about me, because if people don't want to take the time to get to know me that's their problem. But when it comes from people who preach aggressively about being considerate of others, showing kindness and acceptance, thinking before you speak and keeping an open mind, it does tend to grate on me a little.

I am becoming more and more bemused by the amount of people I encounter who allow others to define their sense of right and wrong. It should be an ingrained instinct, should it not? But moral narcissism - the tendency to think about morality in terms of how your actions make you feel about yourself or how people view you rather than their consequences for others - is spreading like wildfire. I've been guilty of it myself, during high school, and then I realised I was literally waiting and looking for some nonexistent authority to tell me what was good and bad, what we're angry about today (but never why) and I realised that was crazy. How can I be myself while someone is telling me what to think? That's why I try to base my feelings of right and wrong on my own empathy, my own understanding, and look at the problem with a balanced perspective rather than blind anger.

Now, am I saying we shouldn't have the right to call people out when we feel they're being unpleasant? Of course not. But someone who considers themselves to be a good person said to me recently that people don't need to get to know me before they judge me*, and that struck me as a polar opposite to the kindness, respect, and acceptance one would expect from a good person. 

Therefore, if you haven't fully made the connection so far, the title of a film that adds a bizarre twist to one of my favourite books is surprisingly applicable to my situation. You see, we have Pride (moral narcissism), Prejudice (judging people before you listen to them), and Zombies (letting people tell you what to think).

I hope you found this interesting and if you have any comments please include the word "bananas" so I know you read the whole thing. I'll not be bothering to answer those who didn't read it, that being the principle of the article. 

*Note: "judge", in the sense of having perceived superiority over a person based on assumptions.