176 - People who argue on Youtube

Whenever I go on Youtube, I never watch a video without once reading a comment. The comments are quite the thing to get you burying your face in your head in shame of being a fellow human being and internet user, but occasionally, you may find some hilarious bits of text because people argue about pretty much everything to do with anything - whether it should've been President Obama or President McCain one year ago, whether it was fair or not that Heath Ledger should win the posthumous Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor (I think it was not), whether we should really blame the eruption of swine flu solely on Mexico, whether Michael Jackson did or did not molest young males at his home resort of Neverland (hasn't this topic been stretching on for a decade too long now?), or whether Kayne West is really getting the comeuppance he deserves for disrespecting Taylor Swift at the Video Music Awards (also painfully stretched out in my opinion).

I find that most of this debate is ridiculous. Which is better: Gossip Girl or 90210? Gay rights or the sacredness of heterosexual marriage? A Tibet that is free, or a Tibet that belongs to China? The best singer was: Adam Lambert? Or Kris Allen? Or Susan Boyle?! Will the Earth really end in December, 2012, according to the Mayan calendar? What exactly caused that solar eclipse? kevjumba or nigahiga? Twilight or Harry Potter? Rafael Nadal or Roger Federer?

Most of the time, commentators contribute their 'carefully' thought-out points underneath movie trailers, news reports, excerpts from television, and even the personal video blogs of some Youtubers; they get so angry as they're arguing about all of the above (and don't even get me started on the multitudinous evolution-creationism altercations that are out there), and for most of the time (bare in mind, I said 'most of the time', not 'all the time'), the arguments aren't relevant, they are not written respectfully, they are not grammatical or punctuated or spelled the right way, they are unjustified, they are not meaningful, and they do not further anybody's understanding of the world around them.

I find it so pointless. You're all anonymous and you're all acting like assholes. You feed off each other's boredom, and amusement at the interlocutor, and it just goes in a vicious cycle.

Come on! Get a grip, Youtube community.

40 - Being argumentative

On the flip side of the previous post, there are those defiant, angry individuals that are always, always, always argumentative and continually seek out to prove you wrong. Being too argumentative is one of the most annoying bad habits to have because argumentative people aren't simply irritating others but they're possibly inflicting hurtful attacks on to people by defying their views, especially when the subject is something very personal. Some people call it barbaric hostility, others call it criticism and others call it contempt. Argumentativeness is an extremely unattractive quality for a person to have. They often don't listen to or don't care about what you have to say and will reject your opinion without the slightest hesitation.

I can think of four or five people who are too argumentative and all of us just hate the way they believe the world revolves around their perspective. Often their views are ludicrous and irrational. I'm open to a lot of opinion, I can respect views that oppose mine but when people are so caught up in their own view of the world, I just won't stand for it and I'll argue back. The most difficult thing to control is how to contain oneself when an argumentative person attacks you. You're forced to attempt not to get sucked into his/her angry black hole of defiance.

It isn't fair. It doesn't display very good character. I often wonder if these people genuinely believe their arguments are completely valid in all instances. Surely everyone has been told by their parents to listen to others and to share. Why do these people exist?

39 - Avoiding argument

One thing that really annoys me is when people try to avoid arguments.

Arguments are discussions in which reasons for and against a given proposition are presented. I think it's unhealthy to be argumentative all the time but one should not be closed off when an argument does ensue. Arguments do give people a better understanding of each other and the topic at hand. Arguments often can provide some sort of resolution where a mutual agreement can benefit all parties involved. Arguments allow people to learn how to look at things from different perspectives and can give the pros and cons of a certain decision that's not limited to just their own selfish opinion.

I spent around two hours last night arguing with someone about our Universe, its size and whether there was anything possibly larger than our Universe. For a large portion of that time, we were focusing on this one small technicality that I didn't understand. I didn't know exactly what he was saying but in the end, it turns out we were on the same page all along. It took two hours and I know it was a very big 'waste of time' but so long as we both didn't get tired of each other, this helped us understand each other's points eventually.

Why some people are so quick to just throw in the towel and say they're not going to partake in a particular debate is beyond me. Without argument, nobody would ever advance in the amount of knowledge that they had and everyone would be peace. Peace is good and harmony is great, but without exposing yourself to other people's opinions and without having your own views challenged by others, we would just a world of self-righteous egotists.