One Negative Quality Suggests Another

[kodacolor]

It's always awkward when someone reveals to you what negative things they think about someone else. It's even more awkward when that person starts adding on negative qualities that haven't shown themselves in that person.  Why do people do that?  Why would someone assume that a clumsy person is also dishonest?  Why would someone assume a person who's been late a few (or many) times is also a thief? 

[betnich]

You know what 'they' say about people who assume....
{start rant}
What's also irritating is some otherwise upstanding Christian who all of a sudden makes a blanket statement about your (or, worse yet, someone else's) attitude or state of mind. Like "they probably think you're ____".



How do you know what I or they are thinking? And how can you get it SO wrong? Don't you see that by speculating about their flaws or weakness you are putting a barrier between me and my sister/brother?

You try to correct them or at least remind them that such divisive gossip is wrong....but they get mad at you instead...
{end rant}

[LaylaMonroe]

This feels like a CountryMike post.

(No offense to either one of you... just an observation).

I'm not really in the mood to go too deep, so I'll just give a quickie answer and then cosign someone else's. People do stuff like that because of immaturity, ignorance and human nature. It's in our nature to try to figure people out and make assessments and draw on our experiences to "solve" the puzzles. It's just who we are especially when we're ignorant or immature.

[under13]

This feels like a CountryMike post.

I thought it was a yahsr post.

[malthumb]

IMHO, this is just a symptom of what we experience every day in this country.  People who are intellectually lazy find it easier to categorize people or groups and then attribute actions / thoughts / beliefs to everyone in those groups.  It's also easier to label those groups as "they" or "them", thereby excluding oneself from the group that is subject to criticism or ridicule.

When you become REALLY good at this, you qualify to become a Republican or a Democrat and run for office.  Then you can work to persuade everyone who isn't aligned with the opposing group that the opposing group is to be distrusted.