<-"The Wii-gle Has Landed!" |Main|150 Things to Love About Madison->

What Have I Become, My Sweetest Friend?

November 28, 2006 3:59 AM

his may come as a shock to many of you, but I'm really not that much of a cynical person. I'm more of a hopeless romantic, really. I do my best to be a good person, even if I don't always succeed.

But, the other day, I was confronted with a situation that sort of confused me. There were several possible explanations; one tended to suggest that the person was your standard douchebag-type person. The other tended to suggest that the person was just, well, good. I didn't even consider the possibility that the second interpretation might be the one that applied. I just assumed the person was a douchebag. It wasn't until later, when I discussed the situation with a friend, that I realized that I had been being a jackass.

I felt terrible about the thing--why had I just assumed that someone I had hitherto thought of as a good person was just, well, like everyone else? I guess I've just been so disappointed and let down by people that I assume that, at the first sign of nonspectacularity, the whole thing's about to implode. I guess

When I meet someone, I immediately set up a rebuttable presumption that the person is a douchebag. I think that's fair because most people are douchebags. The burden is on you, the the person I'm meeting, to prove that you're not a douchebag by clear and convincing evidence.

But I realized something the other day that I hadn't previously realized: even after someone's rebutted the initial douchebag presumption, I keep waiting for them to actually be a douchebag, rather than just accepting their nondouchebaggery. As soon as I became aware of this character trait, I hated it. I hate that I've let myself become that cynical and, well, untrusting.

So, I'm going to try to move away from this negative attitude and keep my mind open to the possibility that there might be good people out there that I haven't already met. It's going to be hard, though.

On a side note . . .

I'm sorry if you're having trouble posting a comment. If you have that problem, can you please post about it in the tagboard so I can get an idea of whether it's the blog or the computer or whatever that's causing the problem? Thanks.



5 Comments


Utah said:

If the standard is clear and convincing, I'm not sure that I've rebutted the presumption. I don't think I would have even made my case by a preponderance. Maybe probable cause.

November 28, 2006 11:26 AM



Ismael Tapia II said:

You're an idiot. You've gone way beyond a reasonable doubt.

November 28, 2006 12:49 PM



Utah said:

All I'm saying is that with this standard of proof, I could successfully sue you for a billion dollars before I proved that I was not a douchebag...and I think that's an excellent standard!

November 28, 2006 3:32 PM



Vice said:

Putting aside the potential overuse of law terminology to describe regular life going on here, it sounds to me like you've got a one-way ticket to federal court, Ismael.

November 28, 2006 4:09 PM



TheExpat said:

Rabba jabba. Ismael guilty, I sorry.

November 28, 2006 11:58 PM



Leave a comment