The Bloggers With The Most To Say
Pet Peeves re People Younger Than You
So recently, I noticed that I have lower and lower patience for people younger than me. And sometimes it may just be a one or two year age difference, but it's like "Wow, I cannot talk to you anymore." This is usually in real life, but today it happened to me on the Internet for the first time.
I was visiting this girl's blog to return a comment, and her latest post happened to be one about mate selection with animals vs humans. In her quick bio, she described herself as "pre-med student."
And, I don't know, it irked me. Things like "pre-med" and "pre-law" really irk me, because often they're self-declared, and this person has no idea whether they will or will not be able to get into the professional school of their choice. So the only reason to declare themselves as pre-something is because they are insecure about what they are in the present and what to associate themselves with a success they haven't attained (or earned) yet.
Anyway, I commented on her post, saying that her argument was kind of moot because her definition of "prejudice" by humans doesn't apply to animals. It wasn't meant to be a negative comment and certainly wasn't incendiary. But she got really defensive, as if she was an expert on the topic and how dare I not completely agree with her enlightened post. And I'm usually not petty but it made me want to say, "But you're not even a med student yet. You've had, what, one year of science at university?"
What are your pet peeves of people who are younger than you? What do you do if you find yourself losing tolerance with their arrogance and ignorance?
I was visiting this girl's blog to return a comment, and her latest post happened to be one about mate selection with animals vs humans. In her quick bio, she described herself as "pre-med student."
And, I don't know, it irked me. Things like "pre-med" and "pre-law" really irk me, because often they're self-declared, and this person has no idea whether they will or will not be able to get into the professional school of their choice. So the only reason to declare themselves as pre-something is because they are insecure about what they are in the present and what to associate themselves with a success they haven't attained (or earned) yet.
Anyway, I commented on her post, saying that her argument was kind of moot because her definition of "prejudice" by humans doesn't apply to animals. It wasn't meant to be a negative comment and certainly wasn't incendiary. But she got really defensive, as if she was an expert on the topic and how dare I not completely agree with her enlightened post. And I'm usually not petty but it made me want to say, "But you're not even a med student yet. You've had, what, one year of science at university?"
What are your pet peeves of people who are younger than you? What do you do if you find yourself losing tolerance with their arrogance and ignorance?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by cooper on -
Unless it is a post that I find offensive or from a standpoint of race, sex or justice or a completely ignorant and factually wrong I rarely bother to disagree with people online, or in real life for that matter. Can't let stuff like that bother me it eats up too much energy.
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Permalink Reply by SassyGirl on -
That's my standard take. My comment wasn't even in disagreement, I was just pointing out a difference in definition. I didn't actually think she would get so defensive. If I had anticipated that reaction, I probably wouldn't have commented at all.
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Permalink Reply by Mary on -
Too bad she blew up on you! I know it can suck when you were only trying to add a comment and weren't trying to upset anyone. But I guess it's hard to communicate over the internet sometimes because comments can be taken in whatever way it's interpreted. But hey, if it helps, at least you added a comment that led to an interesting discussion.
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Permalink Reply by Mary on
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Hello!
Hmm...interesting blog post. =) This is just my opinion and nothing more, but I don't see it annoying if a person is a "pre-anything" because you have to start somewhere. Being a "pre-med, pre-law, etc." student may make it easier for them to get into medical school, so it can be an advantage. It's great that they are making an effort towards their dreams and if they change their mind, who cares cause it's all about finding yourself sometimes. That's what I think at least.
I knew someone who was a pre-med. He's an intelligent guy, but he didn't want to be a doctor anymore. He decided he wanted to be a psychology major and do something else with his life. He wasn't trying to take the credit of being a doctor. He was only a pre-med student, trying to follow a dream, but decided that in the end, it wasn't for him.
On the other hand, if he was pretending to take the credit, it would be really weird! LOL
I know it can be hard to relate to people who are in different age groups sometimes because we are all at a different level of life, but I guess that's what makes life so interesting sometimes or maybe even challenging. hehehe =) I really think a lot has to do with experiences versus age though. I work with a lot of older people and some still act like children. LOL But right now, my trainee is a young 19 year old kid who is clever and mature. Sometimes, it can be hard to relate to those who are in different generational groups depending on their experiences, but I don't feel annoyed by it although it can come with challenges. LOL
Interesting post though ...
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Permalink Reply by SassyGirl on
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Thanks for sharing your viewpoint. Maybe our different stances on the issue of being "pre-" also has a lot to do with our experiences. From my experience, 90% of the pre-med students I've known have not gotten in to med school. Other than their swagger on campus, they got nothing out of declaring themselves a "pre-med" or "pre-law".
I just don't know what "pre-" means. What does pre-med mean? Does it mean "I want to go to medical school"? But like your example, some of them change their minds. Does it mean "I'm taking courses that will prepare me for medical school?" But that would be everyone in undergraduate science, plus all the non-science students who end up applying for (and being accepted into) med school. Does it mean "I am going to medical school for sure"? Because most people I know who call themselves pre-med haven't even applied to med school, much less been accepted.
If the school calls your program a pre-med program, that's a different story, but if it's self-declared, I'd really like to know what it means and why you're declaring something you aren't. As a self-declared title, I'm not sure that it works to your advantage when you actually do apply for professional school. Everyone could be pre-something. It's rather presumptuous.
Sorry for going on a rant, I've just kind of been bottling this up without an appropriate outlet.
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Permalink Reply by Mary on
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Oh, you can rant all you like. LOL Feel free =) Actually from what you are saying, it looks like there definitely is a huge difference of experiences. Where i'm from, a lot of pre-med students are those who want to become doctors, lawyers, etc, or at least attempt to be until they decide it's not for them. There are a lot of courses they take that aren't required for regular majors, so it's to their advantage, although it doesn't necessarily mean they will get into med school. But it can help. Not too many people here go into pre-law though. They stick with POLSCI, then try to get into law school. But there are quite a few pre-med students because they are on a track that will help them get into medical school because the regular majors here don't require a lot of the science courses. I know that with my degree< I would never made it into medical school unless I took a whole bunch of "pre-requisite" classes, which i think is basically what they have in pre-med. And even then, it would be tough!
But the nice thing is that regardless of your major, anyone can get into medical school if they have the right background that the school is seeking.
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Permalink Reply by Kelli on -
What do you do if you find yourself losing tolerance with their arrogance and ignorance?
I find flicking them in the nose works wonders.
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Permalink Reply by Amber on -
I think we waste too much time over thinking this kind of thing. Like cooper said, if I find someone to be arrogant or annoying, regardless of age or whatever, I just walk away or if it's someone on the internet, ignore them. You don't have to sit there and tolerate anything.
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Permalink Reply by Whitney on -
My pet peeve for those younger than me is when they typppppppeeeeeee liiiiiiiikkkkkkkkkkkkkeeee thiiiiiiiisssss. And use words like "dat."
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Permalink Reply by Heather on -
Me too! Or writing in text. I had a student turn in an essay using words like "u, wat and lol." Drove me nuts!
The lack of manners that people younger (even sometimes our age) is also a pet peeve for me.
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