I was listening to a conversation on Discord the other day, sort of a podcast-style chat. The theme of the night felt prescient to me, especially with things in the U.S. reaching a boiling point.
That said, I couldn’t help but be bothered by the way the host kept pushing back on his guests. The discussion I had hoped would focus on real problems in America quickly turned into a battle of definitions.
Now, I’m not saying it’s unimportant to define terms—of course it matters. But when you spend the whole evening doing definitional hair-splitting, you’re missing the point. At some point you’ve got to get to the meat and potatoes, the reason you gathered in the first place.
Here’s how it felt: imagine I say, “I’m not a fan of punk rock, I think Blink-182 isn’t that great.” And instead of talking about taste, you spend the next hour lecturing me on how Blink-182 is not, and could never be, punk. Well, congratulations—we just stabbed a rock and expected it to bleed.
I’ll admit, I was tempted to jump in. But it was obvious the host’s priority wasn’t dialogue—it was projecting intellectual superiority. His attitude screamed, “Look how much I know,” instead of actually engaging with the concerns being raised.
I hesitate to call this a skill, but maybe my bias is showing. It just bothers me when people can’t adapt to normal conversation. And by “normal,” I mean the kind where most people don’t waste an hour quibbling over definitions before they ever address the issue.
There’s probably an academic term for this ego-driven activity. But colloquially? I’ve heard it called “fart sampling.” Crude, yes—but hilariously accurate.
MenO
