Advice Please

A long time ago, I used to believe in things like 'objective morality', 'absolute rights' and 'objective aesthetics'.  Obviously, as I grew up and started paying attention, I realised that what these actually meant was 'The way I'd like people to behave', 'The way I'd like people to be treated' and 'The way I like things to look'.

Since realising this, I've become a lot more understanding of other people, realising that if they like people behaving differently, like people to behave differently and like things to look differently, then of course they have different morality, rights and aesthetics and that's just fine.  My opinions aren't privileged over theirs and while there's no objective reason why I shouldn't go around forcing my opinions on them it makes for a quieter life if I avoid doing so unless their opinions/actions make me feel grossly uncomfortable (i.e. engaging in torture or wearing a particularly vile hawiian shirt).

However, from time to time I have to deal with people that think that these things mean more than that (although none of them have ever been able to give any reason why they do).  I find it almost impossible to negotiate with them because while I'm phrasing things in terms of what I like/dislike, or what I'm comfortable with, they're telling me that I'm categoricall wrong.  As I don't view it as possible to be wrong about these things, I'm at a loss as to know what to do.

Any suggestions?

[Poll #306886]

New Phone Number

We've just set up BT Broadband Voice here at home.  The Telewest line will be going in a month-ish.  New phone number is:
05511 436 528
Mind you, people mostly call us on the mobiles anyway.

Update: just discovered it's 5p per minute to call the number. So feel free to ask us to call you back - it comes with free evening/weekend calls to landlines.

Useless last minute people

This Saturday has long been promised to green_amber - I tend to set weekends aside to spend with her, what with not seeing her much during the week, and as I had to be home Friday night spending all of Saturday with her was definitely the plan.

Which didn't help when Ed, Guy, Bob, Adam and Roddy all separately called me in the last 16 hours to ask if I was free today to do stuff.

I'm _never_ this popular.  Something must be up!

(no subject)

Warren Ellis talks about Cigarettes and Alcohol:
(formatting's a little odd, as he typed it on his smartphone)

There's a move to make
Britain smoke-free, but
apparently a minister
publicly spoke against the
move, saying that it'd
deprive poverty-level
mothers of one of their few
pleasures. Because there's
nothing quite like seeing a
mother deny a child a
magazine because she
can't buy that and a packet
of 20 Red Band, as I did
today.

Which I wasn't in the mood
for, so I helped the kid
magically "find" a pound
coin on the floor of the
supermarket so she could
buy her magazine herself.
And stood there to ensure
it didn't go into the cigarette
fund. Like it would have
killed her to buy ten and
get her kid something to
read. Fucking scum.
( Read more... )