myk
volveré y seré millones
Posts: 14422
Registered: 04-02 |
Gez said:
And inversely, forcing one's views on others is my yardstick to define what an extremist is. Being interested by something is not extreme. Are the forumgoers here Doom extremists if they aren't in a Call of Duty clan/guild/whatever? The extremist is the one that makes the step from "this is what I like" to "my way is the One True Way".
Wait, weren't you into linguistics? If you check the definition of extremist there are two main acceptations. You're saying number two always applies and it's what the term really means. Are you sure kb1 didn't usurp your computer :p
An extremist is defined by one of the two acceptations or both at once. In the community I consider myself an extremist mainly by definition one, as I narrow down my tastes to certain extremes, competitive stuff and vanilla compatibility, in an almost exclusive way. And while we're all "interested animals," I don't particularly care about the idea of having others share my views, past those who get to similar preferences independently, as they are the only ones that hold them consistently. I'm "too old" to shove things on others, know it doesn't work, and prefer spontaneous preference, all without losing my appreciation for the extremes I chose, which are possible as a mere fraction of a whole.
From this extreme I can see that people in extremes, in general, are valuable, as I am one of them. Thus, distant extremes, and even the extreme I noted in the middle, become important. This kills "definition two" on me. Sometimes I feel closer to an extremist like myself because of preferences we share, sometimes to the middle guy because of their merging and mixing qualities, sometimes of the extremist at the other end because they act like a mirror that reminds that one is human.
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12-15-10 03:52 
