Criticism

It's a two-way street.


I guess it's fair to say that, when you really get down to it, I'm a critical motherfucker.

"Well, you're half-right, West."

Okay. Good come-back. Ya bastid.

Anyway, despite what some may think, I understand, accept, and even embrace the fact that, if I'm going to criticize others and expect them to consider my words, then I ought to be prepared to receive and consider criticism against or about me. Really, I get that. It's cool.

People see me bitching when someone criticizes me and, abandoning all their critical-thinking skills, they assume that it's the act of criticizing with which I take issue. The truth is that it's usually the content or the delivery.

In other words, I'm cool with you criticizing me, but that doesn't mean I'm gonna agree with you. I may or I may not
It also doesn't mean that you phrased or expressed your criticism in an appropriately civil fashion.

For some people, the "It's not what you say, but how you say it," thing doesn't quite sink in. Oh, they feel that shit when someone says, "You look like a pile of freshly braided shit," instead of saying, "Your eyes are really red. You look like you didn't sleep very well."

Kind of a "do unto others" thing, I suppose.

Anyway, the point is that people, like me, who criticize others, are really saying, "Here's an area for improvement. Please consider my words with an open mind." It only makes sense that we be prepared to practice what we preach.

As I've recently run into a number of people who dish it out, but can't take it, I felt inspired to type this up.

I've honestly known someone to talk about how he stood up in front of a lot of people and rudely told someone how wrong or fucked up they were... then, when someone else accurately corrected him, he had the balls to tell that person to never, ever do that shit, again.

That's not a critic. That's a bully and a damned hypocrite.

Wake up, people. The implied social contract has your name on it, too.
Or to be even more blunt about it...


Grow the fuck up.



Your thoughts? (...even if you disagree.)