Are you a hypocrite?

[Justin D.]

Some recent threads on here and events offline inspired me to create this thread. Actually, I’ve meant to make the part of this thread dealing with comics for a long time now. Throughout our day, it’s not uncommon to hear someone voice two supposedly opposing ideas. Sometimes, this comes across as more of a display of diversity of thought than hypocrisy, but can often be an outright display of hypocritical behavior. To use a possibly badly worded metaphor, I’m sure I’ve told someone they shouldn’t have some pie because it’s bad for them while I’m digging into my second slice.

I’m a hypocritical driver. I’ll yell at someone for passing me on the right so I can’t get over and can do practically the same thing moments later.

I’m a hypocrite when it comes to my paycheck. I understand taxes pay for programs I’m in favor of, but hate that so much in taxes is deducted from my check. (not as much as it used to be since I live in Texas now and the tax rate is lower here)

I’m a hypocritical lover. I tell my girlfriend to not worry about me so much and concentrate on making herself happy, but I put a lot of effort into pleasing her. What can I say, it’s a fault of mine I’ll just have to live with and accept.

I wonder if this extends to the comics I read. Is it hypocritical to read and root for a hero who doesn’t hold the same values as I do? Can you be against the death penalty and still enjoy Punisher without being a hypocrite?

Are you a hypocrite or diverse? If you are a hypocrite in some areas, would you call that a bad thing? What areas? Why?

[dingo]

Being a hypocrite is something I will never allow myself to be.

I saw a lot of them in my church and I hated it. If ever I notice I am being hypocritical or am told that I am, I will not just make an effort to change, I will change.

[Calybos]

I'm definitely a hypocrite.

I admire vegetarianism, but I eat meat. I oppose animal cruelty, sweatshops, and the like, yet I make no effort to find out where and how my consumer products were made.

I claim to be an environmentalist, but I live alone, drive alone, and make few efforts to recycle or lobby for conservation.

I support pacifism, but I'm too weak and cowardly to practice it myself.

I condemn arrogance and judgmental attitudes in others, but am frequently guilty of it myself.

I despise consumerism, but I buy comic books, videos, and books like there's no freakin' tomorrow.

I claim to prefer smart and sophisticated humor, but I liked the Inferior Five.

The list goes on and on.

[BoosterBronze]

I avoid being a hypocryte not by being great, but by merely avoiding being judgemnetal.

I'm self obsessesed and mildly racists, but I don't put those traits down in others, so I figure it's not hypocrytical of me.

[Dreadstar]

Enh, I'm a situational hypocrite, I admit it. I try to be more consistent in my logic, but I'm human, I fail. More often than not, the turnabout is mood driven. I'm hopeful that I'm consistent on the important things.

[howyadoin]

I’m a hypocritical lover. I tell my girlfriend to not worry about me so much and concentrate on making herself happy, but I put a lot of effort into pleasing her. What can I say, it’s a fault of mine I’ll just have to live with and accept.That's not hypocritical. That's just being a straight male.

[Justin D.]

That's not hypocritical. That's just being a straight male.

Are you sure you read it right? Or did my joke fall completely flat?

By the way, I’m more interested in how our morals/ethics/whatever guide us in our reading and if we are hypocritical if we enjoy reading about characters whose morals/ethics/whatever may differ greatly from our own.

[Winslow]

You need to define hypocrite. Falling short of ideal standards is something we all do, so I don't believe that to be hypocritical.

I think a hypocrite is someone that demands others follow a standard, but he or she violates the standard.

(passing on the right after cussing out someone for passing on the right would be a decent example).

As a parent, it's pretty tough not to be hypocritical, since I'm enforcing behaviour standards all the time. But now that my kids are older, they occasionally "call me" on it - and I'm actually thankful for that.

[Michael P]

I’m a hypocritical lover. I tell my girlfriend to not worry about me so much and concentrate on making herself happy, but I put a lot of effort into pleasing her. What can I say, it’s a fault of mine I’ll just have to live with and accept.
That doesn't sound like hypocrisy so much as a consistent belief that her happiness is paramount.

In other words, you're not a hypocrite. You're whipped.

[Tadhg]

Most assuredly.

It goes part and parcel with believing in an absolute morality and being a fallible human being.

[Sanagi]

I certainly try to avoid hypocrisy in the big issues, but when it comes to little things, I'm sure I fail now and then. It's an inevitable result of being a creature with a small model of the universe constructed in your head.

[Justin D.]

You need to define hypocrite.

Giving definitions in posts is supererogatory (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/supererogatory).

[Gilda Dent]

I think a hypocrite is someone that demands others follow a standard, but he or she violates the standard.

I think that's a pretty good operational definition.


As a parent, it's pretty tough not to be hypocritical, since I'm enforcing behaviour standards all the time. But now that my kids are older, they occasionally "call me" on it - and I'm actually thankful for that.

I'm not sure that's really hypocrisy, either. Both parties need to be subject to the standard, and that isn't always the case. There are many behaviors that are perfectly appropriate for adults that are not for children. Mature/adult content in media would be one example of this.

I ran into this often when teaching middle school, with students insisting that teachers not having to adhere to the same rules as students was "unfair", which is a teenage catchall word for any rule or treatment that they dislike, which in this case is roughly equivilent.

Most things, sure the same standard applies. If I insist on polite behavior, teating others with respect, being to class on time, getting work done, I'm going to reflect that in my own behavior to the best of my ability. Other behaviors are clearly not equivilent from one to the other. I get to wander around and look at student work in progress any time I feel like it, but students doing the same would be subject to reprimand.

I more often than not fail to live up to the standards I set for myself, but I don't think of that as hypocrisy so much as ordinary human failing.

I do on occasion get caught up in the moment and will do things that violate my own standards of behavior, so in that way I suppose I'm going to be demonstrating some hypocrisy. I think the key isn't never doing that, it's recognizing when you do and being willing to adjust your behavior or your standards as necessary.

The problem with that is that it can be seen as hypocrisy in itself, due to the apparently situational changes in behavior.

I generally try to avoid applying my standards to others except on a "do no harm" basis, but again don't always succeed.

GILDA

[Sanagi]

Giving definitions in posts is supererogatory (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/supererogatory).
Fabulous. (http://wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=fabulous)

[Spackling Compound]

As a parent, it's pretty tough not to be hypocritical, since I'm enforcing behaviour standards all the time. But now that my kids are older, they occasionally "call me" on it - and I'm actually thankful for that.
Tough call there.

I am in my forties and called out the cops on a group of teens fighting one night. A friend chided me and said, "Dude, you used to fight and now you're a hypocrite by calling the cops."
I replied, "When I was a teen, some forty year old man called the police on me. Karma."

So, age gives wisdom and prudence that we can pass on to our kids. We don't have to let them touch the flame to learn it's hot. We can tell them it's hot because we, as foolish children, put our hands in the flame.

[howyadoin]

Are you sure you read it right? Or did my joke fall completely flat? I just meant that as a straight guy, your sexual needs probably take a lot less effort to satisfy. I mean, it's not like we need foreplay to reach an orgasm.

[curefreak]

i know im a hypocrite of course,
i think everyone are hypocrites at one time or another but just for an example i love old country but i hate rednecks :o

[Forefinger]

I always talk about liking cheese, and drinking Jack Daniels. I don't eat cheese that often, and drink JD even less.

[jessecuster3]

I am a hypocrite because I do not read comics anymore but cannot wait to read what you all are saying about them.

[Dreadstar]

i know im a hypocrite of course,
i think everyone are hypocrites at one time or another but just for an example i love old country but i hate rednecks :o

Most of the real rednecks I know are into rock.

"Play FREEBIRD!"

[Spackling Compound]

Most of the real rednecks I know are into rock.

"Play FREEBIRD!"
And rap!
Which normally would defy redneckism but here in N.E. Mississippi, it's common to see a truck with a "W The President" sticker on it and a camoflaged, three-toothed driver holding a bud listening to some dope rhymes by Jay Z....

Seriously.

[darkkeeperjr]

I don't see myself as a Hypocrite.I'm more of a double standard Guy.

[hoffmandu]

i can be a hypocrite in some cases, usually though, it's just for the sake of conversation. I like to argue.

[Davideaux]

Like Walt Whitman said: "I contain multitudes, I don't hafta be consistent".

[Gingold]

Of course. Everybody is.

[K'Nort]

Specific to comic choices, I'm not seeing a lot of inconsistency. I avoid the same plots/styles/themes in them that I do in books/movies/tv. And I can't think of any dissonance like anti-death-penalty-Punisher-fan.

Hypocrisy can be a pretty easy charge to disregard from other people, because they're usually going to be making assumptions and not seeing the nuances. And I'm anti-two-faced to a fault. Ie, I won't pretend to like someone if it's not true. That doesn't make me a better person. Hypocrisy is too complex to call a straight-up virtue.

[Jack Zodiac]

I’m a hypocritical driver. I’ll yell at someone for passing me on the right so I can’t get over and can do practically the same thing moments later.

Ditto! When on the highway, I general adhere to the rules (except for speeding, of course :p). Unless I'm passing somebody, I always drive on the right, and when I see somebody passing on the right, I get pissed off. Yet, when the situation presents itself that someone in the passing lane isn't fucking passing anybody (which happens way too damn much), I pass on the right, and I know I'm a hypocrite because of it.


I wonder if this extends to the comics I read. Is it hypocritical to read and root for a hero who doesn’t hold the same values as I do? Can you be against the death penalty and still enjoy Punisher without being a hypocrite?

I oppose the death penalty, but I love Ennis's book. I'm also very skeptical, and in some cases down right against certain eco-activist groups, but I loved Morrison's Animal Man.

[Gilda Dent]

And I can't think of any dissonance like anti-death-penalty-Punisher-fan.

[raises hand] Anti-death penalty fan of the current run of Punisher here.

I hadn't considered that. Is it hypocrisy to enjoy something depicted in art that you would oppose if it were to occur in reality? The Punisher is a serial killer with a count in the thousands, but I doubt anybody would approve of what he does if it were being done in reality, or at least only a very small minority.

GILDA

[Jack Zodiac]

Is it hypocrisy to enjoy something depicted in art that you would oppose if it were to occur in reality?

I don't think so. How many people do you think enjoy music from the Sixties and Seventies that flat-out promote reckless drug use, but wouldn't normally touch anything other than pot themselves? When an art form is involved, no one can be hypocritical for enjoying it.

[Justin D.]

I don't think so. How many people do you think enjoy music from the Sixties and Seventies that flat-out promote reckless drug use, but wouldn't normally touch anything other than pot themselves? When an art form is involved, no one can be hypocritical for enjoying it.

That was essentially what I was asking. If we can't be called hypocritical for reading about characters with opposing viewpoints to our own, can an author be called hypocritical for writing books with characters who support a certain outlook even if he or she doesn't? Once we enter the word of art or literature, can terms like hypocrisy no longer apply?

[Winslow]

I think it depends on how the disputable subject matter is treated in the plot and charcterization.

If an artist is anti-drug, and creates art that prasies drug use as an empowering device to self-actualization, I would say that's hypocritical.

If an artist is anti-drug, and creates art that has drug use in it, I don't think that's hypocritical at all.

[Joe Rice]

Most assuredly.

It goes part and parcel with believing in an absolute morality and being a fallible human being.


Of course. Everybody is.


I agree with these guys again.

[Calybos]

That's another good point. I strongly favor the legalization of drugs, but I don't use any myself.

Likewise, I support all types of sexual fetishes and perversions, whereas I'm plain vanilla myself. I go to pagan festivals and join pagan-pride events, but I'm not a pagan. etc., etc.

[Winslow]

That's another good point. I strongly favor the legalization of drugs, but I don't use any myself.

Likewise, I support all types of sexual fetishes and perversions, whereas I'm plain vanilla myself. I go to pagan festivals and join pagan-pride events, but I'm not a pagan. etc., etc.

I don't see this as hypocritical at all.

The only way this could be hypociritcal is IF the basis of your support for these groups was self-identity.

Hypocrisy has an element of dishonesty to it.

[Nikita]

Some recent threads on here and events offline inspired me to create this thread. Actually, I’ve meant to make the part of this thread dealing with comics for a long time now. Throughout our day, it’s not uncommon to hear someone voice two supposedly opposing ideas. On here? I am shocked because that never happens...ever. :D heh.

Sometimes, this comes across as more of a display of diversity of thought than hypocrisy, but can often be an outright display of hypocritical behavior. To use a possibly badly worded metaphor, I’m sure I’ve told someone they shouldn’t have some pie because it’s bad for them while I’m digging into my second slice. So what, you didn't offer them a piece? So you now you're a hypocrite and a selfish bastard!?..................................(kiddin g) ;)

I’m a hypocritical driver. I’ll yell at someone for passing me on the right so I can’t get over and can do practically the same thing moments later. That is not being a hypocrite. That is being a "damn good driver" and it is your God given right as a driver in the United States of America. Holla back girl!

I’m a hypocrite when it comes to my paycheck. I understand taxes pay for programs I’m in favor of, but hate that so much in taxes is deducted from my check. (not as much as it used to be since I live in Texas now and the tax rate is lower here) I have that same hatred too. I often fantasize of taking Congress hostage until they agree to sign a "No taxes ever again" law.

I’m a hypocritical lover. I tell my girlfriend to not worry about me so much and concentrate on making herself happy, but I put a lot of effort into pleasing her. What can I say, it’s a fault of mine I’ll just have to live with and accept. Your girlfriend is a lucky woman for accepting a man with such faults.

I wonder if this extends to the comics I read. Is it hypocritical to read and root for a hero who doesn’t hold the same values as I do? Can you be against the death penalty and still enjoy Punisher without being a hypocrite? Look man, the Punisher is just cool as hell. 'nuff said.

Are you a hypocrite or diverse? I am a massive hypocrite and damn proud of it. If you are a hypocrite in some areas, would you call that a bad thing? Just makes life more interesting. What areas? I consider myself a feminist and a sexist at the same time. Why? Because I support women's rights but I also support their right to take it off and let me slide a dollar into their thong. I am a walking contradiction...of constant confusion and sexual frustration.




I love that there bold type. Yes I do...I love that them there bold type. Oh yes I indeedly do.

:D

[Dan Apodaca]

Everyone's a hypocrite sometimes. It's only a problem if you don't realize this. Hypocrisy is really great for helping us fine tune ourselves to be the people we want to be.

[Valmore]

At some point in life, everyone is a hypocrite. It's if you stay that way when it becomes a problem.

[DennyK]

I know I can be very hypocritical.

[BoosterBronze]

I know I can be very hypocritical.

Did something happen to you today Dennis, that made you resurrect this thread? Are you feeling particuarly hypocritical?

[jessecuster3]

Did something happen to you today Dennis, that made you resurrect this thread? Are you feeling particuarly hypocritical?

No, that seems to be his M.O. about many threads lately, including some of his own.

[Paradox]

Justin Davis had an odd angle:

That was essentially what I was asking. If we can't be called hypocritical for reading about characters with opposing viewpoints to our own, can an author be called hypocritical for writing books with characters who support a certain outlook even if he or she doesn't?

Of course not. In fact, any good writer does that a lot.


Once we enter the word of art or literature, can terms like hypocrisy no longer apply?

More or less. Hypocrisy is the relationship between what you espouse and what you do. Fiction is not included, only reality.

[Jeff Brady]

It appears my hypocrisy knows no bounds, but I try not to be one.

[Asa]

I try my best not to be hypocritical, I'm a firm beleiver in actions speak loader than words. I would Die if something Bad happened to my kids as a result of something I did, knowing it was not something they should or I should do.



1 example: meetups with strangers you meet over the internet, If my daughter did that and she got hurt or died, there are no words for express that feeling.

[Agent Helix]

http://www.katebeaton.com/Site/Welcome_files/on12.jpg