Where are all these "stupid people" that supposedly exist?

[Tycon]

Very well stated OP, this is a concept I've thought about a lot recently and am very glad that other people have given it open thought on a front page public forum. For the most part (few exceptions apply) no one really is stupid, just our arrogant view as other beneath our high visions of ourselves. Also isn't "stupid" a reference to intelligence quotient, why does your personal experience and beliefs (or your wisdom and morals) reflect your intelligence which is a different entity entirely?

 

[King Billi]

Stupid people?

We're everywhere obviously... and all you supposedly "smart" people out there are most certainly included among us no matter how much you try and maintain that you aren't.

 

[bafrali]

Did you miss them? You probably blank.

 

[Moonlight Butterfly]

Some of the time I'm not sure people are uneducated or they just don't like the same things I like. I went to have my hair cut and talking to the girl doing it was bizarre. I don't think I could have had less in common with someone if I had tried.

She was waffling on about xfactor and stuff. I just defaulted to talking about my niece and nephew.

When I talk to my sisters friends they often look at me like I have grown a second head. I keep expecting them to shout NERD in my face or something. My sister is certainly intelligent but we couldn't be more different, we are like Loki and Thor. She is good with people and where I would be bored to all hell running a shop and terrible at it, she makes assistant manager working part time. I think people are just different rather than some are outright stupid.

That said, my brother in law thinks mayonnaise is a brand name and Canadians come from 'canadia' too but he was a soldier so I have to show him some respect...

 

[Twilight_guy]

You seem to be in a relatively isolated bubble. Coworkers, friends, like minded people. 'Stupid' people tend to be complete strangers from different walks of life that don't mesh with you. That's why people who work in retail and see many types of people see a lot and people who work in offices where they know everyone do not (the worse they get is a few coworkers who they avoid).

 

[Iron Criterion]

There isn't a such thing as stupid people, just people of a personality you don't like.

Partly true.

While many people in this very thread are clearly mistaking "people I don't like" as "stupid people" (which I personally think is one of the stupider things you can do), there ARE some people out there who are legitimately dumb.

This.

Also I don't want to come across as pretentious, but I consider myself to be well educated; I did well in school, and I'm constantly challenging myself to learn new things. I'm always wanting to better myself. So I do look down on people of 'average' intelligence, because they seem content with not bettering themselves; which is something I could never do.

 

[Apollo45]

Maybe you just don't live in a Republican state like I do. That would probably help.
I love Texas, but a HUGE proportion of the people here are top notch dipshits.

Not just Republican states my friend. Ever been to New Jersey? The population there makes Texans look like freaking Einstein. I'll clarify that this is a huge generalization, but I've done my fair share of travelling, and the most idiots I've ever met in one place was in Jersey. It's not just the douchebags that crop up near the shore either. I heard a couple of people arguing about how America brought 9/11 on itself by invading Afghanistan and Iraq. These people couldn't have been more than a year or two younger than me, meaning they were likely in middle school when the attacks happened, so they must have lived under a rock for a decade or so during that timespan. Not only that, but in a library there there was a couple chatting about the Olympics when it was painfully obvious that neither of them had either watched the games or knew anything about the sports that were played there. I heard the name Michael Jordan come up more than once, and I'm not sure if they meant to say Michael Phelps or were referring to basketball, but either way they were horrendously incorrect. There was also a point when the girl, completely seriously as far as I could tell, complained that cheerleading wasn't an Olympic sport.

I could write an essay on the people I ran in to there. I can tolerate a certain amount of ignorance, but somehow the people who were legitimately stupid in that area also carried a certain amount of douchebaggery with it that made it so much worse. I don't know what it is, but it seemed like most of the people - both the idiots and others - were just rude. On the other side of the fence, most of the Texans I run in to are nice people. Sometimes a bit... erm... conservative, even by my standards, but very nice.

 

[OneBig Man]

If everyone seems smart to you, then you might want to check the mirror.

 

[Farseer Lolotea]

Unfortunately? Willful ignorance, often tempered with a healthy dose of self-absorption, is distressingly common.

 

[Blood Brain Barrier]

It's a pretty bitchy thing to say. If someone calls a person "stupid", they're saying that person is of no use to them. Or if it's as a joke, to get laughs. You never see someone calling someone else stupid if they are friendly, or a co-worker or needs to maintain good relations for their own sake.

A comment about how someone is, no matter what it is, says more about the person saying it than the target of the comment.

 

[Jonluw]

I've been living in a dorm for the last few months, and from this I can confirm: Yes, stupid people do exist.

 

[Gavmando]

As someone who works in public transport, let me assure you, they're out there. They're all over western and south western Sydney.

 

[getoffmycloud]

As someone who has worked in a call center yes stupid people do exist. One guy I spoke to didn't even know if he owned his own house or not.

 

[ThreeWords]

Yes yes, obvious subject line designed to draw attention. Here's the real thing:

People complain about stupid people all the time. But I almost never meet someone that functionally retarded. I go to work in an office, do my job, come home, watch TV/play games/whatever. If there's a party or meetup going on that I'm interested in, I'll go. Simple as that.

The thing is, I never meet people that I really hate. I see so much complaining online about stupid facebook status updates and stupid conversations with friends, but I never find myself engaging with that type of person. I know that the recent election made a lot of people very confrontational, but not one facebook friend I had posted that kind of reaction. Nobody gloating, nobody complaining.

So why is it that I have some kind of anti-stupid field around me? Yeah, I've met stupid people, especially when I was working retail, but despite how common they are, they're practically a legend to me.

In my experience, the stupid people are usually the ones who are spewing rubbish about people they hate. If such people genuinely hated even one in ten of the things they rant about, I warrant their life would be near unlivable.

[sup]Maybe I just don't like people misusing words[/sup]

 

[MagunBFP]

Woman in the US says if Obama wins she'll move to Australia... because they have a Male, God-fearing President.

Her statement in an of itself is stupid, probably an overexageration to make a point, but 30 seconds of research would also tell you that Australia has a Female Athiest Prime Minister.

 

[The Funslinger]

Thats because I am the stupid people.
Yep. I'm all ofthem, at the same time.
Being everywhere is a tough job and I can't get to everyone sometimes. I'll be sure to visit you at east once in your lifetime.
Don't worry, plenty of stupid to go around.

Now to go complain about how government pollution is causing light diffraction.

Are you sure you wouldn't rather come with me to warn people of the perils of moon cancer?

 

[Nyaliva]

I was gonna say until I read that last line: You've obviously never worked in retail.

I have to admit, since going to uni, I haven't met anyone that I didn't like, except at my job and on the internet. I don't think you so much have an anti-stupid people field around so much as a good choice in acquaintances and a tendency to avoid most of the places on the internet where "stupid people" tend to frequent (I use quotation marks because most of them are just loud, although I have to disagree with Tony, some people can be considered stupid without having a conflicting personality).