Misuse @ MindSay

Perhaps this battle is already lost. This whole post may well be moot, but I'm still going to get my rant in anyway. Expanding on my discussion from yesterday about semantics and the meaning of one word in particular I want to look at phrase that is used almost exclusively incorrectly. It seems as though almost no one knows what “begs the question” means any more. Journalists equally misuse it which reinforces the misuse in the rest of us. It does NOT mean that a question naturally follows or must be asked as a result of the previous statements.

It is in fact a type of logical fallacy in which someone asks a statement (it doesn't have to be a question and usually isn't), then assumes the correct answer in order to prove that they get the correct answer. Wikipedia provides an example from a 2002 murder trial: “If these people are guilty and have shown no remorse for their crime, this can only mean that they are bad people, and this strengthens our conviction that they are guilty.” In this argument at the beginning it assumes that the people are guilty, and uses that assumption at the end to offer more “proof” that they're guilty.

Begging the question is basically a type of circular logic, and should be avoided. Thinking that “begs the question” means the same as “prompts the question” or “raises the question” is just wrong and should also be avoided.

*If you don't want to read this whole post, at least skip down to the text that I've highlighted in green. I think that is the heart of this post and I considered deleting all this other stuff, but I think it has its place, too, so I keep it. I should also note, as based on some of your comments, it can be confused, that I am not talking about someone lying to me here on MindSay. What/who I am talking about happened a bit of time ago, before I even knew about MindSay. Of course, the heart of the matter, being sincere, applies in all avenues of life, I think.*

I made my last post Just Me after cooling off. So my apologies to anyone that got it in their inbox but finds they suddenly can't read it. I just wanted to tuck away the negativity since I let it out and gave it a bit of time.

Basically, what it said, is repeating how much I really, really, really don't like incincerity. Like nothing else, I hate that, and to experience it in the way that I find I have... I feel so many things, but mostly anger and resentment. I think manipulative, deceptive, insincere people who bring others into their illusions are just... there are no words to express.

I simply made a bad judgement.

I guess it just kind of snapped me back into place. Another negative experience (realisation rather, actually) to do that, which I needed. I've really wanted to just expose everything so it is not with me anymore, but not sure if I should. Realising what I realised answered that for me. I need to continue trying to have good judgement, being careful who I trust, who I listen to, who I can take seriously. Not necessarily  hating everyone and thinking they are not capable of caring  and anyone who expresses the slightest interest is only in it for their own fulfillment, sucking things out of me with no real care for my authenticity (or their own, for that matter) or sacredness, but I need to just pay attention to my intuition. I know fake people. I recognise them. Never did I have a bad friend who let me down or stabbed me in the back. I know I'm capable of finding good, honest, trustworthy people to have in my life. Others, I still have the ability to know who they are and to not give into their bullshit "caring" and "love" and all that crap. There are some people that do care, though. That don't say things they don't mean, that don't abuse words and phrases, throwing them around at anyone, bastardising them. That are real and sincere and who I can hear say things and know they are honesty.

I really don't think there is anything that bothers me more. Expression is extremely important to me. I've talked about this many times before, too. Words, phrases... I don't know what upsets me more than to see them tossed about carelessly. The only thing that upsets me more is when they are tossed carelessly at me.

I don't hate everyone and all people. I just hate that some people are so careless and easy and that by sharing this, what I see as the epitome of "bullshit," with others, drag others into it with them.
Of course perhaps those that get dragged into it are just being weak. I can say for a fact that I was weak. I'm not anymore, though, and I don't need bullshit in my life.

You might wonder why I have is such an issue with sincerity.
When you are not sincere with someone, you are lying to them. When you disillusion them by sharing emotions that are not real... what can I say about this? It is a horrible thing.

This is precisely the foundation that all of my trust issues have piled up on. People being insincere. I can't express enough how much I dislike it... So I guess I will stop trying.

The reason, though, is because we only have so much available to us.

I think insinsere people could not have not truly experienced anything real, or at least not appreciated it when they did. They were too busy being insincere. Why they can't have experienced anything real is because once you have, once you've experienced that intensity, of whatever... of beauty, love, friendship, rage, being lost, depressed, etc. ... once you've experienced these sorts of feelings in a very intense and pure form, you know that these words we give them don't begin to suffice in explaining what it is like. They are nowhere close. So once you know that and have experienced the aggrivation of the words "I love you" or "I'm angry" not getting the realness and intensity of your feelings across, I would hope you would have a bit of respect and appreciation for these words and phrases as well as the true feelings they feebly attempt to express. Respect for how fragile they are and how easily they become worn down by overuse, by misuse.

It is because of the emotions they are supposed to represent, they are real things, and sometimes they aren't very easy to express, but these words are all we have for them, unfortunately.
Please, don't abuse them; use them with care. Express what you really feel, not just for the sake of these words and their sanctity, but for the sake of yourself and your own feelings too, of you being taken seriously when you need to be. Think about it: If you constantly are abusing words of expression, and thus abusing the people you tell them to (hopefully I don't need to explain this too. Of course, I can if I must. Just ask.), most of us are going to notice eventually. We are going to realise and some of us aren't going to like it, at all. It will make it hard to trust you, to take you seriously, to believe in you. Think about the "The Boy Who Cried 'Wolf'". It is similar.
No matter if it is negative or positive you are portraying - whether it is telling someone you love them and care about them, or telling them you hate them or some other negativity (and even in expressing your inner emotions which are only about you, about how YOU feel ... do not debase your own self and your own feelings by doing this sort of thing) - try to potray it in an honest way. If the feeling is weak, express it appropriately. If it is strong, use a strong word, and hopefully it will not have been so bastardised that people will understand what you're expressing. Whether it is being done intentionally or not, it is manipulative and false and all it takes is a bit of self-awareness to realise you're doing it and a bit of consideration and trying to quit.

It comes down to a very simple little saying: "Say what you mean and mean what you say."
Keep shit to yourself if it isn't real. Or at least keep it away from me.

All I have to say is, hopefully a few others see this and understand what I am saying, with what urgency I say it and why, and share similar sentiments - that way I at least know there are some people in the world who also apprecaite a very important form of honesty & communication and the value of words as expression.
Hopefully those of you that are insincere, manipulative, and deceptive will read this and see yourself, think about what you do to people, how you are wrong in it, and change your ways.

-Liv-