Dick!

So, I think a lot of people think I'm a jerk. Why not? Makes it easier to not have to get to know someone. Anyway, I think the big misconception may be that because my opinions are "harsh", abrupt, or definite that I don't think deeply about those opinions. Just being the person I am I think about issues from every angle I can imagine. I come to conclusions by that way (for the most part). I try to put myself in other peoples shoes per say (cliche). Being trained as an anthropologist has also helped me in this way. It's easy to think you know someone by first impressions. Everyone does it. Being on the crew really helped me understand people a lot. That is what I learned most of all from that experience. I can honestly say that if it weren't for the crew I would never have even talked to or looked twice at any of the guys on the crew. But since we lived together in such a crazy environment I had no choice but to get to know them. I disagreed with pretty much everything they were about and everything they did, but I still got along with them and was able to hear their side of life and understand where they got their ideas.
One day I was having a somewhat heated discussion with one of the guys. He was saying that he had no problem treating Maricopa county prisoners poorly. I countered and said that even though they committed crimes they were still people and deserved better treatment than they were getting. I asked him if he ever thought about how those people had been brought up, or the fact that it was easy for him to cast them aside because he was a pretty well off white guy? He countered if I ever thought about the former loggers I commented on? Of course I had. I thought it was funny that he asked me that. Logging had been a hot-button topic on the crew, as it is all over the west. I had some great conversations with a native Idahoan about it and really enjoyed his take on it. The guy who was arguing with me didn't know I had these conversations and was well aware of the sentiment among former loggers and their families. Regardless, I came to my own conclusion by looking at the issue from different angles. I vividly remember him saying to me if I thought about the perspective of the loggers and I thought "of course, duh." I then realized that a lot of people don't try to look at all sides of an argument. Simply because we have opinions doesn't mean they're superficial. They should often be challenged and questioned, but also well founded. I suppose that is why I have tried to stray away from labels. They're so final and decisive. I've never affiliated myself with a particular political or social view and even have had to come to terms with calling my self a vegan (*shivers*). As humans we must label so as to make sense of the world, but sometimes it's so restrictive.
So in conclusion, I may seem like and asshole but, I believe that stems from the fact that I know exactly what I believe, know how to demonstrate it, and have looked that those beliefs in a critical light and continue to. I do like life and people, and the world, it can just be frustrating.