Pigeonhole (verb)
“to put someone or something into a group or type, often unfairly”
I come across this, more so recently, it’s a trait in people that I don’t like.
I’m not talking about the “old man” jibes, for this is banter.
I’m talking about those that are unable to hold a discussion, because their blatant pigeonholing shines through, their whole opinion, while different from mine, is equally valid. I have no issue with that.
What I take issue with is their dismissive tone, often with attempted belittlement, in public (read: internet) forums or to gain credit in the eyes of others.
It’s a lazy precedent, easier than making their point.
As a an opposing view, it instantly fails to gain any traction with me, I have no time for it and switch to sarcasm mode.
For example, take author and journalist George Monbiot.
We disagree on the “Climate change” causes argument, yet I find him to be spot on when it comes to the corporate state.
It is possible to engage with someone’s opion, without the constant crowd pleasing posturing remarks, whose sole purpose is to obtain “likes” or have others jump on the conversation, with equally unfunny pigeonholing.
It’s fair to say, I am not a fan of the Met Office.
As a public funded body, they are not scrutinised anywhere near enough (as is often the case with most public funded bodies these days).
The MO tell us, “The aim of the Met Office is to provide for the UK an effective, modern and efficient national meteorological service” – spot on, sounds good to me.
Only, this is not what they are doing.
Over a Billion pounds spent on a “super computer” to run modelling. Millions of public funding every year.
Selling on “higher-value commercial or government data to which unique value has been added” – yet the public funding continues to increase.
When the met office publicly changed their forecast on several occasions for hot weather recently, I said nothing.
When, just weeks later, they again forecast a hot weather spell, then within a day, started changing their forecasts again, I pulled them on it, for “moving the goalposts”
The patronising abuse I got from the “I have a degree, what do you have?” brigade, was off the scale. It wasn’t that they disagreed with me, which was obvious, but their whole dismissive tone. Not satisfied with their “holier than though” put-downs, they then joined forces with each other, with yet more attempted put-downs, for likes and appreciation.
So blatant was it, they replied without actually reading what I originally posted.
I think the met office have become unaccountable to the public who fund them to the tune of millions every year.
Yet these same “pigeon-holers” complain about government expenditure in different areas.
When someone criticises the expenditure in the field where they make their money, it’s sacred and must be countered with dismissive voices.
Having a degree does not make you above anyone else. Common courtesy should be the order of the day. If people disagree with your opinion, then so be it, but their opinion is simply that, opinion.