Probably the most misunderstood and misused words in the English language is the word Stupid. Concisely, the word Stupid means knowing the facts and believing otherwise.
We misuse the word when we when we mean ignorant, when we mean the person is learning disabled, and, most often, when we disagree with them. With the exception of the disavowed references to the learning disabled, the other misuses still abound. Thus the need for an evaluation on just what is the real meaning of stupid.
What Stupid IS NOT
I guess we have to address what stupid is not first. After all, you have to eliminate all of the things either we misidentify as stupid, or is disguised as stupid, before we can get down to exactly what it is.
It is not ignorance. Not knowing the difference. Not knowing the facts. Not knowing what is going on. All of these things are valid excuses. This does make you stupid, just ignorant. Why is it tricky? Simply because the knowledge and information is so readily available in the world today. Ignorance can only be an excuse for a very limited period in a very limited framework. After that, ignorance is not a valid excuse because it then is either an affectation or intentional. In either case, it falls under the umbrella of stupid.
It is not someone we disagree with, nor the idea generated within. We all have to understand that even with the same set of facts; reasonable people can derive different conclusions. As long as these opinions and conclusions are based upon facts, that is not stupidity that is a difference of opinion. Do not fall into the trap of believing that everyone you disagree with is stupid; otherwise, you may be the recipient of that moniker.
It is not pseudo-ignorance, perpetrated by leaders. I think you know what I mean by this. The fake ignorance of the facts, usually by a leader; be it political, religious, or ethnic. These people have obvious exposure to all of the facts and claim ignorance. In the scope of things, this would be people who would be classified as stupid. But hold on a moment. They generally do not believe what they pretend to believe, which is a key aspect of stupidity. They are trying to build a cadre of stupid people who will continue to believe a certain way primarily to perpetuate their own personal power base. These are power-mongers or, at their worst, just plain evil. I will be revisiting these later in this article.
What Stupid IS
As I stated before Stupid is knowing the facts and believing otherwise. Sometimes it is easier giving examples than it is to try to define. Therefore some examples. Standing by a dinosaur fossil and trying to convince you that the earth is less than 6000 years old. Accepting the DNA and still believing we all descend from Adam and Eve. Pretty much all forms of racism. These, and so many other similar things, are classic examples of stupid. Their position does not represent logic. Their positions are not supported by any fact. Their position does not represent common sense.
The only way that stupid can exist is that the stupid person either ignores facts or creates pseudo-facts that they embrace with all of their hearts and minds.
The method for ignoring facts is pretend that they do not exists or that they are lies. If you try to point out these facts to them, they will sometimes refuse to listen to you, to the point of walking away or shutting you out. Another tool in their toolkit is to question the efficacy of the source of those facts. Even when the truth is irrefutable, they will deny it.
Embracing pseudo-facts is not a problem. They are flying around like never before. The yellow journalism of the past has nothing on the situation that exists today. Anyone with a computer and an ax to grind can create a lie. Even if the lie is completely unbelievable and irresponsible there will be plenty of stupid people out there who will embrace those lies.
You see; therein lies the secret about stupid. Stupid is a way of life. It does generally exists amongst those of more or less limited intelligence, but not always. People who have a strong predetermined opinion on an issue generally embrace stupidity. The stronger the belief, the more likely the stupidity – that is why even scientists trying to fit the facts to their theory can become stupid. Quite often stupid people will have a pet issue that, when balanced against all other issues, will blind them to the truth – for instance an anti-abortionist can generally be endorsed by religious people regardless of his/her moral character.
Moreover, stupidity may only affect a person on a single issue or group of issues. Lastly, stupidity is deeply ingrained in most people’s psyche. Unless people are willing to fight against their pre-determined prejudices it is almost impossible for them to overcome their stupidity.
Thus, the comedian Ron White is right; you can’t fix stupid.
A Final Note
As I said before, I need to revisit the pseudo-ignorance. As I said above the leaders and spokespeople proclaim a level of ignorance to facts and the resultant truths. It is easy to fall into the trap of calling this stupid but the difference is that they are not ignorant. They know the facts. They are not stupid. They generally do not let their opinions and prejudices affect their beliefs. Even though they may share the beliefs of the stupid people who are biased to the point of dismissing the facts, these people do not fall into that category. They are pragmatic in that they will pretend to be one of the ignorant, one of the stupid, in order to garner more power and to fool the masses. It has worked for dictators, cult leaders, fascists, and the like throughout history.
While you can’t fix stupid, you can get rid of these worthless forms of human waste so that the stupid have no leader to consolidate their power.
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