Today’s guest post comes from David, who many of us have known for half of our lives. He used to go by Dave, went to my senior prom with me, and is the reason I saw The Phantom Menace in a movie theater. I’ll let you decide which is unforgivable. (Hint: Jar Jar Binks)

I’m done with trying to convince you. Done. I don’t need you to validate what I choose to eat, to listen to, to pass my time with. I get it. You don’t agree. You don’t like the taste of that thing I’m eating, that music I’m listening to, that movie I’m watching, that game I’m playing. It’s fine. Your lack of like doesn’t lessen mine.

No, I don’t want to tell you why I didn’t like Man of Steel. No, I don’t really want to hear how disappointed you were with that salmon. I really don’t need to watch that online video of that parody of that TV show I don’t watch anyway to confirm why I wasn’t watching to begin with. I don’t need to hear your reasons why you like the thing I don’t. I don’t need to tell you the reasons I like the thing you don’t. Why is this the basis of all of our conversations? Do we really need to debate the things that give us some pleasure? Isn’t life dumb enough that we don’t need to make it dumber by defending or validating the dumb things we experience?

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