Even people who say they don't, on some level, yeah, it's about them and their struggles against things that have led to them being in their position, that if only they could conquer, the world would see and appreciate them for who they are.
It's one of those tips you always hear for writing characters - that the "villain" probably isn't going to be thinking "I'm a villain!", they are ones out to make things better. Maybe "better" is "ruled by them" or "all humans are dead", but they can see things in a way that no one else seems to be able to process.
In real life, it's part of what makes interaction with people so much fun, and often frustrating... because they are often *not* just "out to get you", you are wrong, and they are going to show you that you are wrong! ;)
Which works just fine when you are the one correcting *them*... :D
The reality of course is that everyone is probably a bit of an asshole, and the middle ground is somewhere no one wants to be, but probably should find a way to get to...
Sure, there are definitely issues where that isn't the best move and where the "other side" has nothing to stand on. One of those, of course, is (insert your favorite cause here) because that's something where no reasonable person could possibly find disagreement on!!!
Often, people who are *trying* to do something good (from their perspective) discover that they have become someone else's bad guys. The Facebook example comes to mind, when they had enough of the fake accounts being used to harass their members and sully the message boards, they came up with a "Everyone has to use their real name!" policy to try for some accountability.
As soon as they did, people started complaining because of all of the *legitimate reasons* why someone might not use their "real name" online, and how they were putting them in danger.
Was Facebook out to harm those who suffered from abuse, or could possibly suffer if their "real name" got out? I really doubt someone was sitting in a Facebook office cackling over that idea. It probably came as a "Oh, didn't think of that... damn, how can we make this work?" moment that took them awhile to process and find a solution. (or just outright change directions and decide *not* to do it)
These discussions, and yeah, even the mini explosions that happen within online communities now and again are good because they are people from very diverse backgrounds coming together and discussing things, often from very different vantage points. As long as everyone keeps their cool, and actually *talks* about it, it can be a very good thing. Of course, since it's the internet, there probably isn't much hope for that. ;)
Then again, they are bad. We are good. That's all you really need to know, isn't it?!?
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Speaking of "good" - there are TWO POLLS worth of good material out there, and you have to cast your votes on what is going to make it through to compete another round! http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/795700.html is the main competition and http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/796295.html is Last Chance Idol.
What have been some of your personal favorites from each, and what was it about them that you enjoyed so much?