It takes two... ?
Aug. 16th, 2006 11:33 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
pasitheaI forgot my bicycle helmet today and remembered it far enough along that I said 'screw it' and went on to work without it. Of course, I kept playing out accident situations in my head, and I thought something about how it takes two people who aren't alert to have an accident.
Check that though. It's not true really. I mean yes, being a defensive driver (or cyclist in my case) you can avoid many disasters.
It isn't universally true though. Most accidents are single-car accidents, and, like when I was hit by a car, there was not enough time or space for me to react to someone else's poor driving.
So if I apply this back to arguments... People often say 'It takes two to argue'. Implicitly true on that if you simply don't respond, how can there be an argument?
But on closer inspection... I myself have been guilty of going out looking for a fight, or, getting in an argument with someone and continuing well after they've stopped simply because I'm irritated. It doesn't take two people to argue any more than it takes two faulty drivers at an intersection to have a collision. In fact, in most traffic cases, one driver is generally found at fault.
So if you're ever arguing with someone and they say 'It takes two to argue', odds are it's a lie and quite probably the person saying it is simply trying some ploy to get you to shut up and (in their mind) accept their point of view. Of course, the other end of this is 'pick your battles'. If you are going out looking for someone to quarrel with, consider whether or not it will really accomplish anything or if you couldn't instead find some more productive way to vent your frustration with whatever.
Just some food for thought.
PS: I made it to work safely, and no, I haven't had a fight with my girlfriend (or anyone else) lately.
Check that though. It's not true really. I mean yes, being a defensive driver (or cyclist in my case) you can avoid many disasters.
It isn't universally true though. Most accidents are single-car accidents, and, like when I was hit by a car, there was not enough time or space for me to react to someone else's poor driving.
So if I apply this back to arguments... People often say 'It takes two to argue'. Implicitly true on that if you simply don't respond, how can there be an argument?
But on closer inspection... I myself have been guilty of going out looking for a fight, or, getting in an argument with someone and continuing well after they've stopped simply because I'm irritated. It doesn't take two people to argue any more than it takes two faulty drivers at an intersection to have a collision. In fact, in most traffic cases, one driver is generally found at fault.
So if you're ever arguing with someone and they say 'It takes two to argue', odds are it's a lie and quite probably the person saying it is simply trying some ploy to get you to shut up and (in their mind) accept their point of view. Of course, the other end of this is 'pick your battles'. If you are going out looking for someone to quarrel with, consider whether or not it will really accomplish anything or if you couldn't instead find some more productive way to vent your frustration with whatever.
Just some food for thought.
PS: I made it to work safely, and no, I haven't had a fight with my girlfriend (or anyone else) lately.
