TripleS wrote:What I was trying to say (whether or not you believe me) was that I am interested in all shades of opinion, but in certain subjects I think it unlikely that a very young person will understand all the factors and implications within certain subjects, and it is therefore unlikely that he/she will have a balanced viewpoint and be able to reach a firm and reliable conclusion at that stage. I would therefore respectfully suggest that they should avoid finalising their view too early, and be prepared to adjust it in the light of further experience and understanding as they mature further.
What you're effectively saying is "You can't hold an opinion on certain situations until you've amassed enough experience first-hand to enable you to form a fair, reasonable and rational opinion".
That is perfectly true, and I agree with you on there. However, you seem to be assuming that because I'm young, I won't have enough experience to offer an opinion on this particular subject.
I'd probably argue that I have significantly more experience of people within the LGBT communities because
I am part of the LGBT community. This would mean my opinion on this kind of situation is probably more valid and relevant than the opinion of someone who is older than me, but most likely has had a lot less experience regarding the LGBT communities.
I completely accepted your opinion, and I can see where you are coming from, but I'm afraid the way you've been writing has, as Nick pointed out, implied that you feel my opinion is irrelevant because I'm vastly younger than the majority of members on here.
I hope that will not lead anyone to feel that they, and their views, are being dismissed too readily; that is certainly not my intention.
I fully accept that you do not intend to come across that way, much in the same way I didn't intend to come across as lecturing when I told people that kind of joke may not be suitable. But it did.
It appears some young people these days are far more mature than the young people of 60 years ago, and they should have full credit for that, but I would simply suggest that they recognise some limitations in understanding and judgement, and basically not make up their minds too soon.
What I was also recognising was that some of the oldies - which I guess has to include me - can, despite all the experience, still sometimes find ourselves needing to change our opinions and attitude.
I would agree with you there. The whole point of opinions is that they are rooted in personal experience and values, but they are easily adapted as you progress through life and encounter various situations. However, some people will have different amounts of experience in different areas of life. A 15 year old at my school will have encountered plenty of gay people within school, whereas a person over 60 might have only met one or two. However, the older person should not be allowed to reject the younger person's opinions based on the younger person's age. Equally, the younger person should not be allowed to reject the older person's opinion just because they have had less experience of LGBT people.
Incidentally, you are right to point out that TheInsanity1234 has regularly displayed maturity beyond his years (and I hope that will not be dismissed as patronising, it is a genuine compliment) but that is mostly within the realms of driving. Certain other subjects are, I would suggest, more complex, and I think they need more patiently acquired experience to provide a basis for forming firm opinions on them.
I accept your compliment, and it hasn't been taken as patronising, so don't worry about that.
However, I'd argue against my maturity only being within the realms of driving. I'd argue that my maturity is a core part of my personality, and I've regularly received comments on how I've handled situations far more complex than what we've encountered in this thread, with maturity.
I daresay you're coming across as having made certain assumptions about who I am as a person in general, despite only really encountering me in situations regarding driving. However, I hope I've taken it the wrong way, and that you're not actually the sort of person to instantly form judgements about people based on very limited experience of them, because you have said repeatedly yourself, that it is not a good idea to form opinions of situations (which can include people) based on limited experience of them...