“Nobody ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public.”
~ H. L. Mencken
“Don’t be that guy.”
~ Robert Chazz Chute
Part 1 is about gurus.
I heard a podcast today in which the hosts underestimated their audience’s ability to think.
They worried their guest was giving advice that was wrong, which is fine. Then they worried the advice was too nuanced. Someone, the hosts worried, might be so stupid they’d misinterpret said advice. It made me angry because they ended up mocking, berating and talking over their guest. Eventually they hashed their way through to arrive at what the guest was really suggesting.
As Hannibal suggested, “Eat the rude.”
The show also irritated me because it implied I was too stupid to “get it.” I got it. I bet most people did. Yes, someone will always misinterpret whatever you say. But we don’t run the world catering to the lowest common denominator. If we did, no one would be allowed to drive.
If you somehow become a guru of wide reputation and stellar success, please try to remember that not everyone is stupid just because they haven’t reached your heights…yet.
Advice is not for idiots.
It wastes the breath of the advisor. Idiots aren’t interested in advice. Advice makes idiots talk more. No one wants that.
The hosts of the podcast (which I will not name because it’s unnecessary) are certainly not idiots. I wish they thought we were smarter, though.
~ My name is Robert Chazz Chute and the only guru I put full faith in is Kurt Vonnegut. He was a great writer and a constantly disappointed humanist.
Filed under: author platform, Writers, writing tips, Advice, eat the rude, gurus, Hannibal, idiots, podcasts, politeness, Robert Chazz, stupidity
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