When People Misrepresent You

[Revoltingest]

Sometimes I've found that a few mischievous scamps will
claim something untrue about me. I know...it's unbelievable!
I'm sure that this has never happened to anyone else.
Or has it?

Once I designed heavy machinery for big manufacturing company.
A rumor circulated that I had no engineering degree. The horror!
Naturally, I had to put a stop to that.
So I informed all that I did indeed have a degree....in sociology
(which I don't). It worked like a charm. Rumors died.

On RF, some anti-Trumpers bristled at my balanced view of him,
eg, approving some policies, opposing others, neither hating nor
liking him. So they'd call me a "Trump supporter!". Convincing
them otherwise failed.
So I tried the old tactic of embracing the criticism. I changed my
signature to "Donald Trump 2024". Lo! There's been nary a peep
since. How can they insult one who embraces the insult, eh.

Fellow posters, I ask you....
What such mischaracterizations have you faced,
& how have you handled them?

 

[Revoltingest]

Caution!
Let no one think I'm dissing sociology. Though I did
make fun of it, the field is very interesting & worthwhile.
I even encouraged Daughter to get her degree in it.

 

[Spirit of Light]

Sometimes I've found that a few mischievous scamps will
claim something untrue about me. I know...it's unbelievable!
I'm sure that this has never happened to anyone else.
Or has it?

Once I designed heavy machinery for big manufacturing company.
A rumor circulated that I had no engineering degree. The horror!
Naturally, I had to put a stop to that.
So I informed all that I did indeed have a degree....in sociology
(which I don't). It worked like a charm. Rumors died.

On RF, some anti-Trumpers bristled at my balanced view of him,
eg, approving some policies, opposing others, neither hating nor
liking him. So they'd call me a "Trump supporter!". Convincing
them otherwise failed.
So I tried the old tactic of embracing the criticism. I changed my
signature to "Donald Trump 2024". Lo! There's been nary a peep
since. How can they insult one who embraces the insult, eh.

Fellow posters, I ask you....
What such mischaracterizations have you faced,
& how have you handled them?

I used to take it personally and felt it was bullying (due to the 12 years of daily bullying i experience in the past)
But now i laugh with them and dont mind it. But sometimes i can try correcting them, that does not work so well

 

[Revoltingest]

I used to take it personally and felt it was bullying (due to the 12 years of daily bullying i experience in the past)
But now i laugh with them and dont mind it. But sometimes i can try correcting them, that does not work so well

Sounds like you cope well.

 

[Vinayaka]

Some people who'd never met me had been told I was smart. I straightened that out in the first conversation.

 

[Stevicus]

Fellow posters, I ask you....
What such mischaracterizations have you faced,
& how have you handled them?

I've been mischaracterized and misjudged all my life. In my early years in life, it did bother me, although as time wore on, it didn't bother me so much. The mistake I had made earlier was in treating every single utterance from other humans as some kind of honest and profound statement. I was too trusting of what other people said and believed what they would say about me.

But then, as I grew older, I began to realize more and more that most people just aren't very bright or insightful, and many are prone to spouting off ignorant, judgmental statements about others or about society in general. I got to the point where I just didn't care anymore. People are going to think whatever they want to think.

 

[sun rise]

What can I say.

Many many many years ago my Republican future father-in-law asked me if I was a communist after I had expressed a typically liberal thought. My smart-Alec response was that I was not a communist but an anarchist.

I won't write book about marital misrepresentation.

I've had someone working for me misunderstand what I was trying to say when complaining to my boss.

I've even had people online misjudge my opinions.

I'm just a soul whose intentions are good
Oh Lord, please don't let me be misunderstood

 

[SigurdReginson]

On this forum, folks have actually been relatively gracious towards me. Seems I haven't been surly enough yet!

There's this other forum I go on that's predominantly conservative, though. They seem to be convinced I'm a liberal because I'm not the biggest fan of Trump, and I have no problem disparaging his character to that of the lowliest cockroach. There's some entertainment to be had in the blowback I get, though.

 

[Revoltingest]

I've even had people online misjudge my opinions.

I am shocked !!!

 

[Revoltingest]

Seems I haven't been surly enough yet!

I could offer you tips.
"....what I do have are a very particular set of skills.
Skills I have acquired over a very long career.
Skills that make me a nightmare for people..."

They seem to be convinced I'm a liberal because I'm not the biggest fan of Trump, and I have no problem disparaging his character to that of the lowliest cockroach.

Fans of cockroaches, no doubt.
(They have the most neurons of any insect,
from my brief investigation of that recently.)

 

[Debater Slayer]

I've been called a "neocon" and "ultra-liberal" before. The former was due to my supporting more restrictive immigration policies toward certain cultures and not believing all cultures are equally ethical. The latter was due to my opposition of anti-choice and sexist arguments from conservatives.

A lot of people who are especially bipartisan tend to believe embracing any views that contradict theirs means you support the "enemy." It is what it is.

 

[Nakosis]

Sometimes I've found that a few mischievous scamps will
claim something untrue about me. I know...it's unbelievable!
I'm sure that this has never happened to anyone else.
Or has it?

Once I designed heavy machinery for big manufacturing company.
A rumor circulated that I had no engineering degree. The horror!
Naturally, I had to put a stop to that.
So I informed all that I did indeed have a degree....in sociology
(which I don't). It worked like a charm. Rumors died.

On RF, some anti-Trumpers bristled at my balanced view of him,
eg, approving some policies, opposing others, neither hating nor
liking him. So they'd call me a "Trump supporter!". Convincing
them otherwise failed.
So I tried the old tactic of embracing the criticism. I changed my
signature to "Donald Trump 2024". Lo! There's been nary a peep
since. How can they insult one who embraces the insult, eh.

Fellow posters, I ask you....
What such mischaracterizations have you faced,
& how have you handled them?

It is a way to manipulate the people around us or sometimes just a way to feed our own ego.

To control the behavior, thoughts, speech of others or just as a way we can think of ourselves as being right, others wrong or holding the moral high ground.

Calling someone a nazi or a racist, questioning their level of education is part of this process of manipulation. Folks have learned to do this because it is often successful.

I think what I usually do is recognize it for what it is and ignore it. Trying to defend against it is changing your behavior. The intent was to change your behavior the manipulation has succeeded. It has thrown you completely off track of whatever your own intent or goal was.

 

[Secret Chief]

Sometimes I've found that a few mischievous scamps will
claim something untrue about me. I know...it's unbelievable!
I'm sure that this has never happened to anyone else.
Or has it?

Once I designed heavy machinery for big manufacturing company.
A rumor circulated that I had no engineering degree. The horror!
Naturally, I had to put a stop to that.
So I informed all that I did indeed have a degree....in sociology
(which I don't). It worked like a charm. Rumors died.

On RF, some anti-Trumpers bristled at my balanced view of him,
eg, approving some policies, opposing others, neither hating nor
liking him. So they'd call me a "Trump supporter!". Convincing
them otherwise failed.
So I tried the old tactic of embracing the criticism. I changed my
signature to "Donald Trump 2024". Lo! There's been nary a peep
since. How can they insult one who embraces the insult, eh.

Fellow posters, I ask you....
What such mischaracterizations have you faced,
& how have you handled them?

Your sig could be a double bluff
I don't know if I'm mischaracterised. That could be self-enlightening. Rustle up 10 character traits you perceive of me and I'll score it in respect of them seeming to me to be mischaracterisations. Feel free to be tactlessly honest. You could just make sure you restrict yourself to 10.

 

[Secret Chief]

They have the most neurons of any insect, from my brief investigation of that recently

Lockdown been affecting you badly then?

 

[JustGeorge]

I don't struggle with misrepresentation too much. For the most part, people see there's something a bit odd about me to begin with, and they don't quite know what to think.

I was a part of a Unitarian Universalist church for a few years. That is probably the worst I've dealt with it. No matter what I said, or what I did, I was pegged to be some kind of misguided, yet gentle idiot who had trouble affording to feeding myself. (People seemed to think I was making up stories when I'd talk about the meals I was cooking.) Anyone without a fancy degree seemed to be treated this way; wasn't really the place for your average working class, apparently. Eventually, the fallback from that did a number on my self esteem worse than anything I encountered in high school... Thankfully, we left.

 

[Vinayaka]

I don't struggle with misrepresentation too much. For the most part, people see there's something a bit odd about me to begin with, and they don't quite know what to think.

I was a part of a Unitarian Universalist church for a few years. That is probably the worst I've dealt with it. No matter what I said, or what I did, I was pegged to be some kind of misguided, yet gentle idiot who had trouble affording to feeding myself. (People seemed to think I was making up stories when I'd talk about the meals I was cooking.) Anyone without a fancy degree seemed to be treated this way; wasn't really the place for your average working class, apparently. Eventually, the fallback from that did a number on my self esteem worse than anything I encountered in high school... Thankfully, we left.

I used to get that, about meals. Sometimes I'd take leftovers, and get stares. At work one guy always liked to introduce me as a Buddhist. I gave up trying to correct him. Same with vegetarianism ... "Yeah, but you eat fish, right?" Actually I found it rather funny at times, being rather out of that standard mold. I'd sit on the window shelf in Lotus and discuss a story with the students. Another teacher would knock on the door, and my designated door opener would open it, and I'd get this weird look. In the long run, I found students (youth) to be far more open to stuff than many adults.

 

[Revoltingest]

It is a way to manipulate the people around us or sometimes just a way to feed our own ego.

To control the behavior, thoughts, speech of others or just as a way we can think of ourselves as being right, others wrong or holding the moral high ground.

Calling someone a nazi or a racist, questioning their level of education is part of this process of manipulation. Folks have learned to do this because it is often successful.

I think what I usually do is recognize it for what it is and ignore it. Trying to defend against it is changing your behavior. The intent was to change your behavior the manipulation has succeeded. It has thrown you completely off track of whatever your own intent or goal was.

"Successful" is more in the minds of those who
proffer & lap up the mischaracterizations.
But outside of that, they also manage to derail
threads, which appears to be a secondary goal.

 

[Revoltingest]

Your sig could be a double bluff
I don't know if I'm mischaracterised. That could be self-enlightening. Rustle up 10 character traits you perceive of me and I'll score it in respect of them seeming to me to be mischaracterisations. Feel free to be tactlessly honest. You could just make sure you restrict yourself to 10.

I can't characterize you to that extent.
I only know that when I'm alerted to a post by you,
I don't cringe. Some posters cause that.

 

[JustGeorge]

I used to get that, about meals. Sometimes I'd take leftovers, and get stares. At work one guy always liked to introduce me as a Buddhist. I gave up trying to correct him. Same with vegetarianism ... "Yeah, but you eat fish, right?" Actually I found it rather funny at times, being rather out of that standard mold. I'd sit on the window shelf in Lotus and discuss a story with the students. Another teacher would knock on the door, and my designated door opener would open it, and I'd get this weird look. In the long run, I found students (youth) to be far more open to stuff than many adults.

Yeah, kids generally are more accepting I've found. They haven't developed such stern views of how a person 'should' be. We taught a kids' class at that UU church, and found the kids(middle school/high schoolers) to be much more insightful, intelligent, and considerate than most of the adults in the building. It gave me a lot of hope for the future.

The trouble I had with the meals wasn't so much about vegetarianism, it was the fact that I didn't live off of ramen and frozen pizza. In their mind, low income meant eating junk food(and there were comments to this effect voiced several times). The reverand at the church once brought me expired thyme and basil, and with a smile told me "now you'll have some spices to experiment with!". I have a spice wrack my husband built for me that reaches the ceiling... and a spice cupboard, because that wouldn't hold them all, either...(we buy bagged frequently). There was just an unwillingness to accept something that didn't fit their worldviews.

 

[Revoltingest]

Lockdown been affecting you badly then?

Actually, it's not bad.
The engine shows I attend have suffered.
But I've not had to endure Mrs Revolt's love of travel.
(She is an international traveler who hasn't even left
the county in over a year.)