I am so sick and tired of people "Playing the devil's advocate"!
What the hell does this mean in reality? Well, I'll tell you
(because it's my rant, after all), it means that they get to pick holes in everything you've done without actually offering
any alternatives and without any personal commitment. It's too
damn easy to say "Well, that won't work because of ....." and then,
when the person defends their decision, the attacker quickly
back-peddles with the all too familiar "Hey, don't get angry at me, I'm
just playing devil's advocate here. Personally, I think you've
got the right idea". It's so bloody annoying.
So, here's the real question: What good does it do? In the end,
what does criticism without conviction and without any personal
investment really amount to? As far as I can see, the answer is
"fuck all". Every idea has problems, every opportunity has
a down side. Does it help to know them all? We arrive on
the earth with an unknown expiry date, but with the certainty we are
going to die. Could you imagine how much you would get done if
every time you thought of something someone came running up and said
"Are you sure you'll be alive by the time this is done? Is it the
best thing you could do now? How safe is that, anyway?"
Gee, there goes any sport. There goes child-birth. There
goes walking out the front door.... No, forget that, there goes getting
out of bed. Oh, hang on, the majority of people die in bed, so
maybe we should just not be born. That would appear to solve all
the problems.
There is a quote I have always liked: "If you offer an alternative, it
is criticism, otherwise it is just whinging". As far as I can
see, the devil's advocates are nothing more than a pack of whingers!
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