Ignorance or Apathy?

[Jagger69]

A friend of mine and I were having a discussion over the weekend about what represents a bigger threat to our shared and inexorably intertwined futures here on planet earth as time goes by....ignorance or apathy.

Is ignorance (which can be defined subjectively as a perception that some of us have used to define other individuals or groups....i.e. conservatives may think of liberals as "ignorant", Muslims may define Christians as "ignorant", etc) by those who are actively involved in affecting the process more of a danger? Or, are those who simply don't give a shit and refuse to participate in the process at all, thereby leaving their fate up to others who may or may not have their best interests at heart, a bigger threat to our combined well-being?

Or, is the biggest threat of all represented as a lethal combination of the two?

The discussion got pretty heated (alcohol was involved) and I definitely have an opinion on his but I'd like to hear what some of you might have to offer about this subject first. It's an interesting question....especially considering the predominance of each option as it applies to today's society....particularly in America but certainly both traits are quite readily observable in many nations.

Any who care to participate are most welcome to submit an opinion. Those who don't give a shit can choose to decline.

 

[BlueBalls]

EDIT:

*Mental note* - Read poll choices before making joke, otherwise it doesn't work.

Fail BlueBalls, FAIL!

 

[TheOrangeCat]

Ig'nance be the worst ....... I'd love to be confronted by a bunch of apathetic jihadis ... 'hey, we'd bomb ya, but ... nah. Can't be arsed. Pass the bong .....'

Ignorance, on the other hand, is often lethal; directly and indirectly. It also leads to things like 'Cops' and 'Jersey Shore'.

 

[CunningStunts]

I thought ignorance at first, but then reconsidered... apathy can do just as much harm, for as the old saying goes, all that is needed for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing.

Combination platter for me...

 

[alexpnz]

Ig'nance be the worst ....... I'd love to be confronted by a bunch of apathetic jihadis ... 'hey, we'd bomb ya, but ... nah. Can't be arsed. Pass the bong .....'

Ignorance, on the other hand, is often lethal; directly and indirectly. It also leads to things like 'Cops' and 'Jersey Shore'.

.......AND guys who think they are cats and post IGNORANCE!
I'm APATHETIC to your plight....

 

[TheOrangeCat]

.......AND guys who think they are cats and post IGNORANCE!
I'm APATHETIC to your plight....

Actually, you'd post ignorantly, and be apathetic about my plight.

On a happy note, you've added to your long list of FAILS, so that's good.

For me

 

[BlueBalls]

A difficult question to answer.

I thought ignorance at first, but then reconsidered... apathy can do just as much harm, for as the old saying goes, all that is needed for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing.

Combination platter for me...

I pretty much agree with this.

In a solely political sense I find them both somewhat reprehensible. Lets be clear, the general public should neither know nor be expected to know the subject matter of each and every piece of legislation that's passed through our collective governments - this is a reason we have representatives to begin with. But to inform ourselves on the intentions of those we choose to put in power and vote on such legislation (or to be cynical: are told what to vote for by they financial backers ) is indeed of great importance.

 

[Johan]

I'd say apathy.

At least, ignorant people can say "I didn't know. If I had Knew, I would have do thing other way !"

 

[photomoney]

This thread needs to be executed. You blow gagger69

 

[LukeEl]

Malice is more dangerous.

 

[Member442]

I was going to say ignorance but then thought about it Apathy can be just as bad. I picked a combo of them both.

 

[KillTheIndustry]

I said both, but I think apathy is worse. Ignorance is not knowing you've fucked up; apathy is knowing you fucked up, and not caring.

Examples...

Ignorance: "I invaded your country thinking you had weapons of mass destruction. I guess I was wrong. We'll leave now."

Apathy: "I knew you didn't have weapons of mass destruction, but I invaded anyway. Fuck you!"

Both: "I thought you had WMDs, but you didn't. But while we're here..."

 

[Jagger69]

This thread needs to be executed. You blow gagger69

I'll take that as a "Fuck you Jagger" response. Next??

Malice is more dangerous.

Please elaborate if you would. How do you separate malice from ignorance? It's easy to see how malice and apathy are not congruent.

 

[lurkingdirk]

I think apathy is an insidious force that is destroying a lot of good things about society. I also think that we're in the really hardcore second generation of apathy now. The people in college now (and since, say the year 2000 or so) have learned by the example of their apathetic parents.

Apathetic parents raise apathetic children. This second generation of apathy is hard-wired really deep. I stood in front of my class of 60 undergrad students and told them, "Yours is the most apathetic generation ever. No one cares about anything, and you're all content to just take whatever the media feeds you and consume it. You, as a generation have no taste, culture, or discernment."

The response I got from the class: shrug. blink. blink.

Apathy. I fucking hate it.

 

[meesterperfect]

depends on who's acting on it.
if its an aggressive person its ignorance, if its a peaceful person its apathy.
I think.

 

[Zolf J. Kimbly]

i picked apathy

ignorance is easier to fix

aslo ignorance doesnt cause apathy

a lot of people these days are ignorant because of apathy tho

 

[Facetious]

those who simply don't give a shit and refuse to participate in the process at all, thereby leaving their fate up to others who may or may not have their best interests at heart, a bigger threat to our combined well-being?

This. It's called welfare.

 

[magicspore]

I don't care attitude is always more dangerous than I don't know as far as the greater good of humanity is concerned.

Personally in day to day dealings its the other way around.

 

[Hugetitlover]

The ignorant can be educated, the apathetic can't be made to care.

 

[gunslingingbird]

The two are interrelated. Apathy breeds ignorance, and ignorance breeds apathy. It's a vicious circle. I don't care to get informed about an issue, so I maintain a biased point of view, which further fuels my unwillingness to learn the facts.

Actually, I think, the biggest threat is teaching ignorance and apathy to newer generations. As someone mentioned before, we're in the second generation of apathy. Why? Because the previous generation taught it to the current one. Instead of teaching the new generation to have a pro-active approach to things we've taught them to turn off their brains, and turn on their televisions because the world and its problems will just go away if they watch enough episodes of American Idol and Desperate Housewives.