In this sleep-deprived ramble, I'll be complaining about people who complain about people who complain. That is, people who find complaining objectionable in some way, shape, or form.
If there's one way I feel stifled, one way in which I feel I am not free to express myself, it's when I find myself discontent. Excessive complaining seems to be a social taboo, but I argue that society is doing itself a disservice by frowning upon complaining.
What happens when someone complains? By which, I mean what is said? What is the content of their words, their message? It's an expression of dissatisfaction, yes, but most longer-form complaints come with detailed descriptions as to why the complainer is complaining.
By defining what the complainer finds so objectionable, complaining perfectly serves as the first step to solving any problem: identifying the problem in its entirety. Identifying the problem serves as a base from which you can begin to explore solutions to the problem. Sometimes, the solution itself is apparent as soon as the basis of the complaint is established.
In fact, a complaint cannot even exist without at least some conception as to what the remedy to the complaint would be. If someone were complaining about the heat, the solution in their mind might be air conditioning. But assuming air conditioning isn't immediately possible, the individual would revert back to the base, back to the original complaint about the heat, the mind challenging the complainer to innovate and explore other options to remedy the dissatisfaction.
Even more valuable is when more than one individual is complaining about the same issue. A sort of democratic operation is born as individuals agree with one another on particular facets of the problem at hand, i.e. "XYZ is too cold!"
Additionally, when complaining as a group, any individual may develop the overall state of complaint with their own individual observations, i.e. Bob piping in and yelling "and it's sticky, too!" If the social group agrees with Bob, he will be lauded for his contribution. If the group generally disagrees with Bob, he will be shunned.
So you see, complaining in a group format, or as I prefer to call it, a "rabble", is the purest form of applied democracy mankind can possibly achieve. So please, start complaining. Thank you.
If there's one way I feel stifled, one way in which I feel I am not free to express myself, it's when I find myself discontent. Excessive complaining seems to be a social taboo, but I argue that society is doing itself a disservice by frowning upon complaining.
What happens when someone complains? By which, I mean what is said? What is the content of their words, their message? It's an expression of dissatisfaction, yes, but most longer-form complaints come with detailed descriptions as to why the complainer is complaining.
By defining what the complainer finds so objectionable, complaining perfectly serves as the first step to solving any problem: identifying the problem in its entirety. Identifying the problem serves as a base from which you can begin to explore solutions to the problem. Sometimes, the solution itself is apparent as soon as the basis of the complaint is established.
In fact, a complaint cannot even exist without at least some conception as to what the remedy to the complaint would be. If someone were complaining about the heat, the solution in their mind might be air conditioning. But assuming air conditioning isn't immediately possible, the individual would revert back to the base, back to the original complaint about the heat, the mind challenging the complainer to innovate and explore other options to remedy the dissatisfaction.
Even more valuable is when more than one individual is complaining about the same issue. A sort of democratic operation is born as individuals agree with one another on particular facets of the problem at hand, i.e. "XYZ is too cold!"
Additionally, when complaining as a group, any individual may develop the overall state of complaint with their own individual observations, i.e. Bob piping in and yelling "and it's sticky, too!" If the social group agrees with Bob, he will be lauded for his contribution. If the group generally disagrees with Bob, he will be shunned.
So you see, complaining in a group format, or as I prefer to call it, a "rabble", is the purest form of applied democracy mankind can possibly achieve. So please, start complaining. Thank you.
