It is funny... some people call Mac users (or Linux users)
religious zealots. Of course, by
some people I mean
devout Windows users.
Being atheist, I've watched religions (real religions) as an outsider. One of the oddest factors of many
believers is the deep-seeded need to remove all those who believe differently from them. For them, anyone... even a single person standing alone in a crowded room of
true believers, represents a threat to their beliefs.
When we look at Mac users or Linux users, we are such a small community of people compared to the Windows users, yet there are people who fear and hate users of these other platforms. They waste massive amounts of time and energy on trying to eradicate these minority platforms that would seem to be of no real threat to their dominant platform.
What I see in common here is a fear of being wrong. These people who hate others who think differently than themselves, their aggression isn't caused by anything the other religions or other platforms have done, it is the fear that maybe, just maybe, they made the wrong choice.
People who are secure in their choices (religious or platform preference) can stand alone, without there being anyone else around them that believes the same way, and not worry. But those who aren't so sure, they need to surround themselves with others who believe the same way. And even then, that is not enough. They must remove the possibility that others might be thinking differently than themselves. And of course the best way to do this is to vilify those who think differently.
To be sure, I'm not stating that we don't have people like this within the Mac or Linux communities... I know we do. But generally speaking, these types of people wouldn't be part of minority communities (of either computer platforms or religion) because they would find themselves in a constant state of anxiety.
No, generally speaking, these types of people are part of majority groups. They often run out by themselves to take pot shots at differing opinions and then quickly retreat to the comfort of their large group (we see this most often around here as trolls).
It is interesting to watch.
I, most likely, go to the other extreme (and realize this about myself). I like being different, having my own thoughts on topics, being part of smaller and smaller groups... heck, how many users of Rhapsody are there, and how many of you have I tried to
convert. I have no problem standing alone with my opinions... in fact, I like it that way.
More importantly though, I embrace others of differing views. What many people seem to forget is that as individuals, we are forced to see the world from our own (often limited) perspective. By surrounding ourselves with others of differing points of view, we can gain perspective that we could not achieve by ourselves.
These other people which I've been pointing out, they seek out and find others who see exactly what they see. Their motivation isn't to see what is really out there in the world, they want others around them to reinforce their singular point of view.
Truly, it is not the point of view of people like this that we should fear... their point of view is (after all) just as valid as any of ours, it is their need to hate others with differing points of view that is the real danger.
Windows users, Mac users, Linux users, Christians, Muslims and even atheists who translate this fear of differing ideas into a hatred of others... that is the one thing that truly frightens me.
