Stupid? Or Different?

I thought this was self-evident, but apparently it’s not. The fact that someone doesn’t agree with you doesn’t make them stupid. This can be illustrated with two brief examples:

  1. Someone voted for the other candidate. Contrary to what many people on both sides of this issue would like you to believe, this doesn’t mean they’re less intelligent than you, it just means they have a different point of view.

    In this example, the person is not (necessarily*) stupid.

  2. Overheard in a bakery, two high school upperclassmen have a conversation:

    HIM: I can’t believe how stupid Kelly is.
    HER: What do you mean?
    HIM: We asked her where the Empire State Building was and she thought it was in Paris.
    HER: You’re kidding!! God, she’s an idiot. The one in Paris is that big one… (she begins making sweeping steeple-like gestures with her hands). You know, that one… what’s it called?
    HIM: I don’t know.

    In this example, everyone was stupid, regardless of their point of view.

*They might actually be stupid, but there isn’t enough information to be certain.