Everybody has at least one. Either it’s a band that all of your friends like but you can’t stand, or a movie that your gf/bf keeps asking you to see, but you’d rather be trapped in a collapsed mine shaft. Then, even if you didn’t originally hate that thing, being reminded about it constantly makes you so sick of it you can’t even read its name without feeling your blood pressure spike.
It sucks (we know!), but you’re not entirely defenseless. With a little bit of practice, it’s possible to learn to enjoy your own unpopular opinion. We can show you how. Just follow along with this (totally, completely, 100% hypothetical) example.
Unpopular (hypothetical) opinion: “Family Guy” is really, really bad.
This statement (used solely as an example of the kind of opinion a person might have) will serve as our thesis. Again, in case you missed it: “'Family Guy' is terrible.” (Notice how the quotes denote this as a purely hypothetical opinion.)
Organize your (theoretical) supporting evidence
To really enjoy an argument over something like this you can’t just say, “'Family Guy' is terrible.” You have to have a logical explanation for why this is so. For example, you could, theoretically, say that you think "Family Guy" is awful because the humor is too broad and obvious, the characters are shallow stereotypes, its jokes are mostly just strings of meaningless pop-cultural references, and its animation is hideous and boring.
Now, just supposing that you had said this, whomever you were arguing with would be forced to rebut these claims while you enjoyed their angry, flustered reaction.
Debate with confidence
Never say “I just don’t get it” or “I don’t understand this.” Demonstrate that you have a very deep, nuanced understanding of the faults of whatever you’re discussing. You could say something like, “The problem with 'Family Guy' is that it has no sense of subtlety. You can always guess the punch lines to its jokes before they happen, and its cultural references rarely have anything to do with what’s happening in the show.”
Stating your argument this way may not convince the other person that you’re correct, but the insinuation that you understand the topic more clearly will often provoke an angry and entertaining reaction.
Remember that this is just an example
Keep in mind that the argument above was merely hypothetical and could be applied to anything from “American Dad” to . . . did we mention “Family Guy”?
Do you have an unpopular opinion?
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Topics: Life, Celebs & Stuff
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