When people treat you like you're an idiot

[Iceman1978]

So the other day I'm sitting at my desk and a co-worker goes into the Vice Presidents office, which happens to be located right next to mine. He starts chatting with him about the recent events in the Middle East regarding ISIS. There are only two people in the entire building who have lived in the Middle East for any length of time, and the VP is one, while I'm the other. So naturally, since they're standing right next to me, I try to comment on the issue and how I feel about it, and the co-worker just completely ignores me, as though I don't even exist or have anything of value to add to the conversation.

Rather than say anything else, I sit at my desk and continue typing (and listening) as they're talking. Then the guy makes a remark that "those people have been killing each other for thousands of years". At this point, I wanting to give this guy a piece of my mind, but I decided not to.

I felt like telling him "Do you think it makes you sound intelligent to come up with a sweeping generalization about a region in which you've spent no time in and a culture which you know nothing about? It doesn't make you sound intelligent, it makes you sound ignorant. Yes, the Middle East has seen its share of fighting, but so has every other region on this planet. What exactly do you think the Europeans have been doing for the past thousand years? Because I can assure you that they haven't been sitting around a campfire, holding hands and singing kumbaya".

This isn't the first time that something like this has happened either. Years back, I was discussing the dangers that our economy was facing, and was dismissed like I was idiot. Well, that was way back in 2004, and not only did everything I said would happen did happen, but it happened almost in the order I said it would. Still, what do I know?

Does anyone else ever feel like others treat you like you're an idiot?

 

[DVEUS]

no...but i have been around those who think they know everything and that they are a walking and talking wealth of knowledge...next time you should go ahead and put your 2 cents in unless it would be detrimental to your job!

please don't be offended...i know your post is serious and that is exactly the way i took it...however when you went into your rant about campfires, holding hands and singing kumbaya...well <just that part> cracked me up...

 

[Iceman1978]

no...but i have been around those who think they know everything and that they are a walking and talking wealth of knowledge...next time you should go ahead and put your 2 cents in unless it would be detrimental to your job!

please don't be offended...i know your post is serious and that is exactly the way i took it...however when you went into your rant about campfires, holding hands and singing kumbaya...well <just that part> cracked me up...

I'm not offended at all. *S*

 

[Peaches]

Yes, the part about kumbaya was really funny but probably the ignorant guy would not have understood the joke at all.

Seriously, sometimes really ignorant people look for equally ignorant others to say their ignorant things, so probably it's a good sign that that guy ignored you, maybe you are just too "intellectual" for them (I met a woman for whom someone who had any books in the house was "a bloody intellectual").
Or more likely he was trying to suck up to the VP so he didn't want to be interrupted? I mean there are many reasons for people's rude behavior that don't involve them thinking that you are an idiot at all, but for sure it feels like that when people ignore me, it's not nice.