A question that runs through my mind almost constantly is, “Who cares?” I think it when I read the news, when I overhear people talking, as I scroll through social media, and a bunch of other times. The reason I think “who cares” is because people are always making proclamations. Pineapple doesn’t belong on pizza. Who cares? Baseball is the best sport. Who cares? Winter is better than summer. Who cares?
Let’s use the pineapple as an example. There is a passionate debate on the internet about whether pineapple belongs on pizza. Some even say that it’s not pizza if it has pineapple on it. Frequently, they say that they will, “die on this hill.” To which I say, “Who cares?” The only place that I know pineapple doesn’t belong is in my mouth. Otherwise, you can put pineapple wherever you’d like.
I know pineapple is a trivial example and I know that a lot of the talk is hyperbole. No one would really be willing to die because someone puts pineapple on a pizza. Believe me, I get that. I even know that it can be fun to have pointless arguments about pointless things. If arguing about pineapple on pizza makes you happy, go for it.
The reason I’m writing this is because people also have very similar arguments about non-trivial things. Those non-trivial things are tied up with people’s identities. If a person is Kawaii or goth or emo or punk, it can become central to their identity, especially younger people. If other people go around saying that emo kids are losers or punks are posers, it can really hurt. Who cares if someone is Kawaii or not? It’s essentially like the pineapple argument, except this one affects real people.
So, stop caring about what other people like and don’t like. Stop yucking their yum. Start caring about things that matter. Care about yourself and your loved ones instead of relative strangers. You’ll be happier and the world will be a better place.
Thank you to my kid for suggest this topic.
