Agree to Disagree

Why Am I Writing This ?

Recently I received a comment on a video I made for my YouTube channel, the comment was not about the video itself but rather something I said in the video that this person disagreed with. Now let me start by saying that I 100% believe that it is ok to disagree with someone, difference of opinion is a good thing, it helps keep things interesting.

I wanted to share this experience, or conversation, or interaction (whatever you want to call it) not as a negative, but as a positive. Far too many times I have seen others, or even been nyself, on the receiving end of a verbal onslaught because someone disagreed with something that was said. I have been called names, been made fun of, or treated like I was stupid and much more, simply for having a different opinion on something. Now does this bother me, no, not personally anyway, I don’t usually take offense when this happens because their actions and words speak more of them and what is going on in their life than it does about me. What bothers me is that it is getting to the point where to disagree with someone is an offense that warrants this type of behavior, and all words that they feel like spewing or actions they feel like taking are justified in their minds.

Now I want to make it perfectly clear, that the gentleman I am writing this about was not rude, or angry, or dismissive in any way, he simply did not agree with what I said and he wanted to know why I felt this way. That being said, I wanted to share this interaction because while it did not end in one of us changing our minds or opinions, we both were able to voice some of our thoughts, and then politely go on about our lives with no added negativity, and that is an outcome that is becoming less and less common in today’s world.

The Statement I Made

So what was it that I said that he disagreed with? Well, it is pretty simple, I said that “I am a firm believer that distribution doesn’t matter”. That’s it, that is all I said, distribution doesn’t matter. This is not an earth shattering idea, nor is it an attack on those who believe otherwise, it is strictly my opinion and I voiced it because, like everyone in the world, I have the right to my opinion and the right to voice that opinion.

This gentleman, who was watching my video, heard me say this, and instead of immediately attacking me or telling me how dumb or stupid my opinion is, and even instead of telling me I am wrong, simply commented with his opinion, and then offered me the opportunity to have a conversation with him about it.

I gladly accepted his offer.

Our Comment Exchange

(the following comments are copied verbatim, typos and all)

His Initial Comment

“Distro’s do matter…You can ask me why if you want…I’ve been here a lot longer than you Jake so I’m intrigued why you think one distro is the same as another”

My Response

“I appreciate you taking the time to comment, I don’t think they are all the same, but i do think that if you are willing to take the time and put in the work, you can make any distro you choose work the way you want it to. I know they have their differences and there are some specialty distros out there so I don’t think that they are the same, just similar enough to be functional and work for you no matter which one you choose.”

Him

“First of all Debian is different to Fedora is different to Arch is different to Gentoo.. Here’s the thing packages each of these use different package management and what’s available on one may not be available on another..Secondly each of them work differently..I’ve listened to Chris Titus saying like you they’re all the same..They def are not.. In fact if that was the case then any company using Linux would use all of them and they don’t.. I could go into this and it would take several A4’s to explain.. So I use Arch without sysd and no I don’t use Artix.. Each Linux system, not distro, gives you different freedom and experience.. If you’ve been here as long as I have you might understand!!! 🙂”

Me

“I know that they use different package managers and some software may not be in another distros repo and so forth, and there are different init systems and that there can be differences in the file structure of one distro when compared to another, all that still does not make them so different that I can’t do with one distro what I can do with another. All I am saying is that the differences between distros is not enough to make it so you can’t do something with one that can with another, for the most.part, as long as you are willing to put in the work. For example, I use Void Linux, I could switch to Debian and have pretty much the exact same system, same functionality on the user end, same types of software and programs(maybe not the exact software but at least something that would perform the task I need it to), same workflow, etc. I’m not trying to argue with you so I hope it does not come across that way, I appreciate your insight and always like hearing other people’s thoughts on a subject.”

Him

“I’ve used Void in fact I built my own system LFS+ So I’m going to say this again. Each system uses different resources.Each system behaves differently. Jake I’ve done this for ages and I wish you well and I’m happy you use Linux.. But all are not the same in fact they are so different.. Just be good and enjoy 🙂”

Outcome and Final thought

The outcome of this very short conversation was that we both held to our opinions, neither one of us changed our minds but we both heard another point of view and were able to politely engage with each other about a topic and maintain civility even in the face of disagreement.

So while I do believe this gentleman misunderstood what I was saying, he felt I was declaring all distros the same, when in fact that is not at all what I was saying, I was happy with the dialog we were able to have via the YouTube comments section, I am happy he was polite and respectful and I hope he feels I was the same. I want to thank him for taking the time to comment and reply and for the respect and decency he showed.

So in conclusion, be kind, be understanding, listen to hear, not just to respond, and remember it is ok if someone disagrees with you, if we all had the same opinion the world would be a pretty boring place.

God Bless.