Overt cynicism used when expressing an opinion or reviewing a specific item. Often, I'll feel tempted to ignore the expressed views solely because of the way it had been expressed. While I try to stay fair-minded and level-headed in an argument or when viewing the qualifications of a game, it is most difficult when I feel insultingly pressured by the other view.
Mass opinion. Basically, the more people that agree with a specific subject, the more difficult it is to argue from the opposite perspective. Sometimes, it doesn't really seem like its worth battering around, some aspects of the console wars betray their immaturity the moment you open a gaming website such as IGN... and yet the pressure felt by by an overwhelming majority opinion plays an unjust factor of many arguments.
Radicals, of all denominations. Somebody who is completely obsessed by their own opinions or conducts themselves very poorly are an embarrassment to their own view. Part of the reason is that it will induce people of an opposite opinion to feel more strongly against the radical's perspective, and others will be embarrassed to agree. This extends from fanboy-ism to far-right vs far-left politics.
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So, these three common factors all fit into politics and similar arguments that I generally avoid unless I feel I know enough about the subject to debate it. I'm generally quite feeble when it comes to holding an opinion, but this is always contributed by the fact that A-One way or the other, I'm combating despondent cynicism, B-My opinions are minority views, I seldom get the comfort of having someone else agree with me in a reasonable fashion, C-Many of my opinions have been unfairly represented by radicals.
What a strange, mad world we live in. I wouldn't believe in any of my views if I didn't have sufficient reason, whether its something as simple as a Sonic game being worth my money or as significant as the existence of anything supernatural.
Besides these three things, I would like to name a few specifics:
Fanboys: The reason by which they function is inapproachable. Whether it is the vast superiority of FPS360 over Gramma's Wii, or the guy who tells you that you need to show your love (read: 500 bucks) to the console because you know you want it...
Niche: Anything that tries to succeed by appealing to what it believes is popular based on past tendencies. They usually end up being repetitive, but do in fact succeed because of this. This includes waggle games for the Wii, your standard survival horror or mindless action film, or -reserved for its own category-.
Reality TV Shows: We all know the epitome of entertainment is seeing people act selfishly for want of a million bucks, right? And the height of drama is people crying or driving themselves insane over who the next one to be voted off is... Maybe the concept would not have been bad in moderation, but it is everywhere. Even Cartoon Network has a mock-reality show that pokes some fun at the genre that inspired it.
Time: Who decided there were twenty-four hours to a day? Perhaps this is fair when there one has an exhausting career, but it is simply not enough for anyone who has a job as active or less than a desk job. Just six more hours to every day is all I ask...