Let's see...

* That I'm white (Until they meet me or I tell them otherwise)
* That I'm straight (That one I understand )
* That I'm rich (SOOOOO incorrect!!! I just really know how to decorate and rock a largely wardrobe)
* That I'm about 5-10 years younger
* That I'm smarter than I am
* That I'm a snob (I'm not... nor have I a single reason to be)
* That I'm far more "liberal" or "conservative" than I am
[Edited 3/16/07 20:24pm]

Lammastide said:

That your username is lame ass tide.

Fauxie said:

That I'm quiet, shy and conservative. (that's the biggie)

That I listen to girl country rock like Lucinda Williams. It always disrupts people's preconceptions when I tell them I love Led Zeppelin and play in a punk rock band.

That I'm girly and don't know my way around a sound studio or a film set.

That I'm a follower, not a leader.






Life is a constant battling of misconceptions and I'm simply not very good at it.

JustErin said:

I don't agree. I'd say it's more that people tend to make judgments and act according to their surface, superficial first impressions -- which reflects more on them than me.

heartbeatocean said:

Bravo, I could not have worded it any better!

karmatornado said:

I should know. I've dealt with this my whole life.

Fauxie said:

SORRY!

heartbeatocean said:

As have I, but when you try to say to people what you just said they tend to get all uppity and self righteous and try to twist it around like your the person with the problem, when all your doing is being true to yourself, which in some weird way is not fitting in with the critics cosmic chi!

People think I am really full of myself while I am actually really insecure. I am just a good talker and know how to talk around it.

People think I am thinner than I actually am. My 6'3" frame hides the overweight very well.

That I am really stupid cuz I talk so much.

That becuz I am gay I wanna have sex with everything that has a dick (well, okay, close enough, but you don't have to assume, okay?) and that because I am gay I am familiar with their gay hairdresser.

karmatornado said:

I have never cut people down in the act. I just watch them make fools of themselves, especially when they find out how wrong they are. That's probably not the most effective method though. But as I get older, I care less and less what people think. They'll find out soon enough if I want them too. I don't really have it in me to try to act differently to give them a different impression. Probably because I like myself the way I am.

karmatornado said:

That's right, everyone else is the one with the "problem".

No one says it's a "problem", it's just that some people do not like to be around others who present themselves in a certain way....no matter what their intentions are, it doesn't matter.

Well, ok...I guess you can say it's their "problem" because they are the ones that have a problem with it but you can't hold it against them if they don't wanna be around it.

I just don't see it the same way as you guys I guess. Even it I am giving off a certain impression on a very superficial level, I'm still giving it off and I, not for one second, believe that everyone else is just pulling that impression out of their ass and are way off.

Gah!

It's late and I am tired. I don't think my post came out quite the way I had intended it to.

Oh well, I'll try again tomorrow.

JustErin said:

Oh I don't in anyway hold it against them if they don't want to be around it. Exhibit A is the way I treat you. I have consistently treated you the same since day one, and will continue to do so, even if you have no desire to ever speak to me again. Thats just the way I work. Do I think its shallow, no, its just a case of people gravitating toward who they feel comfortable too.

JustErin said:

But it's a one dimensional impression.

I can be very quiet, introspective and thoughtful, but I can still swear and have a mean temper.

I can play classical violin, but I can still rock to the Sex Pistols.

I can dress very feminine and have long curly hair but I can still operate a mixing board.

And just because I'm not talkative, doesn't mean I can't take the horse by the reins and tell people what to do and give them direction.


In some ways, I wish I could project myself differently, but it almost causes me pain to think of changing the way I act. I would need some kind of intense coach or rewiring system to give off a different first impression, even though I'd like to. Something about me is deathly afraid, perhaps, to communicate what's inside so immediately to strangers -- but what I show is part of me too.

HamsterHuey said:

Oh, please, tell me it was really you!

heartbeatocean said:

I understand that.

Fauxie said:

Same here. All of the above.

ThreadBare said:

Me too. Completely.

I hate to say this but, sometimes, I feel like I don't know who I am anymore. I don't mean that literally, or in a negative way, but so many people have different expectations, based on who they think I am or how I used to be... Or how they think I should act. It gets very frustrating, at times. I guess I should re-phrase that, really, as having an identity crisis.

Am I still that shy person? Am I really confident? Is it just a mask? Catch me on one day and I can be the life and soul. Catch me on another and I just want to sit back and watch. In some ways, I stll think I'm that geeky teenager who just happened to find his own feet and, somehow, made a lot of friends along the way. The ugly duckling, so to speak. In others, I feel supremely confident. I confuse myself.

I have no expectations whatsover when it comes to others. People can act as they like. If you came into the room dressed as a pelican I wouldn't bat an eyelid. I might question your judgement but people can do what the hell they want, as long as it does't affect others negatively, IMO. Yet I know so many people who expect others to be this, that, whatever... I find it draining, sometimes.

All I know is that you have to be 100% honest to yourself. Even when no-one else 'gets' it, frustrating as that can be. There's no point acting in ways that others expect you to or behaving in a manner that you think pleases others because the only person (and I know this from experience ) that you end up hurting is yourself. When you start second-guessing your own behaviour, how can it be anything less than natural? So - be yourself!

For some reason, people tend to get the impression that I care. But I don't. Not unless it's about someone very close to me.

Oh yeah, that's the other misconception about me that Lammastide previously mentioned. Because I have an English-derived name (it's not New Wave Forever, ) and because I write and speak with such intelligence and articulation, one who hasn't met me would assume that I'm white. The lead singer of my band (who is also black) was even fooled before she met me.

You have no idea how much that irritates me.

OK so because speak proper english and have an english name and possess intelligence, I can't be black? I have to be white?

I'm a really quiet person, especially around strangers.
People think I'm stuck up and/or mentally challenged.

For the record, I'm neither.

dseann said:

same here

PurpleRighteous1 said:

Another misconception is that people think I'm shallow. That I value beauty too much.
Just cause I find you too repulsive to sleep with doesn't mean I don't like you.



"with" edit
[Edited 3/20/07 18:47pm]

Imago said:

that i don't smile, i'm shy and (to some of my relatives) i'm stupid.

People think I'm 'Special'

ItsOnlyMe said:

oh dear