To think some people are so thick it’s almost beyond parody

[Annecydrone]

Photo on local history Facebook group. A beautiful Georgian mansion, taken in the 1930s. The post clearly explains that the mansion was demolished in the 1950s after a devastating fire destroyed most the structure, at which time it was in private hands. There’s a second photo of the shell of the building post-fire, clearly showing all but one wall standing.

Comments underneath include people
blaming the council for not preserving the mansion, demolishing it for “profit” at the behest of “developers” (despite the council not owing it, selling it or giving permission to build on it); how the failure to preserve the mansion was “woke” and shows the left’s disrespect for our heritage; several entirely serious posts about the land probably being used for a Mosque.

The land where it stood is still empty and still privately owned (as far as I can see).

Are people genuinely this stupid or are they keen to shoehorn their political views into literally anything?

There’s a funny bit from a Micky Flanagan show where he talks about thick people, something along the lines of it used to be the case that you ignored thick people and now they’re put on the telly and celebrated!

Yes , I agree with you about Boots self checkouts .
My advantage card is on my Boots App , but it only scans properly if you go into wallet 🤪 I found out when I got a new iPhone I was taking photos of the bloody checkout instead of my card scanning 🤣🤪.
I am definitely above average intelligence too 🤣

I work with the for a solicitors and there seem to be a lot of people who are very low intelligence, sometimes they’re aware of this and say ‘I’ll need your help to understand this’ which is great because we all know where we stand, but most of the time they have no critical thinking skills and no awareness that their limited experience of life doesn’t necessarily translate to everyone else. Recently I had to explain to someone that we couldn’t send them their inheritance money because they hadn’t yet sold the deceased’s house and that was the only asset, I think that they expected the solicitors firm to give them money from the solicitors bank account and be reimbursed once the house had sold, because in their mind it was taking ‘too long’.

Yes, a relative works in conveyancing and says that the job is made unbearable by people simply not understanding the process, not reading documents (perhaps because they can't), or just wilfully ignoring all requests from her but still expecting the sale or purchase to progress. As laws around money transfer have tightened, this has become increasingly problematic.

Of course conveyancers also have to constantly deal with estate agents. [wince]

I was recently in the building society and a young man was arguing with one of the staff. He couldn't understand why his home was being repossessed. Apparently he and his girlfriend had split up but he was still paying his half of the mortgage and didn't understand why he had to leave. They couldn't get through to him that the whole of the mortgage payment was still due.

One of the thickest things I ever heard of was some people my FIL knew many, many years ago.

They had a traditional fire in the living room of their council house, but were much too mean to actually spend their own money buying firewood; so instead, they started gradually taking up the floorboards upstairs to burn them instead. Once there was no floor left upstairs, and they were (by necessity) only living downstairs, they saw no reason to keep the stairs and burned those too.

They were genuinely amazed that the council wouldn't take the full blame for them having to live in a house that was now not fit for habitation and give them another house to methodically burn live in. They actually demanded compensation for their previous unacceptable living conditions as well as the replacement house - and were most astonished when, instead, the council came after them for compensation!

So many people are convinced that the world actually runs according to what they reckon 'should' be the case - and everybody else magically understands and fully accepts the machinations inside their wise heads!

I wouldn’t go into conveyancing for any amount of money! People are so awful to the conveyancers because they don’t understand it’s a process that has to be followed.

There are a lot of extremely stupid people out there. I deal with the public and spend a lot of time trying to explain simple things to people who are just not that bright.

Is that in Skelmersdale? I ask because similarly stupid types there bought a foal and it got upstairs in their 3 bed council house. They fed it etc and it grew so big that it couldn’t get out and pissed so much it brought down the living room ceiling.

All this came to light because the woman across the road called the doctor to come and see to her husband who she reckoned was hallucinating because he kept talking about the horse in the neighbour’s upstairs window.

Bots on Facebook? Maybe. But the stupids and chancers are there in abundance on Facebook anyway.

A friend sent me some choice examples from her - affluent - area of parents looking for Spanish, French etc speakers who will coach their children for free, but transport offered. 🙄

My local - not affluent - area has a Facebook group dominated by loudmouths who go on and on about Boris Johnson: local swimming pool under threat, new houses being built against residents’ wishes, potholes etc - all Boris Johnson’s fault. We’ve had a Labour council forever.

My favourite were the anti-5G mast posters. Absolute loons.

I came off Facebook.

I know someone who thought he wouldn’t have to pay any utilities or council tax etc., once he bought his own home (outright with an inheritance) and didn’t have to rent anymore. It was quite a rude awakening for him when the debts started mounting up.

I don't know about 'thick' - of course people have different levels of intelligence. What puts me off people is being almost proud of being ignorant and having no curiosity about the world. Curiosity is an aspect of intelligence and the lack of it is really, really unattractive as a personality trait.

I've had unpleasant people over the years demand 'How do you know that?" Well, because I'm interested in things...all kinds of things, you dumbo! You'd know it too if you woke up, looked around you, did some reading and lost some of your prejudices.

These bovine (sorry cows) people are some of the most soul-destroying you can ever meet. I've only encountered them occasionally but they depress you to the bottom of your soul.

Having written that post, I should say that I think the education system over the last few decades has a lot to answer for.

Oh - and the 'anorak' insult which belittled people with interests and hobbies.

Agree with both those points.

Are people genuinely this stupid or are they keen to shoehorn their political views into literally anything?

Both. And they can't be bothered to read the post properly. Or are incapable of holding more than two sentences worth of information in their head at a time.

My business often posts with details of our products and services on facebook. I can guarantee in the comments there will be at least a couple of people asking the very question that was clearly mentioned in the original post.

For example: (not a florist but using this as an illustration)

Me: Large bouquets £50, small bouquets £30. Price includes local delivery. Please message us for more info about which flowers come in the bouquets.

Online Idiot: How much? What flowers are in it? Do you deliver?

When we needed to recruit last year we put a job ad on our FB page. It VERY CLEARLY stated all the requirements and details of the job, and specificallt asked that people send CVs to our email address, NOT to message us through the FB page. We promptly had about six people message us through the FB page. And about another ten simply wrote 'interested' or 'inbox me with more info' into the comments section. What more info could you possibly want that wasn't already covered in the very lengthy job description posted immediately above this comment, you utter numbskull?

I mean seriously, talk about falling at the first hurdle.

There are so many stupid people around.

I have a little shop selling fabric, in a town which was ‘built by the wool trade’ from the 14th century, until the dissolution of the monasteries in what - 1535ish? History isn’t my strongest point. But I do know it was Henry VIII, and I do know that when that happened there weren’t so many monks in town - and the cloth that was made in the town was mostly used by the monks. So once the monks left, the wool cloth wasn’t in great demand, it wasn’t made here (or in fact anywhere) anymore, and the town went into decline.

Last year, I had a chap come into the shop and ask if I sold the particular type of wool cloth that used to be made here. I explained about the monasteries going, the monks leaving and the wool trade going down the pan, and he nodded sagely. Then he asked me whether anyone had ever considered “resurrecting the old equipment and starting to weave the cloth again”. I had to pick my jaw up from the floor and reiterate that this had all happened before Elizabeth I, and it was almost 500 years ago, and it was pretty unlikely that anyone had a mediaeval weaving loom hanging about in the back of the garage. But he was STILL surprised that it wasn’t a thing that we were doing. Kept telling him that it was all a bit before my time, but he still kept at it.

Both. And they can't be bothered to read the post properly. Or are incapable of holding more than two sentences worth of information in their head at a time.

This reminded me of an incident from long ago...

A young colleague from a very southern town was leaving to set up a cafe in Dewsbury, Yorkshire. I was making chit-chat and said "Nothing wrong with Dewsbury, but what made you decide to go there?" (I'm a notherner myself...no snobbery, I hasten to add!).

...only to hear immediately from someone nearby 'What's wrong with Dewsbury?" said very aggressively.

Jeez.

Oh, please tell me that you just made that up! 😱

No it’s true. Roughwood, as I recall. The pharmacist told me.

I remember decades ago seeing some news footage from a council estate in Dublin I think it was - a horse was seen coming out of the lift!

Horses are far more common in Ireland anyway. And it’s the only place I’ve seen cows on the beach.

Thick people have always existed. It’s social media that allows them a platform. 🙄

Boots self check out is particularly annoying and not user friendly imo