my contrarian ways

My husband hates Facebook.

Whenever we are in a social setting, he brings this up to gauge reaction. At a recent function one unfortunate night, he paraded me around from group to group, bringing up Facebook in each small gathering, making sure I was listening, as Joe Blow proceeded to (for the most part) chastise the popular social networking site.

And as we walked away, he would look at me, eyebrows raised, and say, "See? Everyone thinks it's crazy."

That night it was Facebook. Frequently it is another topic that we don't see eye to eye on. I cannot tell him enough that what Joe Blow thinks about Facebook, or whatever topic he has chosen to exploit, doesn't matter to me. I understand Joe is welcome to his opinion, and I'm welcome to mine. End of story.

What else is there to say?

Yet he proceeds to labor his point. I think, mostly, because he likes the sound of his own voice, but also he likes to agree with the majority. He sees strength in numbers, no matter how well you might structure your opposing argument.

But I am not so democratic. I sometimes - just for fun - take a contrarian stance. Like the time in grade six where I argued smoking should be allowed in schools. I have never smoked in my life, and am seriously opposed to smoking, as were most of my classmates. But I learned a lot that day about debating, and got a glimpse into the world of smokers for an afternoon. It was educational - I can't say I remember much else about grade six.

As I age I am more and likely to be a contrarian not just for fun, but legitimately so. I no longer feel the need to acquiesce to the popular side of an argument, and happily disagree with the majority on all sorts of issues. I call it personal growth. Husband calls it plain wrong.

And here again we are at odds. Shocker.

I haven't broken this news to him yet, but I've enrolled in some courses at my local university. The subject: social media.

It's so much fun to stir the pot.