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A student at UC Berkeley pointed out my protest sign was factually wrong
I was holding a sign about endowment figures during a sit-in last month, and a poli-sci major showed me the actual financial report. The number I had was from a three year old article. I switched to just holding a blank board after that, which felt weirdly more effective. Anyone else get called out on their facts mid-protest?
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viola_lopez302mo ago
Oh man, that's the WORST. At least they were nice about it and showed you the report. I had a guy once yell at me for having the wrong date for a city council vote, and he was SO smug about it. Honestly the blank board is kind of a power move, makes people wonder what you KNOW.
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the_hayden2mo ago
Wait, I think you misread my post. The board wasn't blank, they just didn't have the report ready yet.
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riverh492mo agoMost Upvoted
Totally get the smug guy thing (been there). That fake confidence is the worst part. Makes you want to check their facts twice just to prove a point. A blank board does feel like a weird flex though, like they're hiding something better. Honestly, both ways just show they didn't do the prep work.
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jamie_webb671mo ago
It's funny how this whole thing connects to a bigger pattern I notice every day. People seem to either overcompensate with fake confidence when they're wrong, or they go silent and mysterious to avoid looking foolish. Had a neighbor once who swore up and down he knew the exact date for our HOA meeting, real pushy about it. Turned out he was two weeks off. Then there's the guy at the hardware store who just shrugs and says "I don't know" when you ask a simple question, leaving you to wonder if he's hiding something or just lazy. Both approaches boil down to the same thing: nobody wants to admit they didn't do their homework. It's like a defensive move people use to save face instead of just saying "I'm not sure, let me check.
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