carrihound's Journal

i was just thinking about this this morning : it amazes me that people who comment online so often regard their experience as universal. no, there aren't krogers everywhere. we have HEB stores, which i don't think everyone else has everywhere. the point is : some stores charge more for some things in some areas, others do not. you're all right relative to your own experience. but be careful not to dismiss something just based on your experience - recognize that things may be different elsewhere.

it's not a given that anyone (or everyone) will have to pay more just because you do. they should check their local stores & find out for themselves. if you tell them it will cost more, which motivates them not to even check, then (especially if you are wrong) you're doing that person a disservice by spreading bad information on the superhighway. you can definitely squelch a person's interest/enthusiasm/energy with certain comments (the person here said you'll pay more for no-salt veggies, to which several others responded that they pay the same in their area). by telling someone an item is more expensive, you might completely neutralize that person's interest in the item. if you are correct, then this might not be a bad thing, but if you're wrong, you just ended a path that could have brought them to a solution to their problem.

the reason it occurred to me this morning was that i'd once recommended that when waiting to pull out into traffic, instead of asking "can i make it before that car?" ask yourself, "is there room for me to go after that car?" usually for me, asking the latter question, the answer is yes, so i wait. i feel this approach leads to fewer instances of peeling out in front of oncoming cars because you wait for them to pass instead of rushing to make a hasty decision & pull out before they get too close. safer roads. but when i suggested it, someone responded that there was never room behind the oncoming cars. that may or may not be the case for them. in fact their statement captured the sentiment i'd previously believed ("if i don't go now, i'll never get in!"). problem is, they completely neutralized my suggestion without any real facts to discredit what i was saying. my experience was valid, perhaps his/hers was too, but their experience doesn't negate mine & does not mean that universally everyone will have experiences like this persons & not like mine.

i had believed something different & i was disproven (actually pleasantly surprised that my assumption had been wrong). this person's comments probably discouraged others from even trying it, and potentially robbed them of the opportunity to have the experience i had. people online commenting do this all the time. do others see it? the power of the nay-sayers?

i'm sure i'm guilty of it too, so i say let's all be a little more thoughtful & respectful of the fact that our experience may not be the last word on a matter, whether it be something small like the price of a can of no-salt veggies or something more significant.

anyway, just wanted to get this written down since it's been on my mind. i'm sure i'm getting flamed for mentioning it in the "rinsing vegs to reduce sodium" thread. so be it.