The title says half of it:

When you know someone will interpret everything you say their way, do you talk to them?

The other half:

What if they’re your parents?

No, I didn’t just have a fight with a parent, but I do talk to a lot of people who interpret what I say as best I can tell based on preconceptions of what they expect someone talking about what I talk about to say. For example, if I suggest how for nearly all of human existence our ancestors lived with more equality and freedom than we do, they respond “You want to return to the Stone Age?” If you want, I can list more examples.

The pattern reminds me of my parents growing up, hence the second question.

People think they’re interacting with reality and don’t realize the lenses interpreting it. I’m not saying I’m different. I’m just sharing how I wonder if it’s worth talking to people unaware that they do it.

I guess I’m also sharing that it’s frustrating.

• ← On considering when to decrease my daily exercises started over a decade ago, now in my 50s
• If your solution to our environmental problems is your solution to problems before them, you’re probably tribal, not thoughtful, and exacerbating them. →