damaged goods

isabelthespy:

tsarevich:

dressesandyarn:

I don’t agree with this at all.

Until last year, my mother did not read much. My momma has a variety of medical issues complicated by fibromyalgia and migraines. On top of it, she was trying to be a kick-ass mom. So even when she had the time to read, trying to focus on the page was hard. She’s getting better, has more time, and found an author she likes, so now she reads.

Boyfriend rarely reads and one of my best friends rarely read for years. They both have dyslexia, so reading wasn’t fun. My friend was able to learn some strategies that made it easier to read, but Boyfriend wasn’t able to do this. This doesn’t mean he’s unintelligent. That man can take apart your computer and put it back together in better condition than you bought it. He can turn your poorly executed drawing into a beautiful tattoo. He can spin aluminum and clay into dishes that we use every day.

I suggest anyone who thinks this way examine why a person may not read and look at other things they choose to do in place of reading.

THANK YOU. i am so wary of this attitude about reading because even a lot of people who are otherwise grand will rain down contempt on anyone who doesn’t read for fun and it just bothers me no end. reading is a chore for a lot of people for a lot of reasons, and other people may simply not have the time, or may just not know what they might enjoy reading and thus never really get started.

you don’t have to have read a lot of books to have a sound grasp of logic, or an insight into people or situations, or an understanding of narrative techniques, or knowledge about some subject or other, or ANYTHING, because hey most people who don’t read will still watch movies and tv or listen to the radio or engage in conversation with people and gain or exchange knowledge and points of view that way.

not reading does not make a person stupid or wilfully ignorant, per se. sure wilfully ignorant people exist, and i would recommend avoiding those, but if that is what you mean, then say that, don’t single out people who don’t read as if reading is somehow in and of itself a moral act. would you rather be friends with someone who reads terrifyingly distorted propaganda books in earnest than someone who doesn’t read but is a sensible and compassionate person? cause i’m shimmying away from YOU rn js.

woooord. at this point i’d rather hear “i don’t read” than “ew people who don’t read.” one of these things i find inherently dickish! it is not the first one.

truth. as someone who has many adults in her family who cannot read, watching them being constantly shamed for this is incredibly difficult and makes me feel like the biggest douche in the world for ever being one of those people that lost interest in people because they didn’t read.