Which is preferable, to be viewed as obnoxiously opinionated, or pleasantly indifferent?

I think pleasantly indifferent is a way better option and I’d rather have a friend who said “whatever, it is what it is ” rather than an asshole who is constantly talking about his opinions and beliefs in an obnoxious manner.

Obnoxious is seldom a good position.

Yes, pleasant indifference has to be a better angle.

Pleasantly indifferent people are absolutely no fun to talk to.

If you can’t say something nice, come sit next to me.

But friends, what if the opinions of Mr. Obnoxious happen to be sound and the issues significant. To dismiss him in preference to the man with the pleasant disposition generated by “I don’t care” can’t be the sound decision.

@Seek Right on the money! If you can be at same the table, you want the chair right next toTrump!

I’d love nothing more than to see him scramble to answer me while baffled by his own bullshit.

He’d probably get up and walk away 30 seconds into the conversation.

I’m with Seek on this. You find out who your real friends are when you share your opinions. You may end up with few friends, but you end up with true friends.

Indifference is contemptible.

Not always. There can be legitimate reasons for indifference, ignorance being chief among them. It’s the choice to remain ignorant that rates contempt.

@Seek walking away isn’t his usual style. Much more dependable is his habit of swtiching the conversation to personal insults of you based on defects of his own invention.

That’s OK, personal insults made up 90% of the communication in the household I grew up in. He can’t hurt me.

It would be nice to see someone maintain their footing through all the insulting windbaggery, then chew him up.

You’ve laoded the dice. How about pleasantly opinionated and obnoxiously indifferent?

I have my opinions but I usually keep them to myself. Even when asked, I try to be diplomatic, unless I’m with close friends in which case I let loose with “wtf’s and everything like that. I wouldn’t want the term “obnoxious” to be identified with my behavior at any time.

@janbb but where’s the challenge in that?

Who says that being indifferent means being nice?
Who says that having an opinion means being obnoxious?

You can combine these two quite easily.

In the end, it’s not what you say, but how you say it.

Being nice pays off more often, regardless of what you say or don’t say. No matter how right you are, no one really likes the asshole.

Pleasantly indifferent.
Nobody likes an obnoxious anything.

I don’t have time for the obnoxious. Life is annoying enough without obnoxious people trying to have space in my ear.

Having opinions is one thing, being obnoxious about the opinions is another.

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There’s also the danger of people getting obstinate in the face of someone being obnoxious.

The obnoxious opinion might have been correct, but if pushed, I had a bad tendency to get stubborn about the opposing opinion, even if I didn’t hold that opinion. I could be a bit of a terrier about it – which did no one any good. Avoiding/ignoring the obnoxious types has helped with that.

The latter.