UNPOPULAR OPINION

We’re unsure of where the quote “opinions are like assholes, everyone’s got one” came from, but it exists. Unlike many of the views, impressions, and speculations that we all hold, the aforementioned quote is a fact. What’s even more factual is that sometimes our opinions won’t always align with popular belief. 

It’s easy to understand how some equate the general acceptance of a widely held opinion with truth, as anything we consider to be true is technically true. Such, it's important that we improve our understanding of what constitutes a fact. Facts which are actual, objective, and can be proven. Conversely, opinions are based on feelings, which can neither be proven or dispelled. 

Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, we can turn our attention to the focus of this month’s Front Page, which is the validity of the entitlement many feel when it comes to expressing our opinions, and whether or not this entitlement is an actual entitlement. 

We’ve already established that everyone has an opinion, but are opinions something that we all have a right to? Stick with us to find out as we spend a little time exploring whether or not we’re as entitled to our opinions as we think, and the most responsible ways to express them.

Some of the most relevant unpopular opinions we found when conducting our version of research for this month’s Front Page centered around raw being law, open relationships, and the over ratedness of one Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter. 

Those who openly admit to their disdain for latex find themselves pit against the unwavering wrath of the “condom police”, while the serial monogamists clash with whatever the latest term for today’s poloyamorist is.

Similarly, those who dare to question the relevance and talent of Blue Ivy’s mother are met with the acrimonial war cries of those who view Rihanna as Beyonce’s better...and then, for whatever reason, like clockwork, Brandy’s name gets tossed into the fray. Things start to get kind of confusing from there. 

Despite popular belief, we are not as entitled to our opinions as we think we are. Shocker, right? The opinions we form come as a result of our individual experiences. We most often hold the same opinions as those who have had the same experiences we’ve had. However, just because a group of people share the same opinion almost never makes it a fact. 

The fact about all opinions is that they’re subjective and are born from personal feelings, experiences, and preferences. Those who conclude otherwise are generally the same ones who believe that they’re not only entitled to openly expressing their opinions, but to have them accepted as factual in instances where such an acceptance shouldn’t be granted.

Another fact about opinions is that while they can’t always be taken as the gospel, no one has the right to keep any of us from saying and thinking whatever it is we please to say or think. The beliefs we have about A or B are ours to have, hold, and to express as long as they specifically relate to our experiences with them. However, we shouldn’t assume that our experiences with A or B are monolithic UNTIL they can be proven to be true or false. 

Let’s take a second to revisit one of the three unpopular opinions we listed earlier. Unprotected sex is the reason any of us are here. Fact.

Those who engage in unprotected sex with multiple partners who are also engaging in unprotected sex with multiple partners are more likely to contact and/or transmit a sexually transmitted infection. Fact. “Raw is Law”? Opinion.

Raw is only law among those who allow it. It is a preference that quite a few have. Sometimes these few share their favor and practice of their expressed belief of bareback sex on onlyfans. 

Polyamorous relationships are not for the faint of heart. Or maybe they are. The science on this points in favor of both opinions, but that’s an anthropological rabbit hole that we’re not going down. The subject is still very taboo, but that its taboo is what makes it the subject of someone’s opinion. 

Regarding Beyonce versus Rihanna versus Brandy? Numbers don’t lie, and neither do Grammys. The fact is we can all see who sold what. We can also see the opinions of those responsible for handing out Grammys. 

The bareback, poly, and beehive communities are all entitled to thinking and saying what they feel, but they are not entitled to having their opinions treated as fact when truth, science, and Celestine Beyoncé Knowles-Lawson have shown us time and time again that what’s understood doesn’t need to be explained!

None of this is to suggest that our opinions aren’t valid, because in many cases they are. Which is why it's important that those of us who need the validation are able to defend our opinion. The key to this requires defending for understanding-not defending because we wanna be right. 

None of our true experiences can be negated, because we experienced them. Such, our position on the opinions we’ve formed as a result of our experiences don’t require justification as much as they do an explanation, and that explanation should only be given to those who are open to listening. 

The entitlement many associate with their opinions doesn’t float. Why? Because we are not the experts. Everyone with a working knowledge of 2020 knows who Dr. Anthony Fauci just as much as they have a knowledge of who Donald Trump is. 

Understanding the difference between having our opinions viewed as valid versus having a right to them is as simple as knowing the difference between Dr. Anthony Fauci and Donald Trump. Trump was, and probably still is filled with opinions. Those of us living in the United States have both heard and suffered as a result of Trump’s opinions as they related to the handling of COVID-19. The same can be said of Dr. Fauci, as well. 

Factually speaking, Trump was, and still is, entitled to his opinions on how COVID-19 should be handled, just as Dr. Fauci is. HOW THE FUCK EVER, the only one of these two who are entitled to having their opinions taken seriously is Dr. Fauci. He knows the science, he knows the facts. The only thing Donald Trump knows is that he can no longer log on to Twitter. 

We are entitled to many things, but our opinions are not one of them. We don’t get to act as the authority of or on things that we have limited or no knowledge of, things that cannot be proven by science and truth, and things that are subjective at best.

We can always say what we feel about something or someone based on our experiences with them, but we must understand that our experiences do not make us the expert of or on that person or thing.

The entitlement part of this works the same way. Yes, we are free to express our OPINIONS, but we are not entitled to having them treated as fact, especially if doing so triggers an event that affects someone who has nothing to do with our opinion.  

Our opinions are the personal expressions of our thoughts and feelings. Those that are not backed by data remain as opinions, while those that can be proven by data find themselves closer to being fact. We’re entitled to our opinions, but only when we realize that while they may be ours to have, they are not for others to hold or believe. 

Raw may be law for one, but not another. Polyamory might serve as the move for the few, and not the many. And while Brandy is always welcomed into the conversation of Beyonce versus Rihanna...some may only value her silent presence, and not her vocal one. We’re still not certain of who’s responsible for the quote about opinions, but if there’s nothing else that fact can prove about opinions is that some of them are as unpopular as they are filled with shit. And that’s okay, too.