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Why do people criticize poetry?
Posted by R1VERT1LT • 9/29/09 • Subscribe to this Discussion [RSS] • Report This Topic
Topics: life, poetry, thoughts
Most of the feedback Ive received is quite positive, but some people dont even give poetry a chance. Why?
User Comments
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___________ is not for everyone.
In this case, the blank space is replaced with the word "poetry".-
I understand what you are saying, but I think it should be. The beauty about poetry is that each person can make of it what he/she wishes. There is no right and wrong in poetry.
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that is true.if you feel that your work is art , then you definitely want to be treated as such.art is art.there is no such thing as bad art.
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Some poetry resonates with certain individuals and other poetry doesn't. Your poetry can't mean all things to all people.-
I hope it does.
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Poetry is dumb
I'd rather drink rum
Ahh sh*t look what i've done
another limerick of fun
I am stopping this nonsense before I go numb-
lol... nice limerick!
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U pretty good! Who said I don't appreciate poetry?
I wish I could make up stuff like that - but you never know, one day I might start!
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Because you have to have intelligence and depth to understand poetry and, unfortunately, some people have neither.-
or maybe we just don't like it?
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Or it depends on the subject, the author, the challenge it brings, etc... -
Agreed, some people just don't like it. That doesn't mean they should be rude and comment negatively on a blog that contains poetry. If they don't like it, they shouldn't read it.
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But a poem is not a poem until you read and/or recite it ...
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I wouldn't go as far as saying that its until you read or recite it. But a poem needs to be shared.
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I am reacting to TCMommy's "If they don't like it, they shouldn't read it." Poetically, here is my point : "The test of the pudding is in tasting". Indeed, a poem,- like love, is not a poem until you give it away....
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Poetry can at times have the power to force honesty - it provokes us to take a good look at our reality, or how we see or feel things...sometimes the answers are just too much for some to deal with.. -
Because they think it's for angsty, moody teens...or they just don't get it. I also think alot of people don't like it because there is a lot of really bad poetry out there, written without an audience in mind. So it's very vague and hard to understand. But when you get someone that's good, real good, sh*$ comes alive!-
I agree with you. Some poetry is hard to understand... But when written with emotion and passion, poetry becomes a universal language that everyone can understand... Maybe a poem has a different meaning to me, than that which it has to you... but a good poem will mean something to everyone who reads it.
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I agree with that!!
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Or maybe they're just jealous of your poetry-writing skillz.
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I actually just wrote about why I disliked poetry on my blog. Of course, I am learning to like it better.-
Ok... I am going to take a look at your post, you take a look at my poetry and we will exchange thoughts in the end
Deal? -
are you stillthinking?
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I can do that. It's the newest post on Bright Star.
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Poetry is like everything else. Some people like it, some don't. I love poetry, and consider myself a poet of sorts. But despite what poetry lovers feel it's not bread and water, and one can live without it.-
ONE may be able to do so... I am not!
The problem with poetry is that of life, people tend to complicate what is simple...
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I just went and visited your blog.
There was one poem that reminded me of a Beatles song:
"There is something in the way"
I think the most difficult thing about original poetry is coming up with original imagery that has not been said. I thought your poems were pleasant and likeable, but I'm not an expert.
Is Spanish your primary language?-
I write what I feel... I don't spend hours dwelling around the words. When I think of a pen and paper, I know I have to write... and usually my poems come out naturally. I base my poems on how I perceive the World around me, the people I meet, feelings, emotions, places, people...
Thank you. I am glad you enjoyed them.
Portuguese.
FYI - I dont like the poem you posted by John Keats either... it seems that he is making to much of an effort to say something that should come from the heart and the soul, not from the mind.
So, to a point, I understand your criticism. -
That Keats poem actually really speaks to me. I think it's beautiful. Of course, my opinion of it was heavily influenced by the fact that I loved that movie so much.
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Seems like I am going to have to watch it Haven't seen it yet.
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I also didn't like that poem from John Keats. It bored me. But then again, I'm not one to criticize as I can't write poems that deserve the paper it's written on.
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That's my point. Even as a Poet, I write more than I read... I like poems that speak to all people alike.
For all of those who think they dont like poetry... listen to this:
seekinthecause.blogspot.com/2009/09/knock-knock-by-daniel-beaty.html
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I hated analyzing poetry in college. It sucked, and was so subjective, but then your professors try and tell you that it means this, but then they tell you it can mean something else, and when you write that it means something else, they go back and say, "No, it means what I said it meant," which pretty much... yeah, I hate poetry.-
Take I look at my blog... tell me what you hate about the poem "Why?"
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I hate that it's a poem.
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Its hard to hate something you havent even read... but some people are just like that.
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@trail
Yes, poetry is extremely subjective. It can be interpreted in so many ways. -
Make it a "Shameless Blog Promotion" and I'll read it.
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No worries... don't read it.
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Another thing, River. Not all blogs are to your taste and therefore you don't read them. So in that sense, you can't expect everyone to like your poetry either.
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Ofcourse. But I give every type of blog a shot... Because I believe that even on subjects that I dont like, there are good blogs.
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poetry is nice, i write my own poems and essays..only people who doesn't know how to write poem cannot appreciate it...lol!-
Take a look at my blog. You might enjoy.
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Poetry is often stereotyped as being related to a particular species of disturbing individuals that is the bane of the modern world, thus turning many peoples stomachs against it. -
because it sucks -
I think Wendy (from Southpark) best answers that question in a song;
Mrs. Landers was a health nut, she cooked food in a wok.
Mr. Harris was her boyfriend, and he had a great big..
cock-a-doodle-doodle the rooster just won't quit,
and I don't want my breakfast, because it tastes like..
shitzus make good house pets, they're cuddly and sweet,
monkeys aren't good to have 'cos they like to beat their..
meeting in the office a meeting in the hall,
the boss he wants to see you so you can suck his..
Balzac was a writer he lived with Alan Funt,
Mrs. Roberts didn't like him but that's cuz she's a..
contaminated water can really make you sick,
your bladder gets infected and blood comes out your..
dictate what i'm saying 'cos it will bring you luck,
and if you all don't like it, I don't give a flying f-fancy.
(poetry is good if it rhymes. if it doesn't rhyme - is it really poetry?)-
of course it is. Leonard Cohen's writing don't often rhyme.
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Actually more people than you know like poetry. Poetry isn't just a line of words it is an expression of what you are and feel. It's all in the way it's presented. Most musicians are awesome poets. I never really read poetry until I started reading blogs. But turn on an awesome song and then I start having to dance like nobody's watching,which is another form of expression... -
Criticize a poem
Make poet feel bad
hurt poet writes more poetry
So you help poet
by criticizing his poem
Have you criticized a poem today? -
Because its easier to be a critic than a poet.-
amen to that! -
True. Very true.
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'Cos they have nothing better to do.
Then, they break and remove things,
It's always the same with that kind of persons.
But i love them anyway, as a part of the All (therefore, a part of me)
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Maybe poetry just isn't understandable! Hmmm?-
really?... why do you say that?
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I'm someone who doesn't quite get poetry.
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ok... give mine a shot. Tell me what is so hard to understand about it
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The verses and overall structure of lines...I never got this stuff in English class.
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lol... and who told you I did? I write from the heart... I have never studied poetry!
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There's a lot of poetry in popular music and film. I think that's the kind of poetry most people respond to.
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That's just too bad. Although there are a few good poems out there in the music industry - well's drying up now though.
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I'll also add that the Bible and other religious texts all contain marvelous poetry.
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Absolutely. We'll convert you one of these days. Listen to our poetry, it will seep in to your mind!
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It already has.
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THEN IT WILL TAKE OVER YOUR SOUL!!!
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They criticize it because that's human nature. -
I don't so much criticize
as more often realize
I can actually do better. -
I've found a lot more people appeciate poetry than I thought. It still surprises me. -
People get inoculated against poetry by grade school teachers who teach it without appreciating or understanding it themselves.-
take a look at my blog if you enjoy poetry you might like it.
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Will do...I've been featuring some angsty haiku on mine, as well...
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Why do so many sneer at poetry? Every person has a poem in him, or several. And most folks know it. But poetry is so damn hard to write. Everyone feels, and poetry are feelings set free, but try to set them down on paper. Damn. Or put them on your tongue. Everyone who has a heart has a poem. Poetry is the heart's song. So many people know that their hearts have songs that their hearts want to sing, but only a few people can get their poetry to sing -- because it takes practice and practice, and practice, and skill -- to carry a tune, from the mind to the hand to write it down, or from the mind to the mouth to speak it out. Poets are blessed, and they are sneered at, because what they do look so simple, and it is so damn hard.-
Thank you
"Everyone who has a heart has a poem. Poetry is the heart's song."
So true!
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I love poetry. But, in all fairness, there is A LOT of bad poetry out there. I've gone to poetry readings and have left with a headache. I think a lot of people hear the bad stuff, like that book Jewel published. No offense to anyone that liked it but I thought it was AWFUL. Also, the stuff they teach at schools doesn't usually resonate with the masses or with kids. But poets like Nikki Giovanni do, for example.-
Check out my blog and tell me what you think kiss
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I've never cared much for poetry. Don't really know why. I don't criticize it. I think it is a lot like Opera. You either love it or you don't. To me, just a preference thing. Like in books, I gravitate to mystery suspense novels and my son loves all the vampire and zombie novels.-
Again... take a look at my blog please. Who knows, you might relate
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I've wondered this my entire life. From the time I was a child, I loved poetry. I would read and weep and think and hold the book to my chest as if it were gold. I still can't open my e.e. cummings collection without shedding a tear, becausae the beauty of it overwhelms me. But I learned long ago, people don't share this fascination. They claim they don't understand poetry, or that it's too difficult to read. I found it sad, and was one of the reasons I gave it up for awhile. But I can never give it up....-
I do understand people to certain extent... I admit, some poetry, as meaningful as it may be, was not meant to be shared! You mentioned E.E Cummings... I love the way he writes, but I understand that some people might not like it. But some poetry is universal. Most people love music... and the fact is music, is poetry dancing.
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Yes, everyone loves music, but few like poetry. For awhile I thought I should just write songs...and when I did, it would still be the same poetry, except once set to music, so much more enjoyed! It's odd.
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I love good poetry.-
Try out my blog... if you enjoy poetry you might like it
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To like poetry you have to be invested as a reader. It requires a bit more give and take and a lot of people don't have the energy for it.
Or they don't like it because they don't get it.
I love it....even when I don't get it!
But it's more fun when I do!!-
the beauty of poetry is that each of us can understand the same words differently...
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because in school we had to read some of the really boring bad stuff and formed our opinion very early that all poerty sucks. I like Dr suess and stuff like that. Make me read some sappy stuff and I will hate you for ever. -
People criticize everything.... It's the world of the Opinion anymore. It seems like there's no time for analysis and plenty of it for off-the-cuff knee-jerk voicing of personal taste.
Attention spans are short. Ideas are spoon-fed. The world has sped beyond a widespread appreciation for things that might take a little bit more time to understand and enjoy.-
I agree with you. The things that should really matter, dont matter anymore.
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River - Check IrateDog's MY SISTER is on the PLINTH...
She's reading poetry LIVE on Webcam - and is up there for a little while longer... LIVE --- NOW! -
Criticising poetry is like criticising music. If you don't like it, look the other way. Move on.
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Well said.
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Many people criticize what they can't do or what they can't understand. Music and poetry are two of the same, so if you don't like poetry I would hate to hear your music selection.
On top of that people criticize everything good or bad.-
True... its human nature. But as you said, music and poetry are related, so its hard for me to understand how everyone loves music and so few enjoy poetry.
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I visited your blog today and was hoping for your latest program, but found a video-albeit a beautiful one--instead. Hope you haven't given up!
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I made the video. Its a video to help a little girl who was born with a problem on her spine that has taken away her ability to walk. One of my best friends has a charity organisation and we are trying to help her raise money to help pay for her cirgury. If you claim to seek a cause like I do, you can't turn your back when you find one.
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Broke like a champ this week,but hit me up next weekend...I get my sign on bonus @ goldstrike....I will be GLADDDDDDD to donate... I'm just not good @ remembering so bump this thread this time next fri
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Not every person likes every style of poetry.-
And what do you think of my style?
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Poetry is a very personal form of self-expression. Some people are more "sensitive" to the ideas being expressed more so than others. Criticism can be negative or positive...a critic who can only dish out negative comments (in my opinion) probably lacks the ability to be "sensitive" to others' needs for expression. Then again, it could also be that the "poet" is not expressing themselves effectively through that communication form. -
I majored in English in college. Got spoiled on some really good poetry. So when, for instance, I'm on myspace reading about how someone's heart is broken after their girlfriend found another girlfriend, I just cant. Please don't make me. Please don't rhyme! No! Don't do it! I really can't stand rhyming cowboy in love poetry.-
Take a look at my blog and tell me what you think.
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I suspect people criticize poetry when they feel something could be improved, perhaps form, function, meaning, what have you, but do so in an attempt to give the author of the poem a helpful suggestion. If everyone only tells you how good your poetry is, what motivation do you have to change, how could you get better despite that there is room for improvement, but nobody wants to tell you because you might be offended. I value criticism just as much as praise if not more.-
Sometimes their poetry is such crap to begin with, I can't even take the time to critique it. I have to run away. If it's good poetry and someone asked me to critique it, I would look first at the breaks in what they are trying to describe and why they put them where they did. Does it add interest or take away? For instance, why did they put those three words on the same line and not the forth word that is the start of the line after that? The words, sometimes have more meaning(s) if they are on the same line. I often see where people don't know where to hit the return key, in the same way that people don't know how to deliver a punch line. They hit it too soon or miss it. It's like fishing. You can hook a good one if you don't yank the hook too soon. Other times I'm turned off by poetry that is an attempt at shoving interesting words together but the meaning is lost at the expense of trying too hard. It's not tight enough or it's so tight it's like plaid pants with a flowered blouse. TOO MUCH!
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Take a look at my blog and tell me what you think.
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Exactly amymusings. Your points are right on. I can tell your critique would be very valuable. I suspect your critiques are not appreciated as much as they should be given that there so many self-proclaimed "poets" that are too easily offended.
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Er, because they don't like the particular poem in question?-
I am talking about poetry as an art form... Some people just don't read poetry.
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Art can be critiqued too.
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Honestly? Because most so-called poets really really suck. I write a lot of poetry, and I read a lot of poetry, and most of the poetry I find online these days isn't worth the webspace it occupies. Much of it is riddled with cliches, mired with bland imagery, locked up in plodding archaic rhyme schemes, or so gushingly sentimental that reading it would cause the reader to spontaneously melt into a puddle of pink Cupid juice.
That's not to say the writers couldn't be good. Many of them have talent and potential. But poetry -- good poetry -- is more than a column of rhyming lines on a page, and it requires a dedication to the craft of poetry that most writers are too lazy to put forth. -
Its a possibly that there intelligence is so low that they may not be able to understand it? -
I bet you’ll tell me this crap is great,
and create a calligram smiley face
behind strings of phony praise
and confidence boosting barbs
beckoning me to continue
with my uneducated attempts
to write
poetry with meaning,
leaning on a web thesaurus
for synonym support to uphold
a clicheless catwalk of words
strutting their stuff in unison
for a common cause – to strike
emotion into the wanting minds of
readers reading
such horseshit laced,
backspace erased
crap as mine
signed in phony calligram spammed
smiley faced comments-
Wow. You're good. Most of mine start with, "There once was a lad from Nantucket." I'm impressed!
And here, for you: -
I rest my case.
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Actually I think the OP was wondering why people don't read poetry or think it's important in general rather than why they're critical of specific poetic efforts.
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True. I think it is as simple as people have different interests. Not to mention that poetry can be intimidating at first sight. Someone new to poetry might be like, "what the hell are they talking about" without putting much thought into it. Also, there are those that simply just prefer straight dialog and don't understand it as wordsmithing, as artistic rhetoric.
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I think some people pride themselves on being as difficult and complicated as possible. They use poetry as an elegant way to accomplish exclusion of those who are unable or unwilling to work at understanding them, particularly by withdrawing from those they deem unintelligent. Professors (who dedicated their lives to unraveling the mysteries of their poetry) argue over what the poet meant - years after the poet was dead! I guess there's ironic justice in that somehow. Of the talented poets I've met, most were highly intelligent but somewhat depressed, if not fully so. Maybe that's mere coincidence. Maybe it's by design. In short, I find some poetry beautiful and thought-provoking. Like Amymusing, I don't find it everywhere.
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DaniG, I don't agree that a poet prides themselves on writing as difficult and complicated as possible to exclude unintelligent people from understand their poems. What I do believe is that they don't limit themselves to having to dumb it down so that even unintelligent people will understand it. No. They have the freedom to use any words, metaphors, similes, forms, etc.. they like without being limited to their audiences intellectual capacity. Poetry wouldn't vary much or be very artistic if the poet must limit the vocabulary to only words that are commonly known and understood. Must they dumb it down to children's nursery rhymes? I think not. It would be an insult to everyone's intelligence if they were to dumb it down for us. I like reading poetry because I learn new words, and new ways to communicate those words.
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@Morgan:
I didn't say ALL poets do this - but I stand by saying that SOME do.
The greatest class separator in the world is education. Poets (I say this affectionately) flaunt this, some artistically, some through wordsmithing. I agree, the world would be a boring place if everyone had to stoop to the lowest common denominator of an audience's intellectual capacity. And I am o.k. with elitism, but in saying that, I guess I would like it if some poets would admit that they flex their proverbial muscles to weed out those they deem undeserving, many of whom must pay an expert to explain it for them, and still don't get it after doing so. (Please note I said "some" - not all, or even most.) As an English major, I studied several poets in college and I felt pity for some of my classmates who in my humble opinion, never did grasp what was being discussed. Some were single moms and dads who paid tuition instead of buying their kids necessities and didn't feel they got a value afterward. Most went on to get degrees. They really griped when different professors would go over duplicate material and disagree on interpretations.
Anyway, please know, I am not against poetry, I just think it would be refreshing if "some" poets would admit why they do what they do.
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Most times they don't understand it. It's like the world, people are quick to criticize things they can't understand in everyday life.
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