Comments on: Killing the Yes Men

By: CT Moore

CT Moore — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:18:00 +0000

What about the folks who you know talk behind your back? Are they good for anything?

By: Roxy

Roxy — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 13:58:35 +0000

Half my family (uncles, aunts, cousins) is conservative and the other half is liberal. We are doing this thing for 3 months that we liberal half must listen to Rush Limbaugh on the radio and the conservative half must listen to only NPR, just to understand the other side’s point of view. I’ll let you know how it goes!

By: Connie Crosby

Connie Crosby — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 01:29:36 +0000

I dunno, man, should I dump my friends who are positive and encourage me, and find a few new ones who will tempt me into an unhealthy direction? It took effort to get rid of the people who made me feel angry, mad, frustrated…

I think it depends on the individual’s personality and needs.

By: Marko

Marko — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:08:55 +0000

Totally agree; we need ‘No-men’ even more than ‘Yes-men’. It’s harder to be a ‘No-man’ which is why odds are that people that know you the longest are the ‘No-people’.

That said…..I think even virtual friends need to suck it up and just be more honest. It’s harder to do on the Net but can still be done through tact and diplomacy. In the long term, even virtual relationships get much stronger this way.

By: Michelle Gillies

Michelle Gillies — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:52:05 +0000

Brilliant post, Julien. I am more comfortable with those who challenge me, and less trustfull of those who don’t. There was a time in my life when I was quite ill. Everyone was pussyfooting around me and saying what they thought I wanted to hear. At one point a friend I will always cherish, started yelling at me and told me to “F*#K!OFF!” over something. That was the first true indication to me that I wasn’t going to die. I love her for it.

By: Amber Whitener

Amber Whitener — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:21:32 +0000

Julien, It is so difficult to step out of our comfort zone. However, you are so right. If we don’t, then we won’t be able to grow. Thank you for this post.

By: Richard Laskey (@rlaskey)

Richard Laskey (@rlaskey) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 16:14:08 +0000

Got a bit scared at the capitalization of Yes Men; I had thought you were starting to wage war on these guys: http://theyesmen.org/ who certainly need to live long and healthy lives.

Very good call, though. Aside from yes men, people change direction a lot these days, too. Especially when what we see online is a distilled version, only the text and not their physical presence, it’s easier to forget the personality/humanity from what it is they’re into as of late. If the friendship can continue offline or outside the network that you both share, then all the better. At the end of the day, I’d rather have actual friends than followers (an apt term in this discussion, too).

By: Steve

Steve — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 22:48:14 +0000

I’ve also always found that a good indicator of a true friend is how much grief you get from them. When someone stops slapping me in the face, it’s probably because they have stopped caring or never did.

P.S.: I also refuse to let you turn into a social media douchetard. ;)

By: Jordan Chénard

Jordan Chénard — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 22:12:11 +0000

Actually, at this very moment, I don’t have anything very interesting to say about your post but I know I won’t have anytime soon to come back and participate to this idea.

Instead of confronting any of your point, just for fun, I just can take the time to say that you are fucking right dude! :P

The best persons I’ve met in my life who has helped me the most to become a better man is people who has confronted my ideas the more often.

Thanks for this post. It reminds me some little things I forgot with the time!

P.S. Désolé pour mon anglais écrit… Je fais des efforts, je te jure! :P