The Kindle and self-loathing

So recently I made a very innocent comment. It was just an opinion, one that wasn't malicious in nature or intent, nor was it intended to change anyone's mind about anything. It was just a fact. I simply said I don't care about the Kindle. Now, I love Amazon.com. LOVE. I think I singlehandedly kept them in business between 2005 and 2010, or at least looking at my bank and credit card statements it appears that way.

Anyway, I love books. I love buying them, I love looking at them piled on my shelves, I love the way the binding breaks when you pass a certain page. I even love the smell. Everything about books, I love. All of this is lost on the Kindle.

I was told that my argument didn't make sense, which brings me to my point. I wasn't making an argument. I simply said I don't care about the Kindle. I'm not sure how or why that was taken as an attempt to change anyone's mind.

I think people are just so obsessed with being on the "right" side of a debate, or are just so insecure that they need to be validated that they need to try to convince you that you're wrong. "Hey, this new technology is great! I like it, so I must be great! If you don't like it, you're judging me, and that's not great."

I mean, I couldn't care less if you want to buy a Kindle. I think that's terrific. Buy 10,000 and build a house out of 'em. I hope it makes you happy, and I hope that Amazon makes a billion dollars. I love them and want them to be around forever. The point is, why do people get so angry when someone else expresses a conflicting viewpoint, especially over something so unimportant?

Why does a conflicting viewpoint threaten certain peoples' sense of worth and fill them with such a sense of self-loathing that they feel the need to point out all the reasons that a conflicting opinion is wrong?

The Kindle debacle (though calling it a debacle makes it seem like a bigger issue than it is/was - I'm just obsessive) is just a small example. The next thing you know you're standing outside of a town hall - where a newly married couple is trying to celebrate their special day - wearing a Jesus t-shirt and holding a sign that says "God hates gays."

I suppose it's hysterical on my part to insinuate that someone will go from arguing about the validity of a Kindle to the above. I'm just trying to make a point, one that people have been trying unsuccessfully to make since the dawn of time. Do your thing, be happy, and don't hurt anyone else.