Page 52 - The Religion Of The Ignorant

THE RELIGION OF THE IGNORANT

attach little value to him, and mock him with thoughtless comments
along the lines of "Haven't you anything else to wear?"
It is most troubling to know that in a workplace, school, or any-
where within a community are people who talk behind others'
backs. People inevitably come to hear what has been said about
them and feel great distress as a result.
People manage to distress each other by very clever methods in
the Religion of the Ignorant. For example, telling someone wearing
a new outfit, "It's great, but it doesn't really suit you. The one you
wore yesterday was more you," is generally done for the purpose of
disparaging the other party. There is no room for praise, compli-
ments or references to beauty in Ignorantism. Therefore, people do
not praise one another's attributes. Telling someone with a new
hair-do, even though one may actually like it, that, "The other style
suited you more" is the kind of barb employed in the Religion of the
Ignorant. Finding some flaw in every thing of beauty and speaking
about what is flawed rather than what is attractive is a rule in
Ignorantism. A requirement of this rule is to avoid praising an at-
tractive person by saying things like, "She's pretty, but I've seen
prettier," or, "She's pretty, but her dress lets her down," or, "She
would have been even prettier if her eyes were green."
Enjoying oneself at the expense of other people's errors or defi-
ciencies is another cruel aspect of the Religion of the Ignorant:
Laughing at someone's being cross-eyed, for example, behind their
back, saying, "I can't tell if he's looking at me or you," or "I can't man-
age to look him in the eye." Saying things like "Hold tight!" when
handing something to a clumsy person, or telling someone who's
going bald of all the new hair restorers on the market, or saying
things like, "They've developed a new hair-replacement treatment.
We'd better get you an appointment," or, "It looks like you've lost a

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