In Defense of Confrontation

I've tried to defend a number of things on this blog, and this is one I've neglected.  It just occurred to me that confrontation gets a bad wrap.  As soon as people read the word, they're like, "who likes confrontation?!"  I am actually among those people for whom confrontation is emotionally charged, BUT I wish to defend it anyway, because it's a necessary part of a functional society.

Now, I'm not talking about dueling swords or anything here; I'm simply talking about saying what you think TO PEOPLE'S FACES in order to facilitate growth and communication.  How can people ever advance intellectually or emotionally if they don't confront the people, ideas, and fears that confront THEM in society?  It's okay to be afraid.  It's also okay to say what you think.  (At least it SHOULD be - unfortunately, many people are not self-aware enough to take constructive criticism.  They take it as a knife wound.)

Think about marriages and parenting and friendships.  Why does "confrontation" have to always be a generic euphemism for yelling at someone when you're drunk or awkward drug interventions?  I don't know why I always descend into a defense of honesty, but it makes me slightly insane when people lie.  It makes me even more crazy when people hide behind shitty facades and criticize other people behind their backs.  Man up.  Say what you mean and mean what you say.

This doesn't mean you need to walk up to that fat girl at Walmart and tell her she's obese and needs to put down the Twinkies.  Confrontation involves two parties who are engaged to some degree, not strangers.

I don't see why people are so afraid of talking to other people.  As an introvert, for me, sometimes it's physically painful.  BUT ... I feel like I get something out of it.  I want to invest in other people, but I can't do that if there isn't a back-and-forth.  Confront what is right in front of you and either choose to include it in your life or flush it.

Life would be better if people would quit dicking around.