Jess and Christina were gossiping one day about their mutual friend Alan, whom they both were very fond of. Here's how the conversation went:
Jess: I really like Alan, he's incredibly handsome and he so suave, he really charm the ladies. Don't you think so?
Christina: Hmm... I don't really think he's that good looking, and sometimes he's kinda dorky, though in a rather cute way. I like him too, not because of the looks or the suaveness, but he's really a smart guy and interesting to talk to.
Jess: What?? In that case, you can't call him Alan anymore! Please call him something else. Use his sirname or something, I don't care. Just don't call him Alan!
Christina: Huh? Why on earth would I call him something else?
Jess: Because you and I have a totally different understanding of what he's like, and I don't want to anyone to confuse the Alan I know with the one you're thinking about, since you don't think about him the same way I do. That's just disrespectful to him!
Christina: But I'm not disrespecting or insulting him, I just have a different opinion about him from you. Yet I also have a very good opinion of him and I like him just as much as you do. Plus it's the same person we're both talking about here, so it doesn't make sense to call him a different name....And even if I did call him by his sirname, people would still know we're talking about the same person. I mean, we both only know one person named Alan....
Jess: NO, I don't want my other friends thinking he's a dork! He's so much better than that, and you better not tell anyone I know what you think about him. They might actually be fooled into believing everything you say about him instead of what I've been telling them about him.
Christina: Well, suppose what you say about him is true and what I say isn't, then other people would know it once they get to know him themselves. So what I tell them wouldn't matter that much, after all, people should be able to make their own effort to understand Alan instead of blindly agreeing with what others say about him without knowing him. Right?
Jess: NO, other people can make mistakes and I'll make sure they know complete truth about him and not be fooled by you. So you STOP calling him Alan now! I'm gonna call my brother to beat you up if you don't do what I say!!
Christina:.......Ok, I'm going to talk to Mary now, who also thinks Alan's good looking, but at least she's ok with me calling him whatever I want
Jess: She doesn't know anything about him either!
Christina: ......
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Note: Any similarities between this hypothetical conversation and certain contentious religious issues occuring in Malaysia are purely coincidental. Sort of.
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