Oct 22, 2001, 8:30pm

I got a serious pet peeve.

It's the usage of the words "want" and "need".

Far too often, I hear people say they need to do something or get something when they actually just "want" to do something or get that thing. "Need" implies a necessity, a certainty. It implies that if that thing isn't done, or you don't receive what you claimed you "need" then you will suffer, or other things won't get done, or you'll face harm etc etc.

Folks, we "need" very little. We want things. That's fine, I like wanting things too, but it does bother me when I hear Jeanette say "I need to go to my Mom's house" or I read online "I need song 8 from So and So's full CD of MP3s recently posted". That isn't need. That's want. That's desire to get something, go somewhere, do something.

I think it bothers me because when I hear the word "need" I try to balance the necesity of it in my brain. If someone says "I want to go to the library", I think okay, they want to go and check out some books, read, socialize, whatever. If the person says "I need to go to the library", then I think, okay, they have books that will be overdue if they don't bring them back, or their held book has come in and they have to pick it up". Hearing "want" gives me less incentive to go the library if it is out of my way or not in my personal plans, but hearing "need" means that maybe it's important enough to go to the library and break my own plans.

So when I find out that the "need" is actually a "want", then it kinda pisses me off, because it upsets my own ethics balance inside my brain.

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Mixelania

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