Going by gut feelings

[Pix]

I see this advice given a lot, so I got to wondering...what would you advise the people who do go with their gut feelings who like...

Those who thought my BFF (who is a professional administrative assistant, supporter of gay rights, dedicated Taoist, very understanding and somewhat shy, lover of trance music, who has me as her BFF and once came to the defense of a white guy hit with "reverse racism") who thought her to be violent, on welfare, not liking white people, a listener of hip hop, against gay rights, and even (the winner!) a drug dealer? (Yes, she's black.)

Or the Californians (perhaps after hearing my Texas accent) who's gut feelings told them that I'm a Christian heterosexual with sometimes being stupid, homophobic, and/or racist thrown in as well? (I think my favorite was when one such guy warned me against lesbians who would try to rape & turn Christians like me. Given that his advice was to shoot to kill such lesbians who had a friend who told me he thought it was justified self-defense to kill gays as they spread AIDS at like drinking fountains I didn't correct his "gut instinct.")

Or the Texans (and some very fundamentalist Christians in California) who's gut instinct tells them I'm a whore who seduces Christians into Satan worship, and at least once that I killed cats and the winner being my high school counselor who said she suspected me of having come back to school to find a blonde virgin sacrifice for a Satanic cult.

Or how about the many men who thought I was trying to seduce them (you know, just by laughing at a joke they said, being friendly or even just polite, or heck even just walking past them, but their gut instinct lets them know I want their penis inside me!). And not just men, but sometimes women have been sure I was trying to steal their man.

I'm not saying it doesn't ever work, nor am I saying it doesn't have its place...but what do you say to people like this (who are legion) about trusting their gut instincts?

[ChadCoxRox]

For me it applies when they are used in connection with something one has lots of experience with. Intuition is more the process for me than instinct, but the colloquial description is simply traditional. Having worked with the Federal Bureau of Prisons many years specializing in addictive behavior and recovery processes in transition back to community living I've had many remarks from staff and colleagues about how my assertions of going with my gut have turned out to be uncanny and reliable.

The gut instinct you describe does not sound like gut instinct to me...but more like stereotypical and poor judgment/discrimination.

I do get your point however and would suggest that maybe it's not all that easy being an attractive and otherwise desirable woman. You do sound hot! ...just sayin'

[spencer]

^ What he said.

[Blue]

What you describe, Pix, is judging people by by actions or appearances upon first seeing them, that is not listening to your gut instinct - that's jumping to conclusions before your intuition and instinct get a chance to tell you what's going on.

For me, going on my guy is a lot more involved than a knee jerk reaction, a lot of it is intuitive, sixth sense if you will, reading people, getting a 'feel' for them. No not mind reading or anything, just more than a knee jerk first impression. I suppose, if you don't do that, it's hard to explain how those of that do actually get the feelings we go on.

[Bowyn Aerrow]

I would tell them to consult a crystal ball as I often do....

As the other said, these are not good examples of 'gut feelings' these are more stereotypes than anything else.

True gut instinct is based on having lived and learned a few things, it also means you have watched people and have learned characteristics of behavior (not accent, not skin color) and you get a feel for what will happen next.

From what you have shared of your life experiences, I would expect you to have a highly acute 'gut instinct' when it comes to people. You have seen many different types of situations play out, you have learned what certain personality types end up doing, thus when it comes to predicting behaviors and characters you call in all of this data you have collected and make a leap in intuition.

These examples are people calling upon stereotypes and what they want the world to be like, and based on what they think a southern accent means, they conclude that you are X,W,Z or based on the color of your skin they believe A,B,C.

They need to get a crystal ball - experience, with real people and learn to disconnect from the stereotypes and see human beings for what they really are, not what prejudice says people are about.

[lizzielee]

I love your post because it tells me two things. One is that some people who are not intuitive to themselves, their "gut" feelings can mislead them and that some people have preconceived ideas about people because of the way the dress, talk etc etc and then they say, their gut feelings tell them this or that.
When people misjudge me or say their gut feelings tell them this or that, depending on the situation, or if a straight man thinks I am flirting with him when I am just being friendly, I quickly let him know that I am not interested and to back off with body language and stuff like that..............
Gut feelings have saved/helped me in many situations. I think some people may not be intuned to themselves as others are.
Take care........

[dfiant]

That's not gut instinct, that taught and conditioned homophobia, sexism, bigotry and right wing religious zelotry.

Gut instinct is natural, bigotry is taught.

[ceez]

I don't go with my gut instinct anymore because it has steered me wrong one to many times.

[megumidesu]

my gut usually tells me to panic and cry , and not eat anything at all.
so i've tried to get into a thing where i ignore my gut feelings until they start being healthy/right ~

[Pix]

I have a really good gut instinct (or sixth sense, whatever you wanna call it), and while not perfect it's almost always right and a few times it seems downright supernatural. (Even when I once failed spectacularly, it wasn't I misread as I got nothing at all and I'd been going a long time without sleep while smoking too much pot).

Nevertheless, when I see so many people wrong about their impressions of people it can't help me but make me question my own ability to correctly perceive the sitch.

And I can't help but wonder like some guy asking if I was into him (or leading him on) or a woman asking a friend if I was really trying to steal her man and them being told, "Trust your gut."

But thanks for the above...thinking of it as a "process" rather than "immediate reaction" does help and I think will eventually help me figure a way to explain the difference in the future.