Ill-informed? ..... Or Just Stupid?

[marmar]

I flew back home to Detroit today after a weekend of visiting friends in New York. Naturally, the incident on the flight from Amsterdam was a topic of conversation.
A man and a woman in the row behind mine were talking about it, all kinds of misinformation flowing (the man, who was doing most of the talking, said the person who tried to blow up the plane was from Algeria). Anyway, the guy continues on, and asserted another Algerian man locked himself in the bathroom of the same flight the next day and tried to blow up another plane.
My eyes just rolled. I felt just a bit compelled to turn around and correct the buffet of BS, but I said to myself, "Why bother?"
I know the sensational media reportage of the incident has been terrible, but surely most media outlets got the Nigerian part right, es verdad? The amount of misinformation that circulates is simply stunning.

[Eric J in MN]

1. You did the right thing by not turning around to correct them.

The conversation was full of wrong information, but it was their conversation.

[pscot]

2. Often wrong, but never in doubt

Blowhardus Americanus: the garden variety American blowhard; widespread, no seasonal variation, often encountered in restaurants, taverns and public conveyances. Generally harmless, but with an erratic tendency to take offense when contradicted.

[marmar]

3. Perfect.....

The perfect description of that dude.

[Egnever]

4. Excellent summation

[MercutioATC]

5. Algeria...Nigeria...there's a difference?

Dollars to doughnuts he couldn't tell you which continent either were on.

[timeforpeace]

6. The fact that he's from Nigeria not Algeria changes everything.

[Karenina]

7. There's so much of both these days

I tend to just leave it alone. I don't even react anymore. Why bother? They WANT to believe the shit rolling out of their pieholes. Nothing ANYONE could say will change that.