Having been in a software developer heavy social media world for the last year (Mastodon et. al), I’ve come across the word “opinionated” often to describe certain FOSS or site templates.

I understand it doesn’t exactly have the same meaning in that context, but it got me thinking that being opinionated in my field (urban planning) is equivalent to activism and is heavily discouraged. It can ruin people’s careers.

This is probably the most difficult part of the job for me. When your livelihood and family rely on you for support, it’s very difficult to risk it all just to share opinions, particularly unpopular ones.

When I was younger, I thought conformity was stupid. As an adult, I see it as necessary for survival. And my thoughts on freedom have changed as a result. I’m now thinking that people that make their own lunch so to speak, the business owners and self-sufficient, the wealthy, are the only ones who can truly share their open and honest opinions without major repercussions.