So I came across this exercise during an online workshop where we had to write about the issues, both big and small, that make you angry. I was unsurprised, and yet still disappointed, by the number of things I could list. And I’m curious how “unusual” (or not) I am in this regard. So if anyone’s reading this and would care to share, by commenting below, I’d be curious to hear others’ perspectives.
Anyway, the first “big” issue that popped into my head is people who don’t make enough (or even ANY) effort to empathize with others—I think this is Reason #1 there is so much whatever back and forth between “red” and “blue.” And I think, to be completely frank, it rears its head most among the ultra-religious.
Because of their faith, their surety in the rightness and goodness of their lives, they don’t feel the need to try and understand where others are coming from—-they only feel the need to convert that person to their beliefs. Who needs to try and see where a person is coming from when you already “know” it’s from sin and ignorance?
That leads to my next “big ticket” issue that makes me angry and that’s hypocrisy. I understand that most people are usually hypocrites in some small fashion—at least on occasion—so I’m mostly talking about stuff like the Republican homo homophobes. I mean, who knew such a thing could exist? It sounds like a parallel universe kind of thing.
Or the hypocrisy around “activist” judges and simplistic reasoning. These gap-toothed, slack-jawed, racist dittoheads are more than happy to shriek about an “activist” judge overturning the “will of the people” when it comes to screwing gays out of their civil rights, but if an activist judge overturns a local ordinance, from the people, on gun control, well then that’s just fine and dandy. That kind of hypocrisy makes me want to puke!
And SPARE ME that stupidly repeated “overturning the will of 7 million voters” crap. What about the 6.4 million who voted the other way? Technically, the judge overturned the wishes of 600,000 people – but to hear these bleating-heart right-wing wackos, you’d think it’s perfectly acceptable for .017 percent of the population of the state of California to dictate who can and can’t get married.
Speaking of, another thing that makes me angry is all these “Christians” whose religion is supposedly based on love but who seem to spend most of their time hating on fags or Muslims or Jews or the French or Black people…I mean, forget about their capacity for love—their capacity for hate is amazing! You’re #1! You’re #1!
I would say a “small” issue that makes me angry is people who can’t laugh at themselves. I mean, I know a lot of times it’s a sign of insecurity, and/or may be based on psychological issues that are not their fault, but for many it’s just downright boorishness. Get over yourselves, people—a wet blanket belongs either out in the rain or in a dryer on extra high heat.
An issue that makes me surprisingly/distressingly angry is people who have no concept or concern about the amount of space they’re taking up on public sidewalks and/or have no concept of walking on the right (unless I guess maybe the British walk on the left? And the Japanese?). Anyway, this is part of a larger issue wherein most people today really just have no concern whatsoever for anyone else’s personal space except their own—and then they get incredibly outraged at YOU when they almost knock you down because they’re too busy paying attention to their fucking droid or ipad or whatever to be watching where they’re going.
Luckily, I don’t drive anymore so I’m not as angry at the incredibly wussy-ass and bad drivers that are on the road today; but on the occasional scooter trip I make around Oakland, I get to “stock up” on my road rage—without the “benefit” of having Kyle sitting in the passenger seat and moralizing about my rage and how it doesn’t serve any useful purpose—as opposed to the cockamaimie “theories” that come out of that boy’s head! :)
What also makes me angry is a Board of Directors who have basically fiddled while the organization they handed over to me burns—fortunately at only a slow grade right now thanks to a kick ass staff and (cof, cof) Ex. Dir. But then I’ve heard, in general, people just aren’t committing to things like they used to in terms of their volunteer time. To me, it’s like that old chestnut why would you waste your time doing something half-assed? Grow a pair, buck up to do what you should be doing, or have the decency to admit you won’t step up and resign! Seriously.
Of course the stupidity and racism of the Tea Party “movement” angers me no end. I’m going to make another plug here for the “Balkanization” of the United States. I mean, Yugoslavia was MUCH smaller and if they felt the need to break up into what is it like 5 different countries now? Then the U.S. would certainly be better served by letting “naturally sympathetic” regions branch off into separate countries. We could still have strong “trade relations” and mutual defense pacts (well, except with the South—ha) and all that good stuff, we’d just have our own governments. Think about how happy people would be! Make it so!
8/18/10
The Joys of People Watching.
So this guy was trying to leave a parallel parking space across the street from my apt. on Hyde – he had plenty of room behind him to maneuver as some non-descript sedan (NDS) was a good three feet back. However, when the guy was getting in his older small truck to leave, the alarm on the NDS went off. He sat in his little truck until the alarm stopped—it wasn’t too terribly long compared to some I’ve heard, but still annoying of course.
But when the guy started his truck, and began backing up to maneuver out of the parallel space, the NDS behind him chirped—even though he was still a good two feet away. So the guy semi-panics, and lurches to a stop. I can’t actually see him from my vantage point, but I imagine him looking behind him and being surprised to hear the chrip—both coz not a lot of cars have that “feature” and coz, as I say, he still had a fair amount of space between the back of his little truck and the front of the NDS.
Unfortunately, he doesn’t have nearly the room in front of him, so most all his maneuvering has to be behind. But now the guy is so scared or leery or whatever of the insidious chirp of the NDS, he works PAINFULLY to inch forward (and now is so jumpy you can tell he’s terrified of hitting the car in front of him), and then starts to back up again only to hear the chirp from the NDS. It was almost like a “Christine” kind of moment (google “Stephen King + Christine” if you don’t get the reference).
Anyway, he repeats this maneuver at least three more times, at which point I am so over the chirping of the NDS that I am forcefully attempting to will the wussy in the small truck to go all Gru from “Despicable Me” on that parking space. Oh, that would have been sweet! Why can’t real life be more like decent animated movies? Sigh.
This is just one example of how “People Watching” can, indeed, be an interesting pastime and another one of the benefits of living in a city – esp. one with as many “characters” as San Francisco. But even the commonplace can be interesting if you’re open to it.
Like one night I was standing at my window, overlooking Hyde, when this woman crossed, jaywalking diagonally across Hyde from Sutter towards me. She happened to look up and noticed me in the window. She looked up again after a few more steps, and once more after a few more steps before she disappeared down the sidewalk.
Because it was dark, and I wasn’t even really looking at her but rather these 3 thug wannabes all dressed alike who were “Yo-in’” at the corner, I only saw this woman out of the corner of my eye (she was white, around 30-40, pretty nondescript overall—yes, this week’s word is nondescript); but I did notice her look up at me 3 different times while crossing the street.
She didn’t smile or acknowledge me at any time -neither did I her, but considering the lighting differences we faced, she would have been less or flat out unable to see if I was looking at her or not. She actually had a look of not quite fear, but the expectation of fear—like she should be prepared to be either afraid or freaked out or grossed out by something I might suddenly do (see last week’s blog post and BE AFRAID!).
But of course she could have been—and, in fact, most likely was—thinking, feeling, nay even possibly PLOTTING something entirely different. It looks like I’m lucky to have escaped!
If real life were like TV, of course, as soon as this woman was out of my line of sight, her eyes would have glittered and turned either red or silver or yellow and she would have smiled seductively—exposing vampire teeth. But before she could get to me to convert me to the undead, a nondescript (naturellement!) serial killer with a totally ironic daytime job will dispatch her.
But will the struggle turn this serial killer into a vampire? I’m sure we’ll soon discover when they create the inevitable mashup of True Blood and Dexter. And it will be on some random cable channel like Discovery.
Kyle would watch it.
Okay, I probably would, too.
So last example of how people-watching stirs the imagination: Last Sunday I was looking out the window and feeling sorry for this OLD guy trying to get across Hyde with a walker. I mean, he would SLOWLY put the walker out maybe half a step and then he would SLOWLY take that half a step, pause, and then repeat. After watching him for awhile, I went and got a drink, came back, and he still hadn’t quite made it across the street. I decided to time him and see how long it would take him to get however far I could see him.
As it so happens, he “only” was going to the convenience store one business down from the corner to sit in one of the convenient people-watching chairs placed there for old men. In the end, it took him TEN MINUTES to go not even 1/5th of a block. Extrapolate that out and it means it takes him nearly an HOUR to “walk” one full block—and that’s a Downtown block, not a South of Market block.
Remember that man the next time you complain about feeling old, David, you big whiner!
But when the guy started his truck, and began backing up to maneuver out of the parallel space, the NDS behind him chirped—even though he was still a good two feet away. So the guy semi-panics, and lurches to a stop. I can’t actually see him from my vantage point, but I imagine him looking behind him and being surprised to hear the chrip—both coz not a lot of cars have that “feature” and coz, as I say, he still had a fair amount of space between the back of his little truck and the front of the NDS.
Unfortunately, he doesn’t have nearly the room in front of him, so most all his maneuvering has to be behind. But now the guy is so scared or leery or whatever of the insidious chirp of the NDS, he works PAINFULLY to inch forward (and now is so jumpy you can tell he’s terrified of hitting the car in front of him), and then starts to back up again only to hear the chirp from the NDS. It was almost like a “Christine” kind of moment (google “Stephen King + Christine” if you don’t get the reference).
Anyway, he repeats this maneuver at least three more times, at which point I am so over the chirping of the NDS that I am forcefully attempting to will the wussy in the small truck to go all Gru from “Despicable Me” on that parking space. Oh, that would have been sweet! Why can’t real life be more like decent animated movies? Sigh.
This is just one example of how “People Watching” can, indeed, be an interesting pastime and another one of the benefits of living in a city – esp. one with as many “characters” as San Francisco. But even the commonplace can be interesting if you’re open to it.
Like one night I was standing at my window, overlooking Hyde, when this woman crossed, jaywalking diagonally across Hyde from Sutter towards me. She happened to look up and noticed me in the window. She looked up again after a few more steps, and once more after a few more steps before she disappeared down the sidewalk.
Because it was dark, and I wasn’t even really looking at her but rather these 3 thug wannabes all dressed alike who were “Yo-in’” at the corner, I only saw this woman out of the corner of my eye (she was white, around 30-40, pretty nondescript overall—yes, this week’s word is nondescript); but I did notice her look up at me 3 different times while crossing the street.
She didn’t smile or acknowledge me at any time -neither did I her, but considering the lighting differences we faced, she would have been less or flat out unable to see if I was looking at her or not. She actually had a look of not quite fear, but the expectation of fear—like she should be prepared to be either afraid or freaked out or grossed out by something I might suddenly do (see last week’s blog post and BE AFRAID!).
But of course she could have been—and, in fact, most likely was—thinking, feeling, nay even possibly PLOTTING something entirely different. It looks like I’m lucky to have escaped!
If real life were like TV, of course, as soon as this woman was out of my line of sight, her eyes would have glittered and turned either red or silver or yellow and she would have smiled seductively—exposing vampire teeth. But before she could get to me to convert me to the undead, a nondescript (naturellement!) serial killer with a totally ironic daytime job will dispatch her.
But will the struggle turn this serial killer into a vampire? I’m sure we’ll soon discover when they create the inevitable mashup of True Blood and Dexter. And it will be on some random cable channel like Discovery.
Kyle would watch it.
Okay, I probably would, too.
So last example of how people-watching stirs the imagination: Last Sunday I was looking out the window and feeling sorry for this OLD guy trying to get across Hyde with a walker. I mean, he would SLOWLY put the walker out maybe half a step and then he would SLOWLY take that half a step, pause, and then repeat. After watching him for awhile, I went and got a drink, came back, and he still hadn’t quite made it across the street. I decided to time him and see how long it would take him to get however far I could see him.
As it so happens, he “only” was going to the convenience store one business down from the corner to sit in one of the convenient people-watching chairs placed there for old men. In the end, it took him TEN MINUTES to go not even 1/5th of a block. Extrapolate that out and it means it takes him nearly an HOUR to “walk” one full block—and that’s a Downtown block, not a South of Market block.
Remember that man the next time you complain about feeling old, David, you big whiner!
8/3/10
What are we so afraid of?
Can I just say what a bunch of wussies we are? And by "we," I mean Americans. Yes, many folks possess no critical thinking skills, thanks to our ever-eroding educational "system," and yes many folks are simply gap-toothed, slack-jawed, in-bred yokels that simply parrot what Rush or the "tea party" tells them, but seriously, when did we get to be such a nation of cowards? Was it after 9/11, when "the world changed forever"?
Beyond the typical stuff like the CONSTANT "orange alert" at the airports (has it ever been another color?), there's also the endless, scrolling WARNINGS on BART and other mass transit systems, which basically boils down to: Be vigilant! Trust no one! Report ANYTHING suspicious!" BE AFRAID, DAMMITT! BE VERY, VERY AFRAID!
And of course we have to be afraid of our food, of pesticides, of cancer, of animals encroaching in OUR territory, of "the other" (be they black, latino, or french), of crime (even tho it continues to drop), of child molesters, of dirt and germs, of peanuts, of Wall Street, etc. etc. It's sickening and exhausting!
And then, of course, the biggest bugaboo of all right now: Terrorists!! Oooooh, they plotted and planned for years, supposedly caught us by surprise, and managed to take out the twin towers (on a Republican president's watch, no less), and so now we have to CONSTANTLY worry and obsess over them? I mean, has anyone really paid attention to just how inept most of these guys are?
"The Atlantic" does. They had this great article entitled "The Case for Calling Them Nitwits." The intro parapgraph reads: They blow each other up by mistake. They bungle even simple schemes. They get intimate with cows and donkeys. Our terrorist enemies trade on the perception that they’re well trained and religiously devout, but in fact, many are fools and perverts who are far less organized and sophisticated than we imagine. Can being more realistic about who our foes actually are help us stop the truly dangerous ones?
Seriously, check out the short article in The Atlantic on this - it would be comical if it didn't make us look like such fools for continuing to be in a paranoid panty-twist over these losers.
Click HERE for the article - and also check out the interesting case they make in this issue for "The End of Men - How Women are Taking Control of Everything." (if only we could be so lucky! - well, except for scary Queen Meg).
Beyond the typical stuff like the CONSTANT "orange alert" at the airports (has it ever been another color?), there's also the endless, scrolling WARNINGS on BART and other mass transit systems, which basically boils down to: Be vigilant! Trust no one! Report ANYTHING suspicious!" BE AFRAID, DAMMITT! BE VERY, VERY AFRAID!
And of course we have to be afraid of our food, of pesticides, of cancer, of animals encroaching in OUR territory, of "the other" (be they black, latino, or french), of crime (even tho it continues to drop), of child molesters, of dirt and germs, of peanuts, of Wall Street, etc. etc. It's sickening and exhausting!
And then, of course, the biggest bugaboo of all right now: Terrorists!! Oooooh, they plotted and planned for years, supposedly caught us by surprise, and managed to take out the twin towers (on a Republican president's watch, no less), and so now we have to CONSTANTLY worry and obsess over them? I mean, has anyone really paid attention to just how inept most of these guys are?
"The Atlantic" does. They had this great article entitled "The Case for Calling Them Nitwits." The intro parapgraph reads: They blow each other up by mistake. They bungle even simple schemes. They get intimate with cows and donkeys. Our terrorist enemies trade on the perception that they’re well trained and religiously devout, but in fact, many are fools and perverts who are far less organized and sophisticated than we imagine. Can being more realistic about who our foes actually are help us stop the truly dangerous ones?
Seriously, check out the short article in The Atlantic on this - it would be comical if it didn't make us look like such fools for continuing to be in a paranoid panty-twist over these losers.
Click HERE for the article - and also check out the interesting case they make in this issue for "The End of Men - How Women are Taking Control of Everything." (if only we could be so lucky! - well, except for scary Queen Meg).
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)