Low tolerance for stupidity

posted by Jeff | Saturday, May 21, 2011, 9:47 PM | comments: 0

I don't know how you write something like this without sounding like you think you know everything, but I suppose that has never stopped me before. I think I'm entitled to a pass for the frequency with which I talk about my own shortcomings, fears and anxiety.

There are several categories of stupid people that I find it hard to deal with rationally. I can't seem to ignore them either. I'm wasting energy on them, and I don't have much to give. In no particular order...

People who are whatever-ist. Racist, sexist, homophobic, religiously intolerant, whatever. In fact, I would further include people who have hang-ups about people of any particular appearance that they don't care for. Plus people who don't like kids or teenagers and assume they're out to find trouble.

People who hate politicians strictly because they're in one party or another. Some of these people are also cloaking racism lately, but whatever. People unwilling to discuss policy but willing to spew toxic nonsense rooted in party affiliation annoy the piss out of me. The problem in politics in this country isn't the two party system, it's voters who think one side or the other has all of the answers. Vote for the dog catcher because he can catch a fucking dog, not because he's a Republican or Democrat.

Protectionist parents. When I was a kid, a lot of parents went out of their way to shield their kids from sex, violence and rock-n-roll, leaving the kids shocked and unprepared for the world once they left the nest. Parents are still doing this kind of thing, but instead of shielding them from "undesirable" stuff, they're shielding them from disappointment, failure and things that really matter. Youth athletics are one source of this. It doesn't matter if the kids are developing and learning to be better team members, or exercising the discipline required to improve skills. All the parents care about if whether or not they're winning. Forget having a good time. Plus they all think their kids will be D-1 scholarship athletes. What happens to kids who don't know what it's like to fail?

That's my rant for the day. I feel better. I can move on.


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