Irrational hatreds?

The BBQ Pit
41

Volvos & Volvo drivers. Every Volvo driver I have ever known is a menace on the freeway. One of my dearest friends was a perfectly good driver…til he bought a Volvo. It seemed to just suck the common sense out of him.

Phil Jackson. I hate him. Oh, how I hate him. Why? I have no idea. He’s inarguably a great coach. But every time I see his smirking, stupid face, I want to smash it with a basball bat.

Art Deco. Ugh. It’s just ugly. Yes, I’m sure lots of people like it. Irrational hate, yes?

I was going to say reality tv, but my reasons for that are perfectly reasonable. It’s the lowest form of entertainment I can think of outside of professional wrestling.

42

I, too, hate stupid idiots so we agree on that point. In your case, your self-hatred must be profound. Be that as it may, I would love to see your explanation of what “cooks my fire” really means. Is it sort of like “Fucko off?” Or maybe “Gotcha Ya?”

43

Pats LouisB on the head I know senility sucks, but cooking a fire is the same thing as stoking a fire. You know, adding fuel to it or stir it up.

Hows the golf?

44

Hatreds? What hatreds?

  1. People who won’t say what they mean. It’s “nigger” not “the N-word.” Similarly it’s “fuck” or one of its variants, not “the F-word.” Saying these words says nothing about you, it is the though and intent behind them which conveys meaning. If you are afraid to say the word itself, then you don’t need to be discussing it.

  2. One of my current roommates. Okay, this isn’t irrational by a long shot. The current thing is that I am about to move home for the summer (I’m in college) and he is threatening to sue because I will not give him my home address! What a moron.

  3. That I can’t tell how I am doing in regards to public speaking. I am not scared of speaking in front of people, but I can get no internal feedback of my speaking. No matter what the situation, I feel like I am speaking in a dull, monotonous voice that is both too fast and too quiet. Yet I have often been told that my speeches are among the best of whatever group happens to be presenting. I hate that, and wish that I cuold be aware of my speaking voice.

  4. I absolutely hate that word processors have turned me into a horrible speller. I rely far too much on spell checkers and, consequently, cannot spell worth a damn.

That’s eough for now!

45

You’re not alone. Both my mom AND I hate them too. Not only are the ugly and disgusting looking in all the ways you mention above, they somehow always look “greasy”. UGGGHH.

Personally, I like the word “rutabega” as an insert where “funny” words are required, (spelling probably completely mangled, but I’m on my way out the door and don’t have time to look it up so nyaaa nyaaa).

A high school teacher I had, used that word all the time to discuss marketing strategies, it always had a hilarious effect.

46

Gee, a pat on the head. How condescending. I have actually heard people say “Stoke the fire” and “Stoke the furnace” but I have never heard anyone say “Cook the fire.” How does one cook a fire? Do you require a fire in order to cook the uncooked fire? Would radiant heat cook an uncooked fire? I know radiant heat might start a fire, but I don’t know if that is the same thing as “cooking” a fire. Oh, well, I guess the senility is really kicking in today–I’m trying to learn something about cooking a fire, but it just isn’t coming through. I don’t play golf, but thanks for asking. I’m still working every day and wouldn’t play golf even I wasn’t. I don’t like golf and never have. This has been fun, but I think I’ve wasted enough bandwidth bandying words with you. If you wanna pit me, go ahead, but I think I will ignore it if you do.

47

My irrational hatreds (well, they’re rational to me, but they might seem irrational to other people, so I guess they qualify):

  • Safeway. I hate those bastards.
  • Anime version of Teen Titans. I hate the bastards that came up with this idea, and the bastards who let it happen.
  • Practical jokes and shows about them. They’re just plain mean, and meanness sucks.
  • Extreme makeovers. The people getting these should have extreme body image counselling, not plastic surgery.
  • Apes. Monkeys I’m pretty much okay with, but I can’t stand any of the Great Apes. Chimps or orangutans in diapers or outfits::big shudder:: Except gorillas, because gorillas have self-respect.

Darkhold, I hate awkward tv moments too. It makes me cringe when someone is made a laughing stock, or embarrasses themselves.

48

I hate Celine Dion. I don’t know why, but everytime I see her on t.v. or hear one of her songs, I just want to scream, and tear my eyes out. Or in case of her “music”, I want to shove a pencil in my ear just to get it to stop. MAN I HATE HER!

I also hate when people “axk” questions.

I REALLY HATE CELINE DION.

49

Funny, your profile says Retired. Are you really what you say you are?

Heh, you started it, I have no desire to pit you, don’t even know you except you started a fight with me for pitting slow inconsiderate old people. If you want to defend them I will “bandy” words with you further, if not, screw off.

50

WORD! I have noticed this too.

And I’m also all about the flip-flop/shower shoe hatred. Nasty! This is not a third-world country - put on some shoes!

I thought of another irrational one: I hate wood floors. Yes, I’m the only person on the face of the earth who hates wood floors. To me they look like you have a bunch of furniture sitting on a basketball court. They look “not finished” or like you’re too poor to afford carpet, even though I KNOW wood floors cost like 3x the price of carpet. Bizarre.

51

Okay, just one more. I am retired as far as having a job is concerned. I work pretty much full time on a project I am developing. I have high hopes for it because I believe I will be able to provide a valuable service to people in my old industry. I admit to being touchy about criticisms directed at old folk because I am one—I recently paid a $175.00 speeding ticket, so I can’t be accused of dawdling.
I didn’t know I started a fight; I thought we were more or less just fooling around.

52

You’re not alone. I can’t stand the damn things either. They have to be swept/swiffered/electric broomed like 500 times a day. They look cold, clinical and industrial.

Or worse, as you say, they look like throwbacks to the days when CARPETING was the expensive choice, and plain wood floors were what poor people had.

That goes double for Berber carpeting. AAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGH, the stuff is UGLY. And hard, and uncomfortable to sit on, it’s so rough it hurts your bare feet, and a hangnail on a two month old baby can cause a snag in the damn stuff.

Seeing ads about “oooooH BERber” drives me nuts. UGGGGGH berber, you morons, it’s SUCKS, it’s just cheap ass carpet that someone in the “now THIS too shall become status” department has brainwashed everyone into thinking is a “GOOD” thing.

whew, sorry :smiley: I guess that’s why it’s an IRRATIONAL hatred.

53

I get all twitchy around people who breathe loudly. It’s awful, because I can’t tell them to stop breathing, but I just can’t stand it. Drives me absolutely insane. I also go mildly batshit when people come around behind my counter without being invited to do so. The front of the store is where the customers go. I don’t need you behind the counter. If I do, I’ll ask you to come behind the counter, but I won’t ask you to come behind the counter, because you’re not supposed to be behind the counter. I don’t mind if little kids come behind the counter, because they’re curious, and they don’t know better, but adults should know.

Please understand - I don’t yell at people who do these things. I’m polite and I smile and I let it slide, because deep down, I know it’s stupid and petty and unimportant. The world’s not going to end if someone’s breathing really loud in my ear. Coming behind the counter is not the same as clubbing baby seals. But these are the irrational things that piss me off. And it’s kind of nice to vent.

Darkhold and featherlou - I don’t hate embarrassing or awkward moments in movies or on tv. But they really, really upset me, to the point where if I think a character I can identify with is about to be humiliated (and, let’s be honest, the ones I identify with are almost always on the verge of humiliation), I have to leave the room. I’ll play it off like I’m going to get a snack or use the bathroom, but I’m just hiding until I think the worst is over. I’m sure there’s some deep, deep psychological childhood trauma behind it all.

54

featherlou, look!ninjas,

Heh I feel better. I always assumed that those moments must be the height of hilarity on sitcoms because every sitcom I know does it over and over. Yet I’ve never heard anyone mention that they didn’t like them.

55

Irrational hatreds? Oh, I’ve got a few.

  1. Oysters. Who on earth decided those slimy things were edible? I’m with the guy in the Garrison Keillor sketch who, apparently the first man to eat raw oysters on the half-shell, said with great enthusiasm, “Looks like phlegm to me!” Of course, I hate 'em raw, cooked, sliced, diced, chopped, and especially stewed in milk with stinking butter floating on top and called “stew.”

  2. Slurping soda. My hubby is apparently incapable of drinking soda out of a can without loudly slurping it. He is utterly oblivious to my comments about how I taught my children to not do that by the time they were five years old. I want to rip his eyeballs out and stomp on them if I hear him slurp that soda one fucking more time!

  3. Talk radio. Can’t stand it, ever. It’s like nails on a chalkboard. If you want to listen to radio, listen to music or turn the damn thing off!

Okay, that’s just a start, but it got my adrenalin flowing nicely. :smiley:

56

OH! Was just forcefully reminded of one. When someone replaces the toilet paper roll, and it feeds from the bottom instead of over the top. I hate that.

57

I hope I don’t repeat any, as I’ve only been skimming. (I bet you hate that.)

My irrational hatreds:

  1. The Pittsburgh Steelers
  2. George W. Bush and his father
  3. Black olives
  4. People who “correct” my writing when it was correct to begin with
58

Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Weirdly enough, I can deal with them fine in public places, or on the job. They don’t bother me.

But when they come to my house, it makes me crazy. Many years ago, I lived in a neighborhood where they canvassed, canvassed, incessantly. I KNOW they didn’t bug me EVERY weekend, but it sure seemed like it, and they invariably showed up well before I felt like getting out of bed and dealing with people.

I tried being polite. I tried being curt. I tried being a vicious snarling jerk. Nothing worked. They kept coming back, weekend after weekend, until I chased one off the porch waving a broadsword, and screaming like a maniac. After that, they seemed to get the message, and quit bothering me.

A couple showed up at the house yesterday, asking to speak to my daughter. As soon as one of them mentioned “Watchtower,” I literally felt my blood pressure skyrocket. I felt my eyes bug, slightly, totally against my will. I suddenly felt the thudding little pulses in the large blood vessels in my neck. I felt my face flush, and I very much felt my adrenal glands squirting fiery doom into my bloodstream.

I got a grip on myself and politely (but rather curtly) asked them to leave. They did.

Turns out that they’d turned up earlier, when Mom and I had not been home, and the Kid had been polite, but did not wish to convert to their religion. They’d taken this to mean, “Gee, come back later and we can talk about it.”

And when I addressed the Kid about this, she durn near hid under the couch. She knows how I feel about the JWs, and apparently I looked pretty scary when I asked her what connection she’d had with these people.

I did not shout or growl, but advised that in the future, one could not be too polite or accomodating with Jehovah’s Witnesses; they’d just come back and bug you some more, and the Old Man did not wish to deal with this. She was agreeable.

It kind of bugged ME, though. I haven’t had to chase a JW off the porch in years. It was kind of disturbing to feel that kind of psychophysical reaction IMMEDIATELY upon realizing these people were JWs…

59

I don’t much like George W. Bush, either, but this is not an “irrational” hatred. That bastard gave me PLENTY reasons to hate him…

60

I should probably point out that he did. If he ever got anything out of any illegal acts (and barring convictions for them, he didn’t), it still pales beside his succeses at pioneering a basic busines model. He won the OS wars because he was a hundred times smarter than Jobs. Jobs knew marketing and flash. Gates made a business plan based off what he foresaw in the market and aimed for that. And he won fairly.

I hate to break it to you, but Jobs doesn’t care about you. He’s a businessman. And you can’t keep the business afloat. The puny numberof people who stuck with the Mac don’t help it grow. Apple has more or less failed entirely in its plans to try and grow again. Which is why they’ve tried schemes like making their case design look really cool, and branch out into side ventures; their computer biz is dying. They’re probably going to leave it in the next 10-20 years.