And especially when they think they’re Iago meets Hannibal Lecter in terms of cunning and subtlety when they’re far more akin to Mr. Furley meets Ignatius Reilly.
I dunno if those folks are actually “taking pride” in it. Hence the sheepish laugh, for me it is just that. When I do it, it means I know I’m too slow here and I feel dumb for that and am apologizing for my slowness. It means “damn I’m sorry I’m taking so long with this calculation, I suck at this. Sorry!”
Stating “I can barely add 2 + 2” is a way of lightening the situation and saying “bear with me while I take 900 years to figure out this equation”.
Not to snark on you and I know the following isn’t what you meant, but I guess this would be mine. I don’t get people who don’t get that not everyone is great at every skill and that the lack of ability in _______ skill doesn’t mean that that person is doomed to work at Mickey D’s for the rest of their lives.
That does NOT mean however, that I think those idiots that exclaim with disgust “ewww, you read? You’re one of those”? are excused for their moronic POV!
People who find bodily fluids/functions entertaining.
Don’t get me wrong, when I have to discuss the consistency of my bowel movements with my doctor, I have no problem doing so.
But those who find it entertaining and amusing just puzzle me. It is a natural function. There is nothing to discuss or giggle about.
The guy who enjoyed smelling his own gas really puzzled me.
Socialism, Marxism, or any of the entitlement philosophies. Positively infantile in their conception.
I understand it. The above takes hold more readily where the downtrodden never had anything. Until this new philosophy came along what they had was anti-entitlement. In some places The Age of Enlightenment came fast, it came hard, and it swung the other way. Now agreeing with it is different entirely.
Right, for some reason (that I don’t understand), it seems to be a common affliction. However, part of the point was that such people aren’t interested because they’d “spend all [their] time figuring that out, and never get anything done.”
Repeated incidents each take some amount of time. At some point, the accumulated amount of time will be greater than that expended in gaining some understanding of how things work (even if it’s only a shallow, rudimentary understanding). While I totally understand (and sometimes do) the “I don’t have time for this, let me just ask someone else so that it gets done” POV, there’s some point where repeatedly accepting ignorance becomes willful stupidity.
And personally, I can’t understand that mindset.
A friend of mine was dating a guy who is a rare book dealer. A coworker of hers (a “devout Christian” who swears, drinks, and has premarital sex, all to excess) expressed sympathy: “Books!? Mah Gawd, thet must be HORRIBLE! Nuthin’ but BOOKS all day long? Shoooooot.”
Not sure if this is a parallel or a subset: The widespread attitude that everyone on the opposite side of a political or social issue KNOWS they’re wrong and are just opposing you because they’ve decided they want to be evil.
There are lots of people who disparage those who are born into or encounter difficult circumstances as lazy: “They should pull themselves up by their bootstraps like I did. I earned everything I’ve got.” (This is usually only partially true.) I find it interesting/infuriating to ask these people what would’ve happened if, say, they’d been one of five children born to a poor, poorly-educated, minority, single mother with a drug problem. There are usually two responses:
- “That wouldn’t happen to me, because I don’t deserve it.” So you were somehow superior even before you were born?
- “I’d still be where I am today.” Really? Well, given that you didn’t actually have to contend with those disadvantages, shouldn’t you actually have accomplished a lot more than you have?
Usually overheard in passing in various malls across America between white trash mother and white trash rugrat:
“Boy you better stop that cryin’ before I really give you something to cry about!”
I suppose I understand the logic, though I would never utter these words to my kids nor attempt an action in this vain. The aim of the comment is at ceasing crying. Therefore to that end you are willing to induce additional crying hoping that in between spanks/smacks your kid will be enlightened to the fact that it’s only ok to cry when certian valid conditions apply. How do you then follow up this statement? So you beat your kid around and then what? Do you sit them down and say “Look, now you see? An ass whuppin’ is something you can cry about! Not getting a toy at the store is not a good reason!” I just don’t get this parenting mindset at all…
Also, the helmet can serve as a handy little bucket if decapitation were to occur. No muss, no fuss!
For some of those who believe, it’s not a culmination of thought about the existence or non-existence of spiritual entities, but is also based on experiential evidence that we cannot necessarily explain. Not “I was possessed by [Og]” or “I saw [Invisible Pink Unicorn]” or something like that, but a moment in your life when you could literally feel the feelings required to believe what you believe. For some, those feelings are the feeling of being part of something bigger than one’s self that you just cannot explain as earthly, for others, it’s more complicated and harder to explain.
I don’t really have a particular desire to explain my own beliefs or spirituality, but I acknowledge that not everyone experiences the world as I do, and it’s not a bad thing. I think all of us having a unique life experience is a good thing, and allows for greater learning and sharing overall.
This is like saying
“I don’t want to look good in my clothes, I want to be warm”
Yes, clothes have a functional purpose, but that doesn’t mean we should all look like shit. It’s nice to put on some decent-looking clothes, and not go around, e.g. wrapped in an old blanket.
Same with cars. Yes, they have a functional purpose, but that doesn’t mean they should look like shit, or drive like shit.
Fair enough - but when that marginal utility raises the price of the object (clothing or car) by a signifigant fraction of the price over something that meets the minimum requirements it’s easier to understand the desire to ignore aesthetics.
And that doesn’t address the fact that IMNSHO often clothes that “look good” fail on what I consider the main requirements for clothing: That they be comfortable, and that they be warm.
Oh, I know how it emerges. But what I don’t get is why it begins in the first place, and why in the world people don’t just step back and go, “You know what? We are fighting over who gets to be secretary-treasurer of the Alliance of Left-Handed Notaries Public of Faeroese Descent, Prince Edward Island Division. Fuck this, I’m going home and having some pot pie.”
I don’t understand this mindset, myself. Right now, I’m configuring a database while wearing faded jeans, an old t-shirt, and a sweater I salvaged from the trash. How would this be improved for me if I were wearing my pressed dress trousers, button-down shirt, and a necktie? Would the database care? Would the developers in the next office experience tidier data?
Yes, I have been known to go around the house in my underwear and an old blanket. The dog didn’t mind.
I don’t understand it when people say that they don’t like to dress up because they want to be comfortable. (I’m not picking on anyone who has said that here, it’s just something I’ve heard a lot). I’m sitting here wearing a bra, a dress, pantyhose, high heels, etc. and I’m comfy as can be. I even run in these shoes if the situation calls for it.
Very true. I’ve got a great suit that I love to wear…it’s as comfortable as the sweater and jeans that I’m wearing right now. Plus I look damn good in it. It cost a little bit more but it’s worth it because it fits so well…
I only get to wear it 3 or 4 times a year but I actually look forward to getting dressed up which is a complete change of pace from just a couple of years ago.
In your house, you can wear whatever you want, but, would you enjoy going out, to the store, to the park, and seeing everyone dressed like a hobo?
Being dressed in decent jeans and a t-shirt does not improve your ability to shop at the supermarket, or to mail a letter at the post office, compared to wearing a torn pair of 20-year old pants that are too big for you and a t-shirt with armpit stains, but I sure prefer it when people wear the former rather than the latter.
So, when interacting with other humans, it’s more pleasing if they are dressed to some level of ‘attractiveness’, and that level usually is higher than the level of clothes that simply fulfill their functional requirement to clothe and comfort the person wearing them (which, for example, an old blanket wrapped around them might fulfill)
And, since I know that, I also choose clothes that go above and beyond the mere functional requirement of clothes, when I interact with other humans.
I understand hyperbole fine. Your example was poor. Also, I hadn’t read your followup before my post (which was my mistake).