I had a relative who went on a cruise to Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. When I asked which one he liked better, he said, “The Caymans. There were too many niggers in Jamaica.”
Six different kinds of :eek: ensued in my head, but despite what I was thinking, I did manage to say only, “Um, it’s too bad you didn’t do your research about the residents of Jamaica before you went, because people of African descent do live there and you chose to visit, so…”
He somehow grokked that I was implying that he was being a fucking idiotic bigot in this particular situation, so he whipped the “This is a free country, I can say whatever I want” argument on me; a beloved quasi-First Amendment defense which is one of the last refuges of those who say idiotic shit. Sure you are free to say what you want. And I’m equally free to think you’re a fucking bigot for it. He didn’t like that at all.
Some Ronald McDonald House charities actually DO encourage collection of pull tabs, though. But it’s because they recycle the aluminum in the tabs, presumably because they don’t want to deal with the logistics of recycling the entire can.
I have a friend. Said friend has a sister. Sister showed some promise of growing up to be a bright young lady with a starry future. Then she started doing stupid shit. Like this gem of a tale from this past Christmas.
Sister had dated a guy who was wanted by the cops. He was under surveillance for drug trafficking. Someone told her to be careful because the FBI was on his case. Her response: “The FBI? That’s real? I thought that was just in movies!”
:smack:
Then she gets picked up by the police and is asked to show them where boyfriend did his drug dealin’. She says, “Okay, but can I get some pot first? I’m really nervous and it’ll help me relax.”
I find your friend’s claim somewhat dubious, although I’m not accusing her of lying. As mentioned, the math for the due date could have been screwed up. Is your friend from Bangkok or upcountry? And what level of medical care would her mother have received? There is some very good Western medical care here, but it’s expensive for most Thais. With the cheaper places most of the Thais go to, especially upcountry, I’d have to be bleeding out of my eyeballs before I went to those quacks.
I’ve not heard that doctors here are reluctant to incuce labor, although admittedly I’ve not paid much attention to that sort of thing. I do know C-sections have become very popular today, even fashionable I would say. But that’s now.
(“DUH!” face, which may be antique but it’s less offensive than a “What are you, retarded?” face. ) Uh, yeah. You aren’t playing to the rubes in your family here. We’re the ones who make fun of people who don’t “get” the least, or, in CS, the MOST, obscure cultural references and can even (sometimes) get away with it in Great Debates because the mods have no more use for the uninformed than the rest of us.
(Ain’t it amazing how intolerant of sheer stupidity a mod can get after a few years? I started at that point so, after eight years, have not yet volunteered to be a mod, or allayez’d be outta here for your sheer stupidity. Instead, I have adopted a persona of tolerance. That vein in my forehead throbs less that way.)
Lady Soul and I were at a gathering a few months ago of the most irritating sort. I don’t know why we were there – she’s 23, I’m 22, and everyone else there was late 30’s at the least. She and I felt quite out of place, especially since we were the only two not stoned out of our damn minds, and she was experiencing the beginnings of a cold.
Anyway, some portly twat (note that I don’t think her being portly influenced her being a twat, I just really enjoy the phrase “portly twat” for its phonetic appeal) cornered us and started talking about random shit. It was annoying for a while, and then it became quite infuriating. She, apropos of nothing, started telling us about how much quicker she was able to get drunk when she was pregnant. It was like omg one glass of wine now is like omg nothing, but when I was pregnant omg two glasses put me under the table omg you know? This enraged me, and I excused myself.
Later, Lady Soul and I had made our way outside and portly twat discovered us again. She started talking about aromatherapy, when all of a sudden my lovely girl stuck her drink in my hand and went inside. Damn, I’m stuck! PT got a very serious expression on her face and told me that it was very irresponsible of me to allow Lady Soul to be outside in the cold like this when she was getting sick. The next day, I was told that the sound of me grinding my teeth interrupted a conversation five feet away. Lady Soul emerged from the duplex, I told her I was leaving before I killed PT, she agreed, and we left together. When I told her what PT had said, I thought her shriek of fury was going to cause the airbags to deploy.
For future reference: once you tell me about how much easier it is to get drunk when you are pregnant, you forfeit the right to dispense health-related advice, and you never have the right to assume that I have the ability to control that insane damn woman I love in any way whatsoever.
Last Summer, I attended a party for a friend of mine and his wife, out on the Napa Valley farm her parents own. The picnic also coincided with their first wedding anniversary, and most of the guests were the couple’s family. Towards the end of the festivities, everyone gathers in the farmhouse kitchen for a “big announcement:” they’re having a kid! Everyone is very happy for them, and there’s much jubilant congratulations. However, the expectant mother has more to say, and people are taking too long being happy for her, so she starts yelling at people to shut up. She then instructs people that they are not to give them any toys for the kid, only money, and if she gets any toys or books at all, they’re going right in the trash! Kinda killed the mood.
A little later, I’m sitting out on their porch with them, and she tells me this amusing anecdote about how her friend (who I hope to hell was not at the party) lost his virginity. He was partying during Spring break, and this really hot chick was totally into him. They went back to his hotel room to have sex, but she was so drunk, she passed out. So he had sex with her anyway! Isn’t that hilarious? No, you dumb bitch, that’s horrifying. Your friend’s a rapist! What the hell is wrong with you that you think that story’s funny?
That’s the one time in my life I’ve made a conscious decision to drop someone from my social circle.
) Uh, yeah. You aren’t playing to the rubes in your family here. We’re the ones who make fun of people who don’t “get” the least, or, in CS, the MOST, obscure cultural references and can even (sometimes) get away with it in Great Debates because the mods have no more use for the uninformed than the rest of us.