How to avoid arguments politely. It took a while to get to where I can just kind of smile and communicate a sense of “Yeah, you and I are kindred souls alright, can’t improve on what you said” when I want to say “Shut the fuck up you stupid moron! Have you ever considered reading a fucking book before you start running that retarded mouth of yours, you blazing asshole!”
But that doesn’t always work. Maybe I’ll start a thread here looking for better tactics.
BTW, I’m a libertarian/conservative and I live in a sea of liberals. If you met me for five minutes you’d swear I’m a liberal, based on my appearance, tastes, etc. So I have a lot of opportunities to practice. Today alone, two of my more lucrative clients - who need me more than I need them - made gratuitous insults about McCain and Palin - out of nowhere, BTW - and technique #1 worked just fine.
Amazingly, I only had to take Intermediate Algebra once. My final class score? 69.75. The teacher was very talented and saw that while horrible at the subject, I certaintly wasn’t lazy. He bumped me up 0.25 so that I could move on.
I don’t think I have to tell anyone here just how much I loathe the subject.
Heh… math. Among other things, I took undergrad microeconomics without ever having heard of a derivative. I took a course in quantum mechanics without knowing that linear algebra as a branch of mathematics existed. Egad. I hit every office hour I could and spent a ridiculous amount of time in the math lab. Worth it.
The hardest thing I’ve ever had to learn was that I am not unique. I learned that while locked up in detox, listing to stories told by recovering alcoholics. I was so screwed up that, at first, I honestly believed some of those people had been following me around, taking notes. It was damned humbling, I’ll promise you that.
