I was pretty angry, in retrospect, a lot of my time in Japan. For many reasons, but not the least of which was culture-shock. Below was one of my first reactions to one of the MAJOR differences between the west and the east, culturally and social-interaction-ally speaking...
Now before anybody bothers to e-mail me to tell me how wrong I am, or how much of a dick I am for saying such a thing, please keep in mind that this is just my opinion based on my own personal experiences here in Japan, and it's also a gross generalization and should be treated as such (with the fact that there are exceptions to every rule kept readily in mind).
So anyway, where was I? Oh yeah, Japanese people are rather cold and can be downright pricks when it comes to it. I don't know how/when/where or why it happens to these people, but I've noticed that there is a distinct difference in tactile association with other human beings between kids and adults. I teach both kids and adults, and kids aren't afraid of touching. They touch each other (one more goddamn thing I have to keep an eye on them for), they touch themselves (luckily, not like THAT (at least, not in class at any rate)), they're not afraid to get up close and personal with people. My adults, on the other hand, keep something like a five-foot radius of clear space around them at all times as much as they can. Granted, when you've got 12 people crammed into a room the size of a broom closet, that protective circle of fear HAS to shrink, but these people go to ridiculous lengths to still avoid contact with each other. Sometimes, just to mess with them, I'll walk around the class observing them practicing and at the same time seeing how close I can come to them and/or make them come to each other. Sometimes it's outright hilarious to see the way they'll contort themselves to avoid touching each other or me.
I know that a large part of it is bred into them from birth by cultural norms and mores that they are taught from the start. To them, a bow is the way to show respect and/or to greet people. It's polite, and it doesn't violate anybody's protective circle of distance between each other. In America, we learn that a good, firm handshake is the way to make an impression, and the U.S.'s tactile culture is propogated by natural habit and our susceptibility to it. We learn that it's a GOOD thing to pat a friend on the back, give hugs and kisses to close friends (or, when you're drunk out of your tree and it's New Year's Eve and you're in Vancouver BC because the drinking age is only 19, it's also OK to hug and kiss random people on the street provided you're severely intoxicated and you shout "Happy New Year!" either immediately preceding or immediately following the ridiculous outbreak of affection).
Dave Barry wrote (and yes, I'm quite well aware that he's hardly the man to pay attention to as an authority on anything beyond boogers) that the Japanese are always very polite and friendly, but they're never/seldom warm. There's immense truth in that. I asked a guy in a convenience store for directions one time and he actually told another co-worker to take over for him so he could go half-a-block away with me to point me in the right direction, but afterwards he simply said something like "good luck" (it was in Japanese, so I'm hoping it was "good luck" and not "god you're a moron") and went back to work. Polite to the extreme.
On the other hand, my co-workers, whom I see every day and share life and work with on the selfsame daily basis, would no sooner shake my hand or give me a hug or pat me on the back or offer a reassuring hand on my shoulder than they would try to bend over backwards to spit in their own rectum.
I wish I could figure out what exactly it is that makes Japanese people, by and large, so afraid of human contact. Maybe they're afraid that it'll make them soft, as it certainly has in America to Americans. Here in Japan, their business ethos is simple. In a nutshell, it goes something like this; "You work, you do what you're told, you apologize your ass off if someone says you've done something wrong (whether or not you actually did something wrong is irrelevant), you do what you're told by your higher-ups (no matter how ludicrous it may seem), and you keep your damn fool mouth shut." That's about it... Or, at least, that's what I've learned from my own work experience here in Japan, if that tells you anything.
It's strange how "the system" works here... Most people work their whole lives for a single company, steadily working their way up the chain of command until they're at a respectable level, then they just keep their heads down and do what they're told. It's a life largely built around repetition and comfort knowing that day in and day out, your same old job will still be there for you every morning. I recently read a report in Time magazine saying that there's hope for the Japanese economy because a larger and larger number of high-school and college students are saying that they want to become office workers when they grow up. I have nothing against office workers, they're valuable members of society and the workforce and necessary for day-to-day tasks to be done, and done properly. However, the question that springs to my mind immediately is "How many creative and/or artistic geniuses are out there right now sublimating their own desires and dreams of adventure fortune and glory all for the sake of stability?" Stability is nice, but stability doesn't produce Shakespeares or Spielbergs, it produces people like Arnie J. Templeman, certified accountant, whose greatest adventure is trying to decide which socks to wear to match his tie (which doesn't matter anyway because his wardrobe consists of nothing but simple colors and earthen tones that go with any/everything). In America we're taught to dream big, risk big, and win big. Here they're taught that it's better to have regular income and settle for a lifetime of mediocrity rather than risk losing anything and possibly gaining everything.
(don't worry, this is where all of those strings of thought above become connected)
I'm led to believe, from all of this, to think that if these people would simply reach out and touch each other, let each other know that it's ok to fail, to offer that reassuring hand to each other that everybody in the world so desperately needs from time to time, that they would open up and go places that they hadn't even dreamed about, comfortable in their pursuit of their dreams because they know that if they fall, someone somewhere will be there to help them back up. That's one thing I miss immensely about living in America; the knowledge that it's ok to dream and, more importantly, that I should shoot for that dream because if I fail, everything will still be alright in the world, and I won't end up lonely and despondent because of my pursuits. One of the best lines I ever heard (one night while contemplating what to do next with my life after Japan) was "You don't need money, you need life." (props to Andy for that one) And that's just what these people sacrifice... They sacrifice "life" and emotion in the pursuit of comfort, stability and money. I can't tell you how many people I know who are stuck in terrible, meaningless relationships or marriages because they're afraid to find tactile-sustenance elsewhere. Maybe if they weren't so afraid to literally lend a hand to each other, then the country, as a whole, would be happier and healthier for it.
Then again, I could be wrong about all of this. I'm a stranger in a strange land, simply reacting to what happens to me day to day.
--Brian
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
He Who Shouts Loudest...
Okay, one more to post today to get you new, hopefully faithful readers rolling on the Brian-train. This one came as a revelation, which is ironic in and of itself because it's a rant that's ranting about how people who rant alot are full of shit.
The irony does not escape me.
But still, the point is there, and hopefully delivered well. Keep in mind, these first few posts that I'm throwing up here (pun/innuendo intended) are from very early in my writing "career" and I would like to think that I have since taken this sledgehammer-style and refined it to a blade. When I get around to posting some of my later works I think this will become more apparent.
I'm sure we've all known at least one person in our lives who goes through some radical experience and can't shut the hell up about it for weeks afterwards. Case in point, the beginning of my sophomore year of college. Went through a nasty breakup with a girl whom I was madly in love with who'd slept around on me during the summer and broke up with me to actually try to hold a long-distance relationship with the guy (I saw him once and he looked like Steve Buscemi would if you'd dyed his hair black, gave him a dull razor to shave with, then dipped him in the fryer at McDonalds and slicked his hair back). Anyway, I wasn't over her, far from it, however for the first several months of that school year I did little more than go around telling anybody who'd bother to listen that I was a changed person, that I was over her, that I didn't care anymore, that I didn't need her, blah blah blah.
I'd like to think that the few readers I have have enough intelligence to realize that this was the biggest load of bullshit ever uttered by man.
Now I'm all for personal betterment, finding yourself, and tossing aside relics of the past that do nothing but poke you in the hand when you're reaching for them over and over again, but if you're going to really do that, then do it and shut the hell up about it. Too many times we all meet people who like to preach about how much happier they are, or how much more in focus or in touch they are, when those of us who really know what it's like tend to keep to ourselves, because it's a personal thing. Nobody else in the world cares that we've "found our center" and that we're a "whole new person," because if we really had or really were, we wouldn't have to go around trying to convince everybody of it because actions speak louder than words, no matter how many times you repeat them, to yourself or to others.
They say that the worst lies we tell are the ones we tell ourselves, and I'd have to agree with it. Lying to yourself keeps you from seeing any and all problems you may actually have and should work to either rid yourself of or simply come to grips with them and accept them. Anybody who tells you that they're "perfectly fine and at peace" is lying to themselves in the worst way because it usually translates to "I'm ignoring anything and everything wrong in my life right now in the hopes that this will keep me happy and/or sane;" and it ends up doing neither because it's simply not true. Lies don't become truth, no matter how many times you repeat them.
Historical example: Look at Hitler. He was a little man with nothing worthwhile to say, but he said it loud and he said it over and over again until everybody else started believing the lies he was telling to himself. He duped an entire nation into following his idiotic dogma of hatred and persecution, and look what it led to. The US, on the other hand, took a long hard look at itself and saw it's own problems, recognized them as such, and took steps to overcome them. Want proof? Who won World War II?
(should probably have re-phrased that since the Tao teaches us that there are no real "winners" in war, so maybe it's better put "who stopped Hitler and the axis?")
I could even go martial with this whole concept as well. It's well known to anybody who has properly studied Budo (the warrior's way) that he who constantly looks for fights and feels the need to "prove himself" is one with little skill and even less confidence. Those who have the skills and are confident in their abilities seek to avoid fights and "tests" of their abilities. That's how you can tell the really dangerous guys from the punks with something to prove... They're the ones who try to stop the fights (and usually can) before they happen, and when fights do break out, they're usually over in a matter of seconds because the true martial-artists (yes, it IS an art) can end them quickly with as minimum damage as possible.
Now admittedly, because I'm a huge believer in the fact that there are exceptions to every rule, it's possible that some of the freaks you see on TV really have brought about a change in themselves and really have bettered themselves, and I'm all for that. If someone can really change and help others change for the better, more power to them. But pay attention and notice how they do it... They don't force their beliefs or styles on others, they seek to stop other's pain instead of heaping their own onto others ('cause misery loves company), and ultimately they're fine with people telling them to fuck off because they've become aware of the fact that in life we have no one to truly answer to but ourselves, and if we're really at peace with ourselves, it doesn't matter what others say about you because you either already know it, or it simply doesn't matter. But, true to form, they still listen with patience and true attention because nobody's perfect, and it's always possible that someone out there may say something worth hearing in the midst of all of their screaming and shouting and ranting and raging. (stay tuned to this site! You too may find little nuggets of wisdom among all the bullshit!)
Anyway, it all boils down to true inner-peace, to coin a phrase. If you were really all that "at peace" with yourself and the world around you, you'd keep your peace and leave the rest of us the hell alone.
--Brian
The irony does not escape me.
But still, the point is there, and hopefully delivered well. Keep in mind, these first few posts that I'm throwing up here (pun/innuendo intended) are from very early in my writing "career" and I would like to think that I have since taken this sledgehammer-style and refined it to a blade. When I get around to posting some of my later works I think this will become more apparent.
I'm sure we've all known at least one person in our lives who goes through some radical experience and can't shut the hell up about it for weeks afterwards. Case in point, the beginning of my sophomore year of college. Went through a nasty breakup with a girl whom I was madly in love with who'd slept around on me during the summer and broke up with me to actually try to hold a long-distance relationship with the guy (I saw him once and he looked like Steve Buscemi would if you'd dyed his hair black, gave him a dull razor to shave with, then dipped him in the fryer at McDonalds and slicked his hair back). Anyway, I wasn't over her, far from it, however for the first several months of that school year I did little more than go around telling anybody who'd bother to listen that I was a changed person, that I was over her, that I didn't care anymore, that I didn't need her, blah blah blah.
I'd like to think that the few readers I have have enough intelligence to realize that this was the biggest load of bullshit ever uttered by man.
Now I'm all for personal betterment, finding yourself, and tossing aside relics of the past that do nothing but poke you in the hand when you're reaching for them over and over again, but if you're going to really do that, then do it and shut the hell up about it. Too many times we all meet people who like to preach about how much happier they are, or how much more in focus or in touch they are, when those of us who really know what it's like tend to keep to ourselves, because it's a personal thing. Nobody else in the world cares that we've "found our center" and that we're a "whole new person," because if we really had or really were, we wouldn't have to go around trying to convince everybody of it because actions speak louder than words, no matter how many times you repeat them, to yourself or to others.
They say that the worst lies we tell are the ones we tell ourselves, and I'd have to agree with it. Lying to yourself keeps you from seeing any and all problems you may actually have and should work to either rid yourself of or simply come to grips with them and accept them. Anybody who tells you that they're "perfectly fine and at peace" is lying to themselves in the worst way because it usually translates to "I'm ignoring anything and everything wrong in my life right now in the hopes that this will keep me happy and/or sane;" and it ends up doing neither because it's simply not true. Lies don't become truth, no matter how many times you repeat them.
Historical example: Look at Hitler. He was a little man with nothing worthwhile to say, but he said it loud and he said it over and over again until everybody else started believing the lies he was telling to himself. He duped an entire nation into following his idiotic dogma of hatred and persecution, and look what it led to. The US, on the other hand, took a long hard look at itself and saw it's own problems, recognized them as such, and took steps to overcome them. Want proof? Who won World War II?
(should probably have re-phrased that since the Tao teaches us that there are no real "winners" in war, so maybe it's better put "who stopped Hitler and the axis?")
I could even go martial with this whole concept as well. It's well known to anybody who has properly studied Budo (the warrior's way) that he who constantly looks for fights and feels the need to "prove himself" is one with little skill and even less confidence. Those who have the skills and are confident in their abilities seek to avoid fights and "tests" of their abilities. That's how you can tell the really dangerous guys from the punks with something to prove... They're the ones who try to stop the fights (and usually can) before they happen, and when fights do break out, they're usually over in a matter of seconds because the true martial-artists (yes, it IS an art) can end them quickly with as minimum damage as possible.
Now admittedly, because I'm a huge believer in the fact that there are exceptions to every rule, it's possible that some of the freaks you see on TV really have brought about a change in themselves and really have bettered themselves, and I'm all for that. If someone can really change and help others change for the better, more power to them. But pay attention and notice how they do it... They don't force their beliefs or styles on others, they seek to stop other's pain instead of heaping their own onto others ('cause misery loves company), and ultimately they're fine with people telling them to fuck off because they've become aware of the fact that in life we have no one to truly answer to but ourselves, and if we're really at peace with ourselves, it doesn't matter what others say about you because you either already know it, or it simply doesn't matter. But, true to form, they still listen with patience and true attention because nobody's perfect, and it's always possible that someone out there may say something worth hearing in the midst of all of their screaming and shouting and ranting and raging. (stay tuned to this site! You too may find little nuggets of wisdom among all the bullshit!)
Anyway, it all boils down to true inner-peace, to coin a phrase. If you were really all that "at peace" with yourself and the world around you, you'd keep your peace and leave the rest of us the hell alone.
--Brian
Communication
This is another of the "From Japan" series and actually was popular enough to prompt some of my more advanced students to read it and comment on it in class, which was really cool for me because it basically attacks the Japanese social-structure and their way of doing things. As an American feeling the heavy hand of patriotic-racism at nearly all times, it was cool for me to hear some actual Japanese people agreeing with me on how ridiculously complicated their system of communication can be.
Ok, after living in Japan for a grand total of just about seven months now, I've got a few things I'd like to say about the value of proper communication. I'd also like to go over some of the finer points of what exactly is communication; what it is, how to do it, and how to avoid stupid misunderstandings that lead to big big problems (like, say, at work, for example).
Communication is simply the art of saying what you are thinking, and having other people understand that. Sounds simple right? You'd be amazed at the socially inept retards that populate the planet currently who have no idea how simple an idea that is and/or how to properly convey their ideas in a rational, logical, and socially acceptable manner. It's amazing that some of these people can tie their own shoes and/or order food at restaurants, much less occupy high-level jobs in society.
Here are the basic foundations of communications: You have something to say? Say it. You want something? Ask for it. You want someone else to do something for you? Ask them. You are in a position of authority and you want someone to do something? Tell them.
It really is that simple people. Of course, there are guidelines and rules on etiquette and politeness and whatnot, but those are just icing on the cake. Without the cake, the rest ain't worth the plate it's served on, no matter how pretty that plate may be. It's remarkable how simple and easy proper communication can be if you just ignore all of the societal bullshit that gets heaped onto it by people trying to either be polite and/or spare another's feelings. I've said it before and I'll say it again (as a matter of fact, I'll say it right now); Don't bother sparing feelings or being overly polite. Tell me the damn truth once and for all and I'll like you and respect you a hundred times more than if you were trying to be "nice" or "polite" or any other bullshit term you want to use to justify you being too much of a fucking pussy who's afraid to say what they mean and/or think because you're afraid that someone somewhere may not like it. It's called freedom of speech for a reason. It's free, and you can say what you damn well please no matter what people may think of it. John Wayne (yes, him) himself said "I may not like what you have to say, but I'll fight and die for your right to say it." Good man, that one. Shame there aren't more like him.
Here's an example. See if you can spot the proper use of communication in the following example:
You are the manager of a large corporation. You've got a slightly troublesome, but good-intentioned employee (let's call him "Ryan) who is having some communication troubles and isn't quite getting the full gist of items/ideas being put across during business meetings. You want him to take notes during the meetings to make sure that he's getting all the info he needs. You say to him:
A) "Ryan, please take notes during the business meetings and fax them to us so we know you're getting all the info you should be."
B) "Ryan, we were thinking that it might be a good idea if you could possibly take some notes during the business meetings because we think maybe you might possibly not be getting all the right info kinda-sorta."
C) "Ryan, snarkie fargle bing-ding-dong blamf."
f you answered "A" then you pass the test and you know how to communicate. If you answered "B" you're socially retarded and should take a tack-hammer to your own head in the hopes of beating the stupid out of you. If you answered "C" you need to either check yourself into a rehab clinic or stay in hiding from the government. Either way, you'll be out of human contact, which is fine by me as you have no communication skills whatsoever. However, we can see in the above examples that communication is possible. In example A, you have a thought, and you say it. Done and done. Problem solved, Ryan knows what to do and what you expect of him, and he'll do it. Everybody wins, everybody goes home happy. In example B, however, you can see that it's nigh-impossible for anybody to understand what you want, if indeed you want anything, and/or if you've ever spent too much time in an enclosed space with a magic marker sniffing the pretty colors.
How hard is this to do? It's really quite as simple as you allow it to be. Don't be fooled by people who will try to tell you that it's not polite to say certain things, or that you shouldn't say certain things because they're "bad." Quick tip people, there's no such thing as a "bad word." It's a ridiculous concept that was thought up in the late pre-industrial society by stuck up, white, upper-class women who wanted to distinguish themselves from the rest of society even more than they already had, so they decided that only "civilized" people would use certain language, and the rest of the dregs could still call a spade a spade and speak their minds. It's an outmoded concept from an upper-class bitchy part of society that nobody liked in the first place. Think about it. It's a word. Words have no power in and of themselves, it's the thoughts and intentions behind those words that give the words their power. It's kind of like blaming a bullet for someone's death. The bullet couldn't do anything by itself, it needed to be fired from a gun, and loaded into said gun by a human being. Same thing about words. If the intention is there, then it doesn't matter what the words are, 'cause it all comes out meaning the same thing. So please, save us the trouble of having to consult our magical "social-retards" decoder ring and decyphering what the hell it was you just said. Say what you mean, mean what you say, then shut the hell up and listen to someone else for a change.
Before I close, I want to expound on that last part just a bit. Never forget that listening is just as important and vital a part of proper communication as speaking. Some would say more so, because when you listen, it means you're not speaking. When you're not speaking, someone else can speak. When someone else speaks AND you listen properly (not just wait for your turn to speak again), you might just learn something. Something about yourself, something about the topic of conversation, something about the other speaker... Doesn't matter what, because the more you know the more you can speak intelligently, and if you're not going to speak intelligently, I really don't want to hear what you have to say. (exceptions will be made for ridiculous/embarassing comments made in the name of humor and/or drunkenness, but don't push the envelope here, we only have so much leeway to give in any instance)
--Brian
Ok, after living in Japan for a grand total of just about seven months now, I've got a few things I'd like to say about the value of proper communication. I'd also like to go over some of the finer points of what exactly is communication; what it is, how to do it, and how to avoid stupid misunderstandings that lead to big big problems (like, say, at work, for example).
Communication is simply the art of saying what you are thinking, and having other people understand that. Sounds simple right? You'd be amazed at the socially inept retards that populate the planet currently who have no idea how simple an idea that is and/or how to properly convey their ideas in a rational, logical, and socially acceptable manner. It's amazing that some of these people can tie their own shoes and/or order food at restaurants, much less occupy high-level jobs in society.
Here are the basic foundations of communications: You have something to say? Say it. You want something? Ask for it. You want someone else to do something for you? Ask them. You are in a position of authority and you want someone to do something? Tell them.
It really is that simple people. Of course, there are guidelines and rules on etiquette and politeness and whatnot, but those are just icing on the cake. Without the cake, the rest ain't worth the plate it's served on, no matter how pretty that plate may be. It's remarkable how simple and easy proper communication can be if you just ignore all of the societal bullshit that gets heaped onto it by people trying to either be polite and/or spare another's feelings. I've said it before and I'll say it again (as a matter of fact, I'll say it right now); Don't bother sparing feelings or being overly polite. Tell me the damn truth once and for all and I'll like you and respect you a hundred times more than if you were trying to be "nice" or "polite" or any other bullshit term you want to use to justify you being too much of a fucking pussy who's afraid to say what they mean and/or think because you're afraid that someone somewhere may not like it. It's called freedom of speech for a reason. It's free, and you can say what you damn well please no matter what people may think of it. John Wayne (yes, him) himself said "I may not like what you have to say, but I'll fight and die for your right to say it." Good man, that one. Shame there aren't more like him.
Here's an example. See if you can spot the proper use of communication in the following example:
You are the manager of a large corporation. You've got a slightly troublesome, but good-intentioned employee (let's call him "Ryan) who is having some communication troubles and isn't quite getting the full gist of items/ideas being put across during business meetings. You want him to take notes during the meetings to make sure that he's getting all the info he needs. You say to him:
A) "Ryan, please take notes during the business meetings and fax them to us so we know you're getting all the info you should be."
B) "Ryan, we were thinking that it might be a good idea if you could possibly take some notes during the business meetings because we think maybe you might possibly not be getting all the right info kinda-sorta."
C) "Ryan, snarkie fargle bing-ding-dong blamf."
f you answered "A" then you pass the test and you know how to communicate. If you answered "B" you're socially retarded and should take a tack-hammer to your own head in the hopes of beating the stupid out of you. If you answered "C" you need to either check yourself into a rehab clinic or stay in hiding from the government. Either way, you'll be out of human contact, which is fine by me as you have no communication skills whatsoever. However, we can see in the above examples that communication is possible. In example A, you have a thought, and you say it. Done and done. Problem solved, Ryan knows what to do and what you expect of him, and he'll do it. Everybody wins, everybody goes home happy. In example B, however, you can see that it's nigh-impossible for anybody to understand what you want, if indeed you want anything, and/or if you've ever spent too much time in an enclosed space with a magic marker sniffing the pretty colors.
How hard is this to do? It's really quite as simple as you allow it to be. Don't be fooled by people who will try to tell you that it's not polite to say certain things, or that you shouldn't say certain things because they're "bad." Quick tip people, there's no such thing as a "bad word." It's a ridiculous concept that was thought up in the late pre-industrial society by stuck up, white, upper-class women who wanted to distinguish themselves from the rest of society even more than they already had, so they decided that only "civilized" people would use certain language, and the rest of the dregs could still call a spade a spade and speak their minds. It's an outmoded concept from an upper-class bitchy part of society that nobody liked in the first place. Think about it. It's a word. Words have no power in and of themselves, it's the thoughts and intentions behind those words that give the words their power. It's kind of like blaming a bullet for someone's death. The bullet couldn't do anything by itself, it needed to be fired from a gun, and loaded into said gun by a human being. Same thing about words. If the intention is there, then it doesn't matter what the words are, 'cause it all comes out meaning the same thing. So please, save us the trouble of having to consult our magical "social-retards" decoder ring and decyphering what the hell it was you just said. Say what you mean, mean what you say, then shut the hell up and listen to someone else for a change.
Before I close, I want to expound on that last part just a bit. Never forget that listening is just as important and vital a part of proper communication as speaking. Some would say more so, because when you listen, it means you're not speaking. When you're not speaking, someone else can speak. When someone else speaks AND you listen properly (not just wait for your turn to speak again), you might just learn something. Something about yourself, something about the topic of conversation, something about the other speaker... Doesn't matter what, because the more you know the more you can speak intelligently, and if you're not going to speak intelligently, I really don't want to hear what you have to say. (exceptions will be made for ridiculous/embarassing comments made in the name of humor and/or drunkenness, but don't push the envelope here, we only have so much leeway to give in any instance)
--Brian
A Nation of Pussies
This was the first official "RANT" I ever wrote and luckily it still holds pretty true. I wrote it when I was living in Japan and had a lot of free time and was rather upset with things (you'll notice, if you continue to read these beyond this first one, that most of my rants from that era are pretty angry, but they do have a point, I promise). I don't remember what prompted this particular rant, probably some news item I read on the internet, but I wrote this and put it out there for the whole world to see and enough people saw it and liked it for me to keep writing. At the time, I didn't know I was "blogging." I was just ranting and doing it on the internet in the vain hopes that someone would read my stuff -- as it turns out I was ahead of the curve there. Did I get any credit forging a cultural revolution and changing the look of the internet forever by creating a new format in which people could air their grievances? Oh no, I was so far ahead of the curve that people couldn't even see where I was.
Anyway, I'm getting off on a completely different rant here, so I'll get back to the topic at hand, and that is "A Nation of Pussies." Enjoy.
When did we turn into a nation of pussies?
Let’s be completely frank here, folks. Long gone are the days when men were real men and women were tough as nails while still being soft and huggable at the same time. My mom raised two kids by herself, working full-time jobs over an hour away from home, and somehow she still found out about all the shit we pulled when she wasn’t around and made us pay for it.
And pay for it we did. Extra chores or a simple spanking, either bare-handed or with the old favorite, the wooden spoon. And after the beating, we went to our rooms to clean them, and it had better get done proper that time ‘cause Mom was sick of telling us to do it every damn day.
We, as a nation, have gone from John Wayne to DJ Qualls. All due respect to DJ Qualls, he’s a great actor with superb comedic timing, but I remember a time (fading as it was) when I was a kid when we’d have kicked the shit out of the DJ Qualls we knew, taken his lunch money, and given him a wedgie for good measure.
We didn’t have therapy, self-help, or play-dates. We damn well went outside and played. If we didn’t make the team or were kicked out of class for goofing off or making fart-noises when we should have been doing algebra, our parents told us to suck it up and deal with it (and after the call from the school, we more than likely got another beating and were sent to clean our rooms... again). We weren’t called “special” when I was a kid, we were called “stupid” or “fidgety” or something else that nailed the problem on the head. We knew what was expected of us because we were told countless times by our parents the simple rules of life;
Take responsibility for your own actions
Clean up after yourself
That’s pretty much all you need to know. You do something wrong, own up to it, take your lumps, then shut the hell up about it. If you make a mess, clean it up. Nobody else on this planet was put here to clean up after anybody else, not even your mother. Either stop making so many damn messes everywhere, or clean them the hell up.
It sickens me nowadays to hear all the rules that are imposed on kids. The special rules so that all kids feel worthy and good. Where has all of this nurturing gotten us? Scholastic achievement in school is at an all-time low because the retarded kid who eats paste for quarters got a better grade on his English test than I did because he’s “special” and we shouldn’t make him feel like a failure. How is readjusting scores supposed to make the actually smart kids feel? If anything we’re teaching our kids that it’s ok to give up early and simply not give a damn, because we’ll fix it so that they’ll still do just as well as anybody else.
I shudder to think of what will happen when they get into the real world and want a job. Actually, it’s not too scary a thought... If anybody refuses a job to anybody I’m sure that they can contact any number of special-interest/special-rights groups to say it’s a case of discrimination and then the retarded kid is eating paste in a multi-billion dollar company while I, who went to college, studied, played by the rules and worked my ass off, is doing minimum-wage work at a goddamned Radio Shack.
But you know what? While I was working at Radio Shack, I didn’t complain about it. I knew that there were bills to pay, food to buy and eat, rent to pay, responsibilities to be taken care of. Yeah, I bitched about the low wages and shitty management, but I damn well stayed at that job for two years because I was taught to take care of myself. And when the time came for me to move up in the world, I damn well made it happen for myself. I didn’t ask anybody to do it for me, I didn’t demand anything more than I was willing to go out and work for myself.
You know what? I got it, too.
You know what I like best about DJ Qualls? His movie “The New Guy.” In that movie he did what the US, collectively, needs to do. Stop taking the shit we’ve been force-fed and lead to believe is simply “the way it is,” take charge of our own lives and damn well get out there, kick ass, take names, get laid, and go home.
We, as a nation, have gone from FDR telling us that the only thing to fear is fear itself, to Al Gore showing us the biggest pussy display since Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct. Did anybody at home, other than me and Michael Moore, watch the presidential-candidate debates of 2000 and wonder who the fuck was up there whining and pussy-footing his way around questions while Bush (yet another pussy... Just look at his name, for god’s sake) said what he’d always said and got away with it?
FDR took a country that was at it’s absolute lowest and turned it into the strongest nation on the planet. Somewhere between about 1957 and now we’ve stopped worshipping guys like John Wayne and Joe Dimaggio and placated ourselves with guys like Freddie Prinze Jr. and Alexander Rodriguez. First off, actors should have two names. Their first and their last. Anybody who tries to look cool or accentuate themselves by adding needless tag-ons or middle initials is just looking for attention, and the only attention they deserve is to be punched in the throat. Also, sports players... I refuse to call them “stars” because stars serve useful purposes in providing heat and light to the universe, and sports players get paid more money than God to run around and play, something that we, as Americans, used to do for free when we were kids. Sports players whine and complain about a salary cap and money and they actually have the gall to walk-out of a season and/or go on strike. Please. There’s nothing more pathetic than a man with a 6-figure income trying to garner support for his desire to make more money for doing less work than the guy who collects my trash every week.
That’s another big question I have... When did wages cease to have relevance to the actual work done? Corporate CEOs sit on their asses 90% of the time, only getting up to either fondle a secretary’s ass or to lay off more American workers and move the plants/factories to either Mexico or Taiwan where they can pay Pepe or Sing-liu ten cents an hour for what they’d have to pay Americans ten dollars an hour. Yet somehow, these fat cats with their business accounts and private jets and tax-writeoffs and tax-breaks earn more money than most of the people in the city they live in... Collectively.
What happened to the America that we were all told waited for us if we worked hard, played fair and took care of ourselves? We flat-out DON’T take care of ourselves. The government is looking to start wars (fights) all over the globe in some mythological quest for “peace,” and all the while they’re ignoring their own people. What kind of government is that? I’ve seen examples of government like that before, but I didn’t quite get the full gist of the program because it was all in Arabic.
When did the goverment decide that other nations’ people living in squalor were more important that the 80% of children in America who live below the poverty line? Personally, I’m beginning to think that the nightly news is the funniest damn show on TV and Comedy Central should try to incorporate it into their nightly lineup. All I can do is laugh when I see any politician rant and rave about how we have to help these poor defenseless foriegners, and then in the same breath say that we have to cut welfare out of the budget, make abortions illegal across the board, cancel any school-lunch programs, cut more schools and libraries out of the budget, AND THEN go on to say how we should give more tax-breaks to big businesses so they can move their corporate headquarters to the Cayman Islands so they can then avoid paying taxes altogether.
Ok. I’ve gone enough places and pissed off enough people for one rant. I’ll be sure to piss off more people next time, I’m sure.
--Brian
Anyway, I'm getting off on a completely different rant here, so I'll get back to the topic at hand, and that is "A Nation of Pussies." Enjoy.
When did we turn into a nation of pussies?
Let’s be completely frank here, folks. Long gone are the days when men were real men and women were tough as nails while still being soft and huggable at the same time. My mom raised two kids by herself, working full-time jobs over an hour away from home, and somehow she still found out about all the shit we pulled when she wasn’t around and made us pay for it.
And pay for it we did. Extra chores or a simple spanking, either bare-handed or with the old favorite, the wooden spoon. And after the beating, we went to our rooms to clean them, and it had better get done proper that time ‘cause Mom was sick of telling us to do it every damn day.
We, as a nation, have gone from John Wayne to DJ Qualls. All due respect to DJ Qualls, he’s a great actor with superb comedic timing, but I remember a time (fading as it was) when I was a kid when we’d have kicked the shit out of the DJ Qualls we knew, taken his lunch money, and given him a wedgie for good measure.
We didn’t have therapy, self-help, or play-dates. We damn well went outside and played. If we didn’t make the team or were kicked out of class for goofing off or making fart-noises when we should have been doing algebra, our parents told us to suck it up and deal with it (and after the call from the school, we more than likely got another beating and were sent to clean our rooms... again). We weren’t called “special” when I was a kid, we were called “stupid” or “fidgety” or something else that nailed the problem on the head. We knew what was expected of us because we were told countless times by our parents the simple rules of life;
Take responsibility for your own actions
Clean up after yourself
That’s pretty much all you need to know. You do something wrong, own up to it, take your lumps, then shut the hell up about it. If you make a mess, clean it up. Nobody else on this planet was put here to clean up after anybody else, not even your mother. Either stop making so many damn messes everywhere, or clean them the hell up.
It sickens me nowadays to hear all the rules that are imposed on kids. The special rules so that all kids feel worthy and good. Where has all of this nurturing gotten us? Scholastic achievement in school is at an all-time low because the retarded kid who eats paste for quarters got a better grade on his English test than I did because he’s “special” and we shouldn’t make him feel like a failure. How is readjusting scores supposed to make the actually smart kids feel? If anything we’re teaching our kids that it’s ok to give up early and simply not give a damn, because we’ll fix it so that they’ll still do just as well as anybody else.
I shudder to think of what will happen when they get into the real world and want a job. Actually, it’s not too scary a thought... If anybody refuses a job to anybody I’m sure that they can contact any number of special-interest/special-rights groups to say it’s a case of discrimination and then the retarded kid is eating paste in a multi-billion dollar company while I, who went to college, studied, played by the rules and worked my ass off, is doing minimum-wage work at a goddamned Radio Shack.
But you know what? While I was working at Radio Shack, I didn’t complain about it. I knew that there were bills to pay, food to buy and eat, rent to pay, responsibilities to be taken care of. Yeah, I bitched about the low wages and shitty management, but I damn well stayed at that job for two years because I was taught to take care of myself. And when the time came for me to move up in the world, I damn well made it happen for myself. I didn’t ask anybody to do it for me, I didn’t demand anything more than I was willing to go out and work for myself.
You know what? I got it, too.
You know what I like best about DJ Qualls? His movie “The New Guy.” In that movie he did what the US, collectively, needs to do. Stop taking the shit we’ve been force-fed and lead to believe is simply “the way it is,” take charge of our own lives and damn well get out there, kick ass, take names, get laid, and go home.
We, as a nation, have gone from FDR telling us that the only thing to fear is fear itself, to Al Gore showing us the biggest pussy display since Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct. Did anybody at home, other than me and Michael Moore, watch the presidential-candidate debates of 2000 and wonder who the fuck was up there whining and pussy-footing his way around questions while Bush (yet another pussy... Just look at his name, for god’s sake) said what he’d always said and got away with it?
FDR took a country that was at it’s absolute lowest and turned it into the strongest nation on the planet. Somewhere between about 1957 and now we’ve stopped worshipping guys like John Wayne and Joe Dimaggio and placated ourselves with guys like Freddie Prinze Jr. and Alexander Rodriguez. First off, actors should have two names. Their first and their last. Anybody who tries to look cool or accentuate themselves by adding needless tag-ons or middle initials is just looking for attention, and the only attention they deserve is to be punched in the throat. Also, sports players... I refuse to call them “stars” because stars serve useful purposes in providing heat and light to the universe, and sports players get paid more money than God to run around and play, something that we, as Americans, used to do for free when we were kids. Sports players whine and complain about a salary cap and money and they actually have the gall to walk-out of a season and/or go on strike. Please. There’s nothing more pathetic than a man with a 6-figure income trying to garner support for his desire to make more money for doing less work than the guy who collects my trash every week.
That’s another big question I have... When did wages cease to have relevance to the actual work done? Corporate CEOs sit on their asses 90% of the time, only getting up to either fondle a secretary’s ass or to lay off more American workers and move the plants/factories to either Mexico or Taiwan where they can pay Pepe or Sing-liu ten cents an hour for what they’d have to pay Americans ten dollars an hour. Yet somehow, these fat cats with their business accounts and private jets and tax-writeoffs and tax-breaks earn more money than most of the people in the city they live in... Collectively.
What happened to the America that we were all told waited for us if we worked hard, played fair and took care of ourselves? We flat-out DON’T take care of ourselves. The government is looking to start wars (fights) all over the globe in some mythological quest for “peace,” and all the while they’re ignoring their own people. What kind of government is that? I’ve seen examples of government like that before, but I didn’t quite get the full gist of the program because it was all in Arabic.
When did the goverment decide that other nations’ people living in squalor were more important that the 80% of children in America who live below the poverty line? Personally, I’m beginning to think that the nightly news is the funniest damn show on TV and Comedy Central should try to incorporate it into their nightly lineup. All I can do is laugh when I see any politician rant and rave about how we have to help these poor defenseless foriegners, and then in the same breath say that we have to cut welfare out of the budget, make abortions illegal across the board, cancel any school-lunch programs, cut more schools and libraries out of the budget, AND THEN go on to say how we should give more tax-breaks to big businesses so they can move their corporate headquarters to the Cayman Islands so they can then avoid paying taxes altogether.
Ok. I’ve gone enough places and pissed off enough people for one rant. I’ll be sure to piss off more people next time, I’m sure.
--Brian
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)