Who Raised You?
Were they born in a barn? Or, maybe, a pigsty?
“Oh, no! I forgot to have kids!”
Just joking. I didn’t forget. But I love this meme.
I ducked having kids predominantly because I am self-absorbed. And — because, every step of the way, I weighed how many responsibilities I wanted to carry. I am, if I hadn’t said so previously, responsibility-averse. As far as I have ever been concerned, the fewer the responsibilities, the better.
Other than having run a business for several decades, I’ve dodged a shit-ton of responsibilities.
In addition to all of the above, children are a crapshoot and, though I have been fortunate raising and parenting pets, I didn’t care for the dice odds of bringing a small human into the world. When it doesn’t work out, child-rearing has the potential of not working out spectacularly.
Which brings me to this post’s title:
Who raised you?!? Jackals?
I think this every time I glance at the news. Video version or print version, it doesn’t matter. The sheer volume of schmucks roaming the earth and getting interviewed, videoed or captured doing or saying something spectacularly moronic is at an historic peak. The Jackass movies were mere prelude.
I don’t expect Emily Post manners from everyone I meet — especially since I need a body bib for every meal — but I sure don’t expect the boors, knuckleheads and loudmouths who seem to lurk online, in crowds and everywhere the public likes to gather.
I’m thinking of the ragtag imbeciles during the height of the pandemic who would march through big box stores coughing on people.
I’m thinking of the New York woman who called the police on the Black man whose dog was wandering about off leash. And every other busy-bodied citizen who believes it to be their job to police every corner of the universe.
I’m thinking about concert-goers who don’t give a second thought to leaving garbage strewn about the temporary space they inhabit, or throwing open mustard packs willy-nilly into the crowd. I have been the involuntary recipient of an errant airborne mustard pack at a ‘genteel’ concert like Dave Matthews at The Gorge in George, Washington. I’m lousy enough with food and drinks. The last thing I need is other people pelting me with fluorescent condiments.
I’m thinking of drivers whose very first reaction to any road, or parking lot, slight is to lay on their horns as if their insignificant lives depend on it. Horns are useful for defensive driving but horn-abuse is quickly becoming a substitute for what would undoubtably cost them nothing more than a minor amount of grace, patience and tolerance.
I’m thinking of movie patrons talking far too loudly during a film ruining the experience for everyone in the audience.
I’m thinking of those who push their way to the head of the line as if they’re somehow special.
Who raised these people?
It feels like we are plagued with people who have no ethics, scruples, filters or common decency. It feels like laws, rules, guidelines and lines in the sand are all being ignored.
For example, who raised the idiots who raided and occupied the Malheur Wildlife Refuge? And why did they — essentially — get away with it? As a business with a Special Use Permit from the Bureau of Land Manglement, I can’t dig a trowel-sized “trench” without Leave No Trace rangers crawling up my ass. Even if my intention is to return the landscape to exactly the way I found it.
Makes me wonder if I packed a gun, they’d just leave me well enough alone.
Who raised the creeps that created the elaborate ruse and scammed $50,000 from a journalist who feared for her family’s safety? And then there are the other creeps who try to convince grandparents their grandkids are missing or kidnapped by using AI-generated children’s voices? And then there are the creeps who steal commercial bee hives! Who are these people?
Who raised every single, solitary one of Jordan Klepper’s marks?
The stupidity is stultifying.
There are dozens of libraries filled with subjects I know nothing about but learning to be civil to one another is one of the simplest lessons taught in kindergarten. Like dogs at a dog park, kindergarten is where we get socialized. Civility and common courtesy don’t require a doctorate of philosophy. Even the simplest of us should be capable of mastering the art of civility.
And yet.
It’s 2024 and people espousing white supremacy and other people who are staying in intimate touch with their inner-assholes are having a moment that has been dragging on for nearly a decade. Listen to what Tennessee state representative Justin Jones had to say about Nazis marching about downtown Nashville in garb reminiscent of the 20th century’s Brown Shirts:
Just left an event honoring a Black sorority and spoke of the need to unite against the rising tide of white supremacy, only to be confronted by Nazis marching through downtown Nashville. This is exactly what my Republican colleagues’ hate speech is fostering and inviting. - TN State Rep. Justin Jones
It’s 2024 and millions of Americans are still going to cast their vote for someone beyond redemption, someone who has bully written all over them, someone who must have been raised by modern-day barbarians. They’ll cast that vote as if they’re considering a choice as meaningless as Coke or Pepsi.
Who. Raised. You??!!?? I’m serious.
All I know is — whoever it was, the racist/asshole DNA is uncommonly thick — or — it went spectacularly wrong.
This is good. But I have a soft spot for Robert Reich, President Clinton’s former Labor Secretary.
I’m not sure I have ever seen a smoother jump shot. Notice that the shot is WELL beyond the women’s 3 point line. This one was for the NCAA All-Time Women’s scoring leader. She’s likely to pass Pete Maravich before the end of the season. Her name is Caitlin Clark. She plays for Iowa. She’ll be a household name soon enough.
Short of that. Drop me a line. Send me a text. Leave a comment. What I love the most about writing these things is hearing back from folks. Whether it has been recently or, as in some cases, decades. Cheers! - JLM
Well said. Quite a lot of folks lacking a proper fetching up!
it all had to do with the “whiteness” of the textbook. I was training TA’s to teach our public speaking class. The book was adopted for the course before I became course director. 5 out of my 16 TA’s were black and did not like the examples of civility in the book. AND what we need is more civillity. I was pissed.