Observed in the Wild: Stupid People

Stupidity, like Hope, apparently springs eternally.

On Parenting:

At the bar today some idiot was complaining about his 18-year old child, specifically about his child’s inability to take care of himself:

“You’re 18 now, you should be able to take care of yourself!”

… I really had to keep myself from leaping over the bar and strangling the dude. 

Your fucked-up kid would otherwise be able to take care of himself if you, as his parent, did at least a decent job of raising him. 

But also, on the flip side of that coin: no parent is a “great” parent. Their own bad behaviors are not necessarily their fault. I’m not saying that bad parents are bad people. I’m just saying that no good comes from loudly complaining about someone when what you’re complaining about isn’t that person’s fault. 

And sometimes the particular attributes of a person (especially a young person) make parenting that person more challenging.

But the fact that some person has reached the age of 18 doesn’t mean that that 18-year-old person is magically an “adult” who can take care of themselves without their parents’ help.

On public/energy policy:

“The problem with solar energy is that you can’t produce the same energy with solar as you can with water. That’s why we use the Hoover Dam.”

“Heard at the bar.”

Why is so much “overheard at the bar?” Alcohol, the social lubricant of humanity, tends to, among many things, do two things to people:

  1. Makes them chatty,
  2. Brings to the surface elements of self that are, perhaps, more close to the truth than the face we put on public display.

So, honestly, in my mind, “stupid’ drunks are “stupid” people.

Having said all that negative stuff, I also believe that all people are good people. Just sometimes they are stupid people. Hate has no real place in my worldview.