Rants ahead.
First up, the current occupants of the White House. I think anyone who has met me knows that I feel that 45 is a POS, and I don't mean Point Of Service. Yesterday, when he was scheduled to visit Houston, I read a report about how it would be interesting to see if he could prove to be a good "Consoler-in-Chief," given that he "appears to lack empathy." Well he performed as expected, and I ask myself OH MY GOD HOW YOU CAN YOU LACK EMPATHY???? Galling.
Then, his wife. On the one hand, you have the "Don't Reduce Her to What She Is Wearing, It's Not Important, and Women Should Stop Tearing Each Other Down" crowd, and on the other hand you have the "But She Changed Into Sneakers Once They Landed" crowd.
My take? This is an imperfect world, and the stiletto heels and sunglasses were a stupid choice. It gave the appearance of trying to look fashionable rather than practical when visiting a dangerous place in a hurricane zone. Also, why the sunglasses - it was not sunny in DC or in Houston? And by extension, why is she always squinting, does she need prescription glasses? I don't get her. And how she dresses is not the most important thing in the world, but people do notice and if Michelle Obama got slammed for wearing shorts on Air Force One, we can criticize Melania for wearing stilettos. It didn't ruin my day, but I still think it was stupid. Also, the whole "Women Should Stop Tearing Each Other Down" thing makes me stabby. Women are people, and if we should no more give them a pass due to gender than we should men. When a woman acts stupid, improperly, rudely, insensitively, etc. she should be called out on it.
The kid. He's a kid, let him wear what kids wear. Leave him alone, leave him out of it. He's got enough to deal with given his father and older siblings. God help him.
OK, next. Yesterday morning on my way to work, I was waiting to cross the street and there were a group of four people in front of me. One of them said, "I am so upset because my car is going to need $1500 worth of repairs and I don't know how I'm going to afford that." Another person said, "You shouldn't be complaining when thousands of people are suffering more from Hurricane Harvey." And that annoyed me. Granted, if she had been upset about breaking a fingernail, I would agree. But you know what? People's problems and their suffering are real, regardless who has it worse in the world. I am guessing that the first person was feeling awful about what was happening in Houston, but also worried about her personal finances. Each is legitimate, and there are no prizes for who suffers the most.
Sharing the sidewalk. I know that in a lot of places, there are sidewalks that are as wide as buildings. But I live in Center City Philadelphia, where the streets are tiny and the sidewalks tinier. When I am walking with someone else or even a group of people, and even a single person is coming the other way, I move behind who I am with so they can walk past. It's not hard, and it's never meant that I've missed a golden nugget of wisdom from the mouth of my companion(s). It appears that I am one of the few people who do this. And if you DARE to say "Excuse me" and try to pass, people look at you as if you just ate a baby or something. I've even gotten the sarcastic, "Oh excuuuse me for living" type of comment. It's a sidewalk. No one should have to walk in the street and risk getting hit by a vehicle because you are walking along with someone else. To quote George Costanza, "We're living in a SOCIETY, people!"
Nazis. 'Nuff said.
If you are still reading, thanks for letting me get this off my chest. It won't change anything, but it makes me feel better. Because now I can take my lovely perfect self and my estimable personal behavior and move on with my day. And that should make all of us feel better, right? ;-)
