I was thinking. I do a lot of that. I'm over-analytical by nature. Not necessarily a good thing. Well a good thing when it comes to work and earning capacity I suppose. But a poor thing indeed when it comes to relationships.
I get argumentative, I get self righteous. I clamber on to the podium and while not going to the extent of pounding a finger into your chest I mouth off. A bit too much. I could excuse it and tell you I came from an autocratic household of origin where opinions outside of those of the patriarch were not tolerated and often were punished.
But that is a very fragile little hook on which to hang my request for your tolerance. Surely, you'd mutter, with the years of therapy you've had you'd be a little more tolerant of the opinions of others?
I find that as I age I hit a form of crabbiness I used to condemn in others who were older. A thin layer of disrespect for the beliefs and opinions of those who would dare to have the unmitigated gall to disagree with me.
I found this undesirable trait in myself last night while in a conversation with others about the Catholic Church and its disposal of properties for the settlement of lawsuits brought by the victims of paedophilia.
Yeah, we're all sick and tired of that particular issue. But I couldn't leave it alone, I climbed up on the box and proceeded to vent my opinion on the pope preaching poverty and servility while he swans about in custom made red leather shoes and glittery dresses and lives in a palace.
To a bunch of practising Catholics.
Who politely listened while exchanging tiny glances with each other.
Who were tolerant enough of me not to rebut.
And I had the horrifying thought, later, that now I've reached the age where I'm becoming that batty old eccentric with a purple streak of crazy running down her middle.
Just ignore her.
She's loopy but lovable.
Ouch.
You know, "loopy but lovable" might be absolutely the best image to aim for in these crazy days.
ReplyDeleteIt's way, way better than moronic and murderous (cf USA's MIC), or daft and dangerous (cf. rightwing pols) or smug and smarmy (Born-again wotnots).
I'm going to work on your pattern WWW. :-)
Don't worry. You're not alone. There's loads of us out there.
ReplyDeleteYes... but there are some of us who love that about you without ever meeting you face to face!
ReplyDeleteKeep up the eccentricity, the crabbiness, the unconventionality... At least you are not boring and ordinary!
Just share that soapbox and you'll be ok ;) Presenting an opposing view is often a door for others to see beyond their own eyelids. As my mother used to say, "Fight nice."
ReplyDeleteT:
ReplyDeletethanks my friend. What was that about cowards never speaking up? Maybe just maybe I might throw out a tiny beam of light to cultists...hm?
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RJA:
ReplyDeleteOh that is such a relief, I was beginning to think I was alone...
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Nevin:
ReplyDeleteOh never ordinary, don't know about the boring...then again they may look askance at me but they don't fall asleep!
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Pauline:
ReplyDeleteI do try and fight nice but have a hard time with people with closed minds...
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Eccentricity is not anything to be ashamed of. And trying to insert a tiny little crack into those closed minds is always a good thing - too many people are afraid of saying something which will offend the listener (or reader), and will keep their opinions to themselves.
ReplyDeleteSometimes a good argument (as long as you don't descend into personal insults) is a good way of opening both parties' minds to other opinions.
But here's the thing, girl. I don't see anything remotely eccentric in what you argues. Swanning around gold art-filled palaces in frocks and red Gucci shoes, while sloughing off criticism about paederast priests, is exactly what most repels me about Ratzinger and his whole shower. To my mind, it's the practising Catholics who are bat-shit crazy. x
ReplyDeleteI've decided there are some subjects it's not worth ranting on about, however strongly I feel. Other people won't listen, won't understand, or are not going to change their mind anyway. And I just get myself all lathered-up for no good reason. It's better to let some things go and simply concentrate on the enjoyable parts of life.
ReplyDeleteI consider our lovable loopinesses to be the best part of our age. We no longer obsess over what people think of us (since they don't really think of us at all) and we can pretty much do and say whatever we want - as long as we don't end up in jail, something I definitely don't want at my advanced age.
ReplyDeleteI watched The Fifth Estate about that very topic last night and I could do a fair bit of ranting on that topic myself. I think it's disgusting and hypocritical. If a church can afford to have gold everything and fancy little fishboxes for its leader to putt around in then it's not doing its job, crises notwithstanding. My church is bordering on bankruptcy but it still helps out whenever it can.
ReplyDeleteAfter watching last night all I could think of was that line in the Bible about it being better to hang a millstone around your neck and drown than to cause a child to stumble. I imagine a big lineup of "priests" waiting for their stone and then walking the plank. Keep your streak, passion is worth holding onto.
Hi Lovable loopy!
ReplyDeleteI used to bite my tongue, but am more inclined to let loose with it these days. The only time I save my energy is with the selective deaf who only like and listen to their own voices.
Ok, a bit tactless on this occasion, but then . . . .
ReplyDeleteotherwise let me say this: i love having what I call constructive debates with people who hold on to their misguided opinions in the teeth of all the reasoned argument and evidence I can marshal against them.
Then the rotters say they humour ME! ME!, I ask you . . . .
Jo:
ReplyDeleteOh I'd never descend into the personal but I have enormous trouble with cults and brainwashing and spouting from a mythical and imaginary belief system.
So keep mouthing off, eh?
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Tessa:
ReplyDeleteOh I so agree but we can hardly tell them can we? I'll just keep stating the REALITY and maybe someone will wake up one of these days?
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Nick:
ReplyDeleteYou are a much calmer person than me. I feel the top of my head will blow off if I hold it in and know this just can't be good for me!
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Marcia:
ReplyDeleteGood point, I'm never mouthing off for the attention just a cry of truth in the wilderness of the sheeple.
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GM:
ReplyDeleteAmen to that my good friend!
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Welcome Two Hands!
ReplyDeleteLike yourself I can't abide hypocrisy and sometimes feel I am very much alone in my seeking of a reality based life.
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Friko
ReplyDeleteGad, I hate hate hate being humoured.
The Karma of my father is upon me.
Mea Culpa!
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If loopy and lovable were the worst things anyone would ever think about me, I wouldn't worry about it very much, as long as I also got my point of view across enough times. I find that I do have strong opinions as I get older and I don't like to keep my mouth shut. I like to kick against 'holy institutions' and I don't just mean the church by that, but the establishment in general. I love being an opinionated European. The older I get, the better.
ReplyDeleteNora:
ReplyDeleteit is great to do it in a blog, which I do all the time, but much harder to do it in a social setting with friends.
though thankfully, my dear friends (most of them in Toronto, alas!) are singing from the same page so I can engage in a different discourse than here.
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