Story 125: Don't believe the hype or accept the hypocrisy

I don't know about you, but I hate hypocrisy. When did it become normal to say one thing and do something else?

For example:  Vegetarians who are also drug abusers.  River Phoenix was a great actor, but despite his healthy lifestyle drugs did him in.  

Once again the halo effect rears it's head.  OJ Simpson can't be a killer, because he's OJ, or Bill Cosby can't be drugging women because he's the king of comedy and formerly "America's dad." The truth is that everyone has secrets, and unfortunately some are worse than others.  It can't just be that we are flawed humans.  There is someone more going on.

Donald Trump is supposedly a man of integrity, but he also won't release his taxes.  So how do we really know he's not on the take?  He says he respects women, but also talks about grabbing their genitals.  What about his conflicts of interest? and why is that he talked about getting America working again, but he keeps heading to play golf when he is under stress when he really should be in the White House really doing work.

"Drain the swamp!" How? How? By putting more millionaires in your cabinet? Don't you really mean drain the swamps around Mar a Lago? How about some transparency regarding visitors to the White House?


How about police who drive through red lights even if there isn't a criminal to pursue?  Or very religious people who do morally wrong things.  Priests who abuse children.  Religious people who cheat on their spouses but rationalize their behavior by saying they are aren't cheating because the women they are with is of a different religion.

Fat doctors that smoke. Military intelligence.  Low fat snacks that are full of sugar.  People who suggest guns don't kill, but people do.  Until your gun misfires (Remington?) and hurts you, or a toddler picks up a weapon.

How about people who are so pro-life they will kill doctors who perform abortions, or blow up medical clinics?

Life Lesson 125: I guess what it comes down to is the old adage "If you're going to talk the talk, you should walk the walk," or the Latin version "Acta non verba." Actions speak louder than words, and sometimes the best thing to do is if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything.  

Story 124: No respect: Now I know how Rodney Dangerfield felt

I don't know if  you ever felt disrespected, but for some reason it seems to happening to me a lot lately.  Sometimes I feel like Rodney Dangerfield the patron saint of "No respect." and other times like "Mr Cellophane" from the musical Chicago, because people seem less inclined to notice me or appreciate my input.  It's like that old joke:

A man goes to a psychiatrist and complains "People don't listen to me doctor, they always seem to be doing other things, and when I try to speak up it's like I was never there…"

"Next patient." The psychiatrist replies.

To illustrate my point here's what happened recently.  I was with my mother who is a senior citizen, and we drove over to CVS pharmacy to get her a toothbrush.  My mother is handicapped and walks very slowly.

To accommodate her needs we parked in a handicapped space, and I got out of the car to help her walk.  Now we weren't able to park right next to the pharmacy because another car (not handicapped) was parked perpendicular to where we were and was effectively blocking two spaces.

As I got out of the car I noticed another woman walking over to the offending car who starts screaming at them.

"You should be ashamed of yourself! don't you know that there are two senior citizens who can't get into the store because of you."

"One," I yelled. "One senior."

The woman apparently didn't hear me or chose not to, but the illegally parked car did do the right thing and drove away, and when the woman who assisted us came by I gave her my thanks, but inside I was thinking "Fuck you. I just turned 50.  I may qualify for AARP but I'm no senior citizen yet."

My mother wasn't even able to get a toothbrush because they didn't have the one she liked.  All that trouble and no toothbrush, and even less respect.

Another time I went to DSW shoes on Long Island, but whenever I go there even if I have a big gift card it's rare that I can find shoes that appeal to me.  I usually just go the my default favorite brand Rockport which have the reputation for being comfortable, but not very stylish.

To celebrate my recent birthday I received some gift cards, and went over to DSW with high expectations, but after close to an hour of shopping all I could find were three different pairs of Rockports.  

I walked over to the cashier with my shoes hoping to have a quick sale when the woman looks over my purchases and replied, 

"Rockports.  My grandfather really likes them."

I looked up at her annoyed, but all I could mumble was, "Yes, very comfortable." Inside I was wondering "How comfortable would she would feel with my foot up her ass?"

The last story happened when I was taking an aerobics class at a local community college.  While I wanted to get in shape, the real reason I was taking the class was to meet women.  As it turned out I was the only guy in the class, but it's difficult to try to talk to someone when they are huffing and puffing away.

One day, during the middle class the instructor yells out vigorously, "Come on  ladies work it."

"What about me?" I answered back.

"Oh, right," she replied, "Eric too."
No respect.

Life Lesson 124: When I talk to my high school students, I often offer quotes like "Respect yourself, protect yourself" or my other favorite, "It's hard to say no when your self-esteem is low."