(no subject)
I met a real person today.
On a college campus no less; I don't mean to be polemical, but I will be and am going to be in this regard.
Sorry.
Our conversation went something like this:
HIM: Hey man, you got T-shirts?
ME: Naw, this is the book buyback for school. Those T-shirt guys are across the bridge, but it is a total credit card scam.
HIM: Oh. They pay you good for this?
ME: I make probably around what you make, man. It is easy enough, though.
HIM: What is your major?
ME: I am actually withdrawn, gonna take a year off to figure out what I wanna do, you know? I don't see a reason to waste money if it is gonna come down to it.
HIM: What do your parents think about that?
ME: Eh, they are weirded out by it a bit, but they are generally pretty supportive. I think they really hope I figure things out though.
HIM: My son is at Del State right now, he did bad in high school. Needs to take precalc before he can transfer over here. He said you can't take it over there if you are a sophomore though.
ME: Really? I mean, I would think that he could probably test into it or something. As a sophomore, really? That is surprising.
HIM: That is the lowest one right? First year?
ME: Nope, freshman. But okay. He can just transfer next year, I imagine, if he does it and does well and all.
HIM: You do good in school? High school and university and stuff like that?
ME: Yeah, in most everything but math. It hasn't even been much of a problem.
HIM: You must have those smart genes. Me, my side of the family has always been not so smart. My kids got it too I guess.
ME: Eh, I don't know if that is the sole determining factor in all of that.
HIM: Maybe...both of your parents smart?
ME: Yeah, smarter than me I would think. A lawyer and a psychologist. Bright people.
HIM: Oooh, yeah. You got it.
From there we just bullshitted about classes, about money, about his life in Philly and his children, his wife and family. He sounded sort of like Wesley Willis and came across as definitely distracted, or at least distant while we spoke. He wasn't all there, you would say. But he smiled like a madman and looked me in the eye every moment we spoke. Honest men do that, at least the look in the eye part. It was refreshing amidst the sea of tanning bitches and drunk jocks to see someone who was, you know, working two jobs against the odds to put his daughter through private school, and to finance his sons future financial successes.
That is at least what most of me saw. There is always that little part though, always growing and always gaining strength, momentum, which said NO. What he is doing is noble enough, but can he even know that he has a say in the way this system works? It doesn't seem like people in his situation, with not enough money or no head on their shoulders to handle it, it doesn't seem like they quite understand that they make up the bulk of the population and so have a real say and stake in how things progress. And of course, those with enough to get by comfortably don't have the incentive to change things. The Status quo has brought them what they need to be happy, so why break the superficial gold lining of their lives and risk being thrown into peril all in the name of rediscovering something that is perhaps so profound and so changing that necessarily it is a scary thing.
I don't begrudge people for how they act, generally. Especially if they don't understand the implications and impacts of their actions. I don't agree and will try to coerce them to think about what they do, but why be upset about it? I am realistic about things, and understand that I will be dead before things change. Knowing this, I remain active and try to adhere to my beliefs; I continue to campaign for what I feel is just. But to do so with a grimace and to begrudge people you don't agree with? That goes against everything I know and love, and the fact that it is such an automatic reaction to feel anger in the face of adversity, that just makes me dislike the reaction all the more.
On a college campus no less; I don't mean to be polemical, but I will be and am going to be in this regard.
Sorry.
Our conversation went something like this:
HIM: Hey man, you got T-shirts?
ME: Naw, this is the book buyback for school. Those T-shirt guys are across the bridge, but it is a total credit card scam.
HIM: Oh. They pay you good for this?
ME: I make probably around what you make, man. It is easy enough, though.
HIM: What is your major?
ME: I am actually withdrawn, gonna take a year off to figure out what I wanna do, you know? I don't see a reason to waste money if it is gonna come down to it.
HIM: What do your parents think about that?
ME: Eh, they are weirded out by it a bit, but they are generally pretty supportive. I think they really hope I figure things out though.
HIM: My son is at Del State right now, he did bad in high school. Needs to take precalc before he can transfer over here. He said you can't take it over there if you are a sophomore though.
ME: Really? I mean, I would think that he could probably test into it or something. As a sophomore, really? That is surprising.
HIM: That is the lowest one right? First year?
ME: Nope, freshman. But okay. He can just transfer next year, I imagine, if he does it and does well and all.
HIM: You do good in school? High school and university and stuff like that?
ME: Yeah, in most everything but math. It hasn't even been much of a problem.
HIM: You must have those smart genes. Me, my side of the family has always been not so smart. My kids got it too I guess.
ME: Eh, I don't know if that is the sole determining factor in all of that.
HIM: Maybe...both of your parents smart?
ME: Yeah, smarter than me I would think. A lawyer and a psychologist. Bright people.
HIM: Oooh, yeah. You got it.
From there we just bullshitted about classes, about money, about his life in Philly and his children, his wife and family. He sounded sort of like Wesley Willis and came across as definitely distracted, or at least distant while we spoke. He wasn't all there, you would say. But he smiled like a madman and looked me in the eye every moment we spoke. Honest men do that, at least the look in the eye part. It was refreshing amidst the sea of tanning bitches and drunk jocks to see someone who was, you know, working two jobs against the odds to put his daughter through private school, and to finance his sons future financial successes.
That is at least what most of me saw. There is always that little part though, always growing and always gaining strength, momentum, which said NO. What he is doing is noble enough, but can he even know that he has a say in the way this system works? It doesn't seem like people in his situation, with not enough money or no head on their shoulders to handle it, it doesn't seem like they quite understand that they make up the bulk of the population and so have a real say and stake in how things progress. And of course, those with enough to get by comfortably don't have the incentive to change things. The Status quo has brought them what they need to be happy, so why break the superficial gold lining of their lives and risk being thrown into peril all in the name of rediscovering something that is perhaps so profound and so changing that necessarily it is a scary thing.
I don't begrudge people for how they act, generally. Especially if they don't understand the implications and impacts of their actions. I don't agree and will try to coerce them to think about what they do, but why be upset about it? I am realistic about things, and understand that I will be dead before things change. Knowing this, I remain active and try to adhere to my beliefs; I continue to campaign for what I feel is just. But to do so with a grimace and to begrudge people you don't agree with? That goes against everything I know and love, and the fact that it is such an automatic reaction to feel anger in the face of adversity, that just makes me dislike the reaction all the more.