Irrational dislikes
Theferrett posted a little while back about his arachnophobia being a "learned" thing, learned in his case from his mother when he was a young child.
I'd like to say I don't have any real phobias. Nothing that sends chills down my spine or makes me break out in a cold sweat for no logical reason. But I do have a couple things I have an irrational dislike of.
One of these is, as with theferrett, spiders. I believe this was also learned form one of my parents - oddly my dad, who is terribly arachnophobic. I say "oddly" because with the exception of eight-legged beasties, I can't think of anything I've known him to be afraid of, or even mildly worried about.
Over the years I taught myself that they aren't going to hurt me and now have a "leave them alone" policy rather than "kill on sight". I'll even pick them up to remove them from other people's houses (or rooms and chalets at old jobs) if someone else is bothered by them.
The other one, though, I haven't been able to get over. And it's one my sisters find even more amusing than my dad's phobia of spiders.
It's clowns.
And it's all my fault. I was never keen on them to begin with, and then I watched the TV movie adaptation of Stephen King's "It" when I was 9. Suffice to say when watching episodes of "Bones", I totally understand Booth's desire to shoot them on sight.
I'd like to say I don't have any real phobias. Nothing that sends chills down my spine or makes me break out in a cold sweat for no logical reason. But I do have a couple things I have an irrational dislike of.
One of these is, as with theferrett, spiders. I believe this was also learned form one of my parents - oddly my dad, who is terribly arachnophobic. I say "oddly" because with the exception of eight-legged beasties, I can't think of anything I've known him to be afraid of, or even mildly worried about.
Over the years I taught myself that they aren't going to hurt me and now have a "leave them alone" policy rather than "kill on sight". I'll even pick them up to remove them from other people's houses (or rooms and chalets at old jobs) if someone else is bothered by them.
The other one, though, I haven't been able to get over. And it's one my sisters find even more amusing than my dad's phobia of spiders.
It's clowns.
And it's all my fault. I was never keen on them to begin with, and then I watched the TV movie adaptation of Stephen King's "It" when I was 9. Suffice to say when watching episodes of "Bones", I totally understand Booth's desire to shoot them on sight.