I am realizing that I don't see the world the same way I used to.
Excerpts from conversations with my Mother - a "normie"
Key
- Mom - stuff Mom said
- Me - stuff I said
- Thot - stuff I thought
Mom | Me | Thot |
Look an oil tanker | Oh | Great, more fuel for the climate crisis |
See those containers, that's a successful import/export operation | Oh | Nobody needs most of that shit, buy local - or not at all |
I'm going to turn on my gas fireplace to take the chill off | On | As the planet burns |
There's so much traffic, where are all these people going? | Um | We're going to lunch, it's thoroughly unnecessary, we are traffic too |
This road is beautiful | Yup |
Great - it is nice and smooth for cars, but no space for bikes or bikes aren't allowed. This road is stupid. |
That road diet didn't do anything, cars go just as fast as before | Hmm | You've been saying that for years. |
I drove to location (1/2 hour - 30 miles) and went for a nice walk | Oh | Are you f*cking kidding me? You drove the car for an hour to go for a 20 minute walk? |
When I went through the red light, it was safer than stopping fast | Ah | Seems like you were going too fast, eh? And impatient. |
I worked in the mill and put myself through college, no one wants to work anymore, they're lazy | Um | Life is pretty hopeless, education is not affordable and the jobs don't pay living wages. |
They're taxing us for run off | Oh | Your impact on the environment costs money to mitigate. Find a smaller house or better yet, a condo. You don't need three bedrooms. |
I'm an excellent driver | Mhmm | You're following too close. Again. You can't see at night - you're 86. You're impatient. And we all have inflated opinions of our abilities. |
Your Dad ... | Um | Stop dumping on Dad, he's gone. You weren't kind to him when he was sick. I heard you. |
Family member has a new (house/car), I've never had a new (house/car) | Uh | You always had a safe place to live and a car that usually worked |
I recycle | Yup | Recycling is a lie. Stop buying stuff in packaging if possible. Your fridge is full of single-use plastic. |
They've closed (some road) to address wastewater. What a mess. | Oh | Shut up. |
People are saying we shouldn't rake. I like to keep my yard nice. | Um | You could leave 1/2 of your backyard covered in leaves for small wildlife. |
Your yard is full of weeds! | Yup | Better than full of grass. |
You can't use a bike for everything | Hum | Yes, you can |
Not everyone can ride a bike the way you do, you know | Ah | Everyone should have a choice. I can't play guitar, but I don't think that means no one else should be able to play guitar. Roads should be safe for all. |
It's hard to find free parking | Oh | Good! Public parking is theft |
You have to pay $5 to park in the garage | Um | No shit! It's a huge building dedicated to housing wasteful transportation choices. Pay up and quit complaining. |
You need to dress well (conventionally) | Huh | No - I don't |
Showering at work is good if you can get away with it | Ah |
It's a locker room. I'm not asking for any special treatment, only to use an existing resource. |
If you take the train, I have to drive to get you | Oh |
No, you don't. I'll bring a folding bike. And - you driving 2 miles is better than me driving 100. |
Look at all these cars | Hmm |
F*cking idiots |
You should eat meat, you need protein |
Nah |
Meat is murder, don't feed me meat (eventually I did say I don't eat animals). You can get protein from plants. |
You should call more often | Yup |
Sorry, but no, once a week is fine |
Our family came through Ellis Island, we had a sponsor | Oh |
I don't believe every one of our ancestors was sponsored. And we are no better than anyone else. |
Those people coming from (insert other country here) are freeloaders | Hmm |
They arrive with nothing and knowing no one, we should help them, as others helped our ancestors when we arrived. Those people will make this country better. |
Illegal (blah, blah, blah) | Those people feed us, they do the jobs Americans won't do. They work hard. They're trying to provide for their families. They contribute and deserve to be citizens. |
|
Why are we providing food for children in schools, why don't their parents feed them? | Their parents don't have enough money to feed them. |
|
All my money is going to those (other people) | Oh |
And the rich get richer, because they're not paying the taxes to help those in need. |
(Traditional stereotype/bias) | Mmm |
You're wrong. I don't care. Most people are good. Even though they look different, speak differently, have different beliefs. |
The homeless people make a mess, they don't clean up after themselves. | Hmm |
They don't have a f*cking trash can. They're not the problem, the issue is they have nowhere to live. They are trying to survive in a hopeless situation. |
Look, a bike lane | That's a sharrow. It means bikes have to ride with cars. It's worse than nothing at all. |
|
Let's meet in (insert city/town here) for lunch |
I don't want to drive that much |
Drive a total of 200 miles to eat lunch for an hour? Are you kidding? |
(Other people) are taking all the (shellfish) and making it too expensive |
Oh |
For years this state has exploited the ocean, maybe it's time to stop eating that stuff. |