Yes, it's all about me. Suck it up and get on with your life.

Just the normal (and abnormal) everyday stuff of my life. See something you don't like? Be sure to leave your phone number, and I promise I'll call you if I ever start giving half a flying rat's ass what you think about me. Just don't wait up by the phone, dearie.

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

The Beauty of Incongruity

I love things that are incongruous.

When I was in college (for the 3rd time), I had to take some sort of common-sense class about how to actually get a job with the degree I was about to get. We watched this short film showing a young man dressed up in his business suit, giving a financial presentation to a room full of similarly-suited old guys. OK, fine. Then they showed the same actor, dressed in biker leathers and a bandana, giving the same presentation to the same group of geezers (yes, I may use the word 'geezer' because I'm old too, and I've earned the privilege). The lesson I was supposed to take away from this: appearances are everything.

The lesson I actually took away from this: People are stupid. Stupid, stupid, STUPID. And judgmental. And in serious need of having the crap smacked out of them.

Why should anyone care what the guy is wearing, as long as he knows his material and is enlightening us in some way? I actually found the biker guy MORE interesting, because of the seeming incongruity in his tastes and interests. How cool is it that you can be a biker AND a Wall Street geek, and have no shame--nay, actually have PRIDE!--in expressing both? You GO, Biker Man! To quote Chuck Berry: "This is America; live like you wanna live!"

Now, if you're one of the stupid people that thinks Biker Man was dressed "inappropriately," please show me--in the U.S. Constitution, or the Bible, or the Qu'ran, or whatever you've got--where it says "Thou shalt not speak of professional matters unless thou art wearing a tie." My brother-in-law is an attorney; if I ask for legal advice and he happens to be wearing jeans and a t-shirt, I don't insist that he go change into a suit and tie before answering. He's the SAME PERSON, with the SAME LEVEL OF INTELLIGENCE AND EXPERTISE, no matter what he's wearing.

When I was a young'un, my folks taught me not to judge a book by its cover. Maybe I just chose my parents wisely, but this is something every parent should be teaching his or her children. Alas, it appears "common sense" isn't so common.