Small Confession of the Day

[Beebs]

To be fair, he said intellect, not wisdom. To me those have pretty different meanings, but I see your point.

[Der Fuhrer]

Originally Posted by Mr. Blonde

Anyone else feel like they're leagues and bounds emotionally and wisdom-wise when it comes to their parents?

You're right, they are very different things, but he said wisdom, too.

[Beebs]

Originally Posted by Mr. Blonde

I brought up the JFK assassination and that the government claims it was only one shooter, and he said "well...that seems unlikely".

I don't know if you were just using this to illustrate that he was being hypocritical, but all the evidence, forensic and otherwise, shows that there was only one shooter.

How large a percentage of the Korean public don't think it was the North Koreans that sunk the ship? That one also seems to have pretty solid evidence behind it.

[Beebs]

Originally Posted by Der Fuhrer

You're right, they are very different things, but he said wisdom, too.

Indeed he did, missed that the first read-through.

[Mr. Blonde]

Originally Posted by Beebs

I don't know if you were just using this to illustrate that he was being hypocritical, but all the evidence, forensic and otherwise, shows that there was only one shooter.

Correct, I knew his thoughts on JFK and was just using the matter to point out the fact that he's allowed to be skeptical about some things but not others.


@DF, I don't think someone being old automatically grants wisdom, and can think of many cases where this is illustrated. Wisdom doesn't come with age unless the person is able to objectively analyze situations for what they truly are (rather than what they want them to be), understand that change is bound to happen in life and separate emotions from fact. Wisdom is one of the ultimate forms of maturity and unfortunately people who don't work at emotionally and intellectually bettering themselves are going to fall behind those who do.

I'm not just bragging here a la "lol i'm smarter than my dad" -- this is legitimately the case. From all of the conversations we've had in person or online since i've been an adult, there is practically no area of study (other than agricultural/livestock related and child-rearing) that I don't know at least as much if not more about than him. And from the level i've been pissing him off as of late in our discussions, I highly doubt he's trolling.

As much as I may love my father for being my father, he has been in Indiana almost his entire life. He was married before he was my age and has been living in the same house for almost half his life, and has lived across the street for the other half, minus his years in college and a couple in a nearby apartment post-graduation. This is the first time he has left the country other than two 10-day, "hold your hand" mission trips in Romania. I would wager a large amount of money I have had more of what most people would consider "life experiences" than him that have affected the way I see and understand the world. I can confidently say that I haven't gone to my parents for practically any advice since I was 23 because around this time I started to realize that their advice, mostly, sucks.

[Mr. Blonde]

Originally Posted by Beebs

How large a percentage of the Korean public don't think it was the North Koreans that sunk the ship? That one also seems to have pretty solid evidence behind it.

I don't have any percentages, but here are some links. I've also heard theories that it might have possibly been caused by the government not properly maintaining their equipment, which caused something to go wrong, killing the sailors and sinking the ship and that this is a cover-up to shift blame from the Korean government. Can't find anything on that though. Some of the theories do seem valid, but given the fucked-upedness of the NK situation, it's hard to apply Occam's razor, as everything is already multiplied beyond necessity. I just don't think that every bad thing in the region can be attributed to North Korea right away.

http://www.freekorea.us/2010/04/06/s...ational-unity/

INSIDE JoongAng Daily

German Made Torpedo Sunk South Korean Cheonan American Everyman

Regardless, the point of the matter didn't start with me claiming I didn't believe it was actually North Korea. I'm pretty neutral to the matter because living here the whole thing is a pretty fucking ridiculously annoying series of happenings, like if one of your friend's kid brothers constantly beat on him but your friend was too big of a pussy to knock the shit out of him and put him in line. If I had to be skeptical about 2 things, it would be that the pictures of the North Korean "markings" were done what what seemed to be a permanent marker, and while not exactly piece of evidence for conspiracy, it surely isn't great evidence the other way, either. Also, the fact that South Korea hasn't acted against North Korea at all militarily after one of the biggest acts of war since the Axe Murder incident makes me a little speculative.

I was merely bringing up that a lot of Koreans don't believe it ("A lot of Americans don't believe that there was only one shooter...") and he went apeshit over the fact that I am always a naysayer and refuse to accept evidence etc. etc. etc.

[THEINCREDIBLEdork]

Blonde, usually people grow out of this stage by the time they turn 20.

[Mr. Blonde]

I'm a late bloomer!

[f3lix]

I'm still at ends with my mother over her being completely illogical and her ignorant assumptions. I try to coexist with her, but then she'll come out of left field with some crazy thing that is her moment of the week to be upset about. This has gone on for about ten years. She wants me to just conform with what she thinks I should do and what I should be as a person. I refuse to budge. I'm moving into back into my parents house for the duration of my student teaching, so that I can pay rent in Vegas for the apartment that will host all of my things for that period. Crazy how its cheaper to pay 5 months rent than to move your shit across the country.

[Mr. Blonde]

Originally Posted by f3lix

She wants me to just conform with what she thinks I should do and what I should be as a person. I refuse to budge.

This. The #1 thing i'm thankful for is that my parents raised me to be independent as hell, but I think they're annoyed that now it's coming back to bite them in the ass when I don't automatically agree with every illogical crazy thing they say for the sake of "community cohesion".

Our parents and older generations are used to keeping quiet about our opinions as some archaic form of "respect".

In regard to what Mistofellees said, obviously this isn't the first time i'm dealing with it, but when I first realized it (early 20's) I figured it was just because we were at odds; I was a rebellious college student, they were still demigod parents. Now that i'm an adult with a full time job, place of my own, and responsibilities, and spending a large amount of time with my father for the first time since I moved out, I'm able to accurately judge that i'm just passing him.

F3lix, do you expect to encounter any problems in the 5 months you're home? Arguments and whatnot?

[Beebs]

Originally Posted by Mr. Blonde

I was merely bringing up that a lot of Koreans don't believe it ("A lot of Americans don't believe that there was only one shooter...") and he went apeshit over the fact that I am always a naysayer and refuse to accept evidence etc. etc. etc.

Yea I get your point now; you are definitely right that he is clearly just trying to shoehorn everything into the religious "you are your own god" argument that christians like to make whenever somebody relies on information rather than make believe.

[f3lix]

Blonde, yes. I've already been looking for apartments as a preparatory means out.

[Mr. Blonde]

Originally Posted by Beebs

Yea I get your point now; you are definitely right that he is clearly just trying to shoehorn everything into the religious "you are your own god" argument that christians like to make whenever somebody relies on information rather than make believe.

It really does surprise me how much he parrots things that he undoubtedly picks up at church or "care group". At one point he said

You may read a lot, but you're only reading what reinforces what you already believe! You close yourself off to everything else!

I walked into the other room, grabbed a Bible, a book about Islam, a book about Marxism, Mein Kampf (which I haven't started yet and don't know if I will even be able to in Korea), and that Jesus book BDH told me to read and plopped them down on the table.

This is particularly annoying because I bought/sent him Dawkins' book on evolution "The Greatest Show on Earth" and he openly admitted he stopped reading it after 6 pages because he "believes in micro evolution but not macro evolution".

[Repugnant Abomination]

Originally Posted by Ugly Bastard

Yea but I mean at some point you just have to have compassion and realize that you've kind of "passed" your parents in life in some ways and that you can either alienate them over it or try to dumb things down some when you're around them to sustain some level of a friendship, a friendship that you'll probably cherish later in life once you get past your "I'm 26 and I'm going to solve all of the world's problems" phase.

You nailed it.

When I was younger I used to intentionally use words or talk about ideas I knew were over my parents head. I got validation out of showing I was smarter than them because they didn't approve of my life style. In retrospect it was petty, and I'm actually ashamed of it. There are few things smaller than making other people feel inferior. In truth I was the inferior one.

[Beebs]

Apparently reading, and more importantly following, the particular brand of christianity that he wants you to believe in is reinforcing what you believe, or more accurately what you don't.

[Beebs]

Originally Posted by Repugnant Abomination

You nailed it.

When I was younger I used to intentionally use words or talk about ideas I knew were over my parents head. I got validation out of showing I was smarter than them because they didn't approve of my life style. In retrospect it was petty, and I'm actually ashamed of it. There are few things smaller than making other people feel inferior. In truth I was the inferior one.

To be fair though, in this case it is pretty clear that Daddy Blonde just isn't going to come around on the issue unless Blonde converts.

Keep in mind we are only looking at a pretty thin slice of their relationship; I'm sure they get along and love each other, but this issue is just one that is a sticking point.

[Repugnant Abomination]

Yeah. I wasn't really directing my comments at Blonde. I can definitely empathize with what he's talking about.

[Mr. Blonde]

I see what you're saying, Repug. Indeed, most of the time when I talk about "advanced" things with my parents it's hoping that I can have a good discussion/get some good perspective on the matter from them, but i've long since discovered that just isn't going to happen.

In this particular case it isn't me trying to sound smarter or make them feel dumb, it's moreso not being able to swallow my father claiming to be a better person than, say, a Republican (very much the case back home in Elkhart county after the election -- he's very bitter) while he is talking about wanting to cut off the genitals of people who participate in affairs and silence/censor said Republicans by force if necessary.

Like I said, heart is in the right place, but he's far too emotional. And you guys wonder where I get it from.

[angry pancake]

Yeah my dad found religion and dumbassedness around age 50. He got over it on November 9, 2007. I'd take him dumb and thumping (and wrong) than being ashes in a box at my his former wife's house.

[angry pancake]

SCOTD: I suck at technology generally, and at nubblies specifically.

[ninjaface]

Originally Posted by angry pancake

SCOTD: I suck at technology generally, and at nubblies specifically.

[angry pancake]

I really like pussy. Buy I'd still pass on fucking magiclit.

[Mr. Blonde]

Same, gross. What happened to that lil slut anyways?

[Ironic Mustache]

She disappeared right around this.

But might have gone missing immediately after this though.

[Mr. Blonde]

Man, I was just thinking about that the other day. I was so fucking distraught.