I'm ready to tell you my secret now...I see dumb people

[ParanoiA]

Damn, I hate people.

 

Or, maybe I’m just getting old and cranky. I’ve always been a proud capitalist and strong advocate for profiteering and blah blah blah, but I just cannot stand our materialist, selfish youthful culture.

 

Went to the mall the other day with my family so my youngest could shop and overpay for stuff he could find in Wal-mart. It’s been a while since I’ve been to the mall, and for precisely this reason: I want to shoot them all. Every one of them under the age of, well, 30.

 

Any female in her teens couldn’t say anything without enunciating it like a question and prefixed with “like” or “oh-my-god”. They cover up perfectly youthful, smooth skinned faces with gobs of makeup, porn lipstick, errant sparkles and with what looks like glow-in-the-dark eye shadow. They show off their twig legs and boney asses wearing mini skirts or tight shorts with butt slogans – perfectly appropriate for a 12 year old trying to get laid I suppose.

 

And the males, oh what a treat for those that missed the zoo. These idiots “kind of” wear clothes twice their actual size. They can actually buy their pants pre-stitched with boxers to sport the “sag” look, without actually sagging…and if that doesn’t miss the point enough, hoodies are now common equipment regardless of the time of year. Add the returning crooked-baseball-hat fad and the continuous, pretentious “is anyone paying attention to me” crowd scanning twitch, and they look just like cartoon characters. Oh, and you should hear them rattle on about “individuality, yo” while they compete to look just like each other.

 

Most of the black kids have mastered the smug, supercool, tried-and-true pissed off attitude thing, while sycophantic suburbanite white kids follow them like servile puppies; their impression of Chester the terrier fawning Spike the bulldog – ‘you’re so effin cool, Spike. See, I got clothes just like you. See my hat? My pants? I can even do your dialect and talk “gangsta” to my bitches, yo. You wanna’ screw my girlfriend? Anything Spike, you’re so effin bad ass’. Obsequious fools.

 

Most over the age of twenty at least started to diversify a little, but still enslaved to their electronic gadgets and equally pathetically obsessed with their clothes and hair, at least now for a decent reason since their most of their asses have exploded and need good “siding” to cover them up and freaky hair to redirect our eyes. And they all have more important things to do than paying attention, like talking on their cell phone or ingesting more grease and fat while lounging in the middle of the aisle with a line behind them.

 

The stores, the products and services, are all the reflection of the ignorant sheeple they serve. Asian stores that sell nothing but Budda’s and swords, “Mexican” food with all american ingredients and music stores promoting the latest fast food single that has morphed metal and “feelings” into a wussified feminized testosterone punch – much like they did in the 80’s with glam rock...ick.

 

Oh my, I just hate people anymore. I used to think I was just using that excuse as a crutch for my social phobia – “disliking” people is a controlled choice, whereas “fear” is a seemingly helpless reaction. So loathing them is easier than being afraid of them – pride to mask the shame. But, now, I don’t think so. I think they’re both just complimenting each other, however unhealthy it may be. I genuinely do not like much of the human race.

 

Maybe it’s just Americans that bug me. But the mall just brings it all up to the front. The overabundance, the materialism, the narcissism, the glorification of ignorance…all of it. I can really only write a fraction of the imagery that disgusted me, and I won’t even go off on the shameful pet shop that keeps dogs in a cramped display case so they’ll go ape shit “happy” when a human comes along….

 

Am I just a cranky old fart at 37, or are people really worth loathing? Go ahead, rant and share your stories, observations – I’d love to feed off of your negativity.

[jimmydasaint]

I am sorry to say that I am also a boring old fart like you and actually agree with most of what you say mate. I am also sick of the superficiality of most of modern day life and would be quite content with a large warm tent to live in. I think you have seen beyond the curtain of modern day living and seen nothing there, and you are so right. All we are for is to consume, consume and consume.

 

However, there is some sexual frustration also showing through. You need to get some good loving my friend.

[iNow]

Interestingly, I think that's what much of this is about... getting laid.

 

So many kids seem to have taken much of the culture out of the world, and focus purely on how to hook up. Maybe it's always been like this, and I was just too "young, dumb, and full of" ... chromosome delivery swimmers... to ever notice, but as I age I find myself growing both distressed and frustrated by it all. Why don't kids care about the arts, or science, or debate...

 

I must say, though, there are a huge number of kids who care about real issues and problems, like the environment and science in general, and they are loaded with ideas and energy. Part of the issue is you have a clear selection bias, a problem in your population sample, as the kids who can remind us that the world isn't just filled with vacuous mouth breathing, booger eating douchenozzles don't tend to be those who "hang out at the mall."

 

Try going to the library or a science fair next time. You might not come away with such elevated blood pressure, and potentially a renewed hope for our collective futures.

[insane_alien]

heck, i'm 20 and i agree with pretty much everything you said there.

 

i honestly can't understand the sagging jeans thing, i mean underwear is called such for a reason. everytime i'm walking behind someone like that i get the urge to pull them down.

 

i don't follow fashion very much at all, i'm usually found wearing jeans and a t-shirt, possibly a short sleeved shirt if i'm on a night out. and always wearing trainers(i actually only have 4 pairs of shoes, the trainers, proper shoes, boots and climbing shoes.)

 

on the subject of shoes, what is it with women and cramming their feet into shoes that are incredibly uncomfortable for them? i mean, seriously us guys are probably not staring at your shoes if staring at all and we definitely don't like hearing you complain about your feet. wear something comfy.

[YT2095]

not to mention the need to punctuate every sentence with "init".

[Realitycheck]

Clueless kids are a sign of clueless parents. Who takes their time to do it right?

Edited October 25, 2008 by agentchange

[big314mp]

Try going to the library or a science fair next time. You might not come away with such elevated blood pressure, and potentially a renewed hope for our collective futures.

 

Just for the sake of being a wet blanket:

 

My mom works at the Main Library in down town Cincinnati. The kids from the inner city schools will cut class, but have no real plans of doing anything with the time. Instead, they wander to the library and generally create a slightly quieter version of ParanoiA's mall. So every ~3 weeks or so, police surround the library, and do a raid to send all of the truant kids back to school.

 

They used to hang around outside as well, but one of my mom's coworkers had the brilliant idea of playing classical music around the outside of the library. It cut down on the loitering by an impressive amount.

[Cap'n Refsmmat]

Speaking as a current high school student, I'd like to reassure you that a significant percentage of our student population is not like what you have described. It's just that the saggy-pants people are the most plainly visible people.

 

Oh, and people here make fun of gansta talk. Maybe it's just a regional thing. And we even have a guy who's into ska, not the modern crap.

 

The moral of the story? You're picking on the most visible part of this generation, not the most numerous part.

[insane_alien]

yea, but the most visual people are the most fun to rant about.

[ParanoiA]

yea, but the most visual people are the most fun to rant about.

 

A co-worker questioned me, and my cube neighbor, about our rants and bitching about this and that and we had to educate her on the joy of disparaging others.

[Blade]

 

[Severian]

I am an old fart too, but I have to agree.

 

In this country we even have a TV programme in much the same spirit as your rant. It is called "grumpy old men" and it is interviews with men of a certain age, with them ranting about society. It is very funny, but oh so true.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grumpy_Old_Men_(TV_series)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/previews/grumpyoldmen.shtml

Edited October 26, 2008 by Severian

[ParanoiA]

Hell Yeah, I love it. Just watched their bit on the Nanny State, hilarious.

[JohnB]

Paranoia, I'm older than you and have been saying the same thing for years. But others have said it before us. The hippie movement of the 60s was very big on "individuality" too, yet they all dressed the same. One could say the same for the 50s as well.

 

When the Vienese Waltz first came into vogue, the older generations were scandalized because the young folk were touching each other.

Speaking as a current high school student, I'd like to reassure you that a significant percentage of our student population is not like what you have described. It's just that the saggy-pants people are the most plainly visible people.

Young whippersnapper. How dare you even appear to disagree with your elders? But you will learn.

 

With age comes experience.

With experience comes knowledge.

With knowledge comes realisation.

With realisation comes understanding.

 

(Specifically the understanding that you shouldn't let the facts get in the way of a good rant.)

 

However being a grumpy old man is only one step away from this.

http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=Xe1a1wHxTyo&feature=related

 

If I have a concern with the younger ones, it's that they seem a little too gullible. "If it's on Wiki, it must be true." This leaves them open to propaganda and manipulation. Mind you, earlier generations sometimes thought "They wouldn't print it if it wasn't true", so maybe it all balances out.

[Pangloss]

According to grumpy-old-man Carl Sagan in his introduction to his final book, "The Demon-Haunted World", one of the oldest essays in human history, a 4,000-year-old Sumerian text, complains about how foolish and ignorant young people are today. (grin)

[ParanoiA]

According to grumpy-old-man Carl Sagan in his introduction to his final book, "The Demon-Haunted World", one of the oldest essays in human history, a 4,000-year-old Sumerian text, complains about how foolish and ignorant young people are today. (grin)

 

And wasn't he right.

[Pangloss]

I'm not sure... is McCain taking questions today?

[the tree]

Have you maybe tried being y'know... less... old?

[Gilded]

Ah, to be young again...

[bascule]

It's easy to generalize about dumb people. Like... ever been to the South?

 

But that doesn't count... how do you actually know they're dumb?

[JohnB]

how do you actually know they're dumb?

Well, by definition 50% of the population are of below average intelligence.

Have you maybe tried being y'know... less... old?

Growing old is mandatory! (but growing up is optional.)

[CaptainPanic]

I fear that the main problem here is the lack of purpose. Young people never saw a real problem. Unemployment is the biggest problem now. That may sound like a massive problem, but it's rather tiny compared to hunger, war or the plague, to name a few.

 

I may generalize now, but I believe that kids with a troubled youth grow up with a sense of purpose (if they manage to get out of their youth without too much trauma - I'm not saying a trauma is a good thing to have, so save your flaming).

 

Whatever the kids/youth do, their effort is just not going to make a big impact. The system won't change. We're already rich, so that isn't gonna change either. We're not "rebuilding the country" or something like that. So, in stead, we're making ourselves happy. We're becoming more and more individuals.

 

Anyway, besides possessing things and becoming rich, what else is there to achieve? It's not only the goal of the individual, but also of each country and even the whole world. If the economy doesn't grow, it's bad. What do you expect of kids that grow up in such a place? I can't really blame the kids.

 

But it's not all as bad as it sounds. There is a second category: kids that know damn well what's going on. But kids are pragmatic. They go with the flow. Being different is done in silence, inside your own head... Some of the kids who seem part of the whole thing really aren't. They're just smart enough not to say that out loud.

[DrP]

I may generalize now, but I believe that kids with a troubled youth grow up with a sense of purpose (if they manage to get out of their youth without too much trauma - I'm not saying a trauma is a good thing to have, so save your flaming).

 

wise man say: "Tree that's buffeted by wind grows strong. Is last one standing when hurricane come".

[ecoli]

Well, by definition 50% of the population are of below average intelligence.

 

but that's assuming an even distribution!

[Gilded]

but that's assuming an even distribution!

 

For large populations it's very close to normal distribution.