Who made up all the rules and decided which was the correct way of living? Society as a whole?
You mean the same society that quite literally fist fought over f*cking toilet paper? Yeah, we all remember the pandemic like it was yesterday. People were deciding if they were gonna use coffee filters or just hop in the shower and spray their asses off after each incident. All because SOCIETY decided to hoard copious amounts of toilet paper. It's not even like diarrhea was a symptom of Covid, so I still don't know what the f*ck that was all about.
BUT I WE REMEMBER.
With that being said, I thought I would follow up on a couple of them (from said article)... not all because your girl has limited attention span to mess around with these days.
"The expectation that you should automatically know things that weren't taught to you growing up. Taxes, laws, basic medical care, and even from what cleaning chemicals you can mix to how long food lasts in the fridge."
I couldn't agree with... most of... this more. I feel like some things we should be taught and others we can figure out as we go. Do I need somebody to tell me when it's no longer acceptable to eat the leftover spaghetti in my fridge? I mean, they could but I could also probably trial and error that shit throughout my life. Cleaning products not to mix? Bro, I can read and I don't feel the need to put a warning label on everything. Sometimes I feel like maybe use some common f*cking sense. BUT TAXES? Dude, all you have to do as an adult is deal with taxes and they just let your ass out into the world with no idea what the f*ck is happening and throw you in jail if you avoid it or do it wrong. I'm almost thirty-four and I still wish somebody would explain taxes and medical care to me. And I've been dealing with this shit a long time. If I'm being honest, I've been winging it this whole ass time.
"Healthcare being tied to employment. I don't want to be trapped in a job I hate just so I can get my prescriptions. I have enough savings and low cost of living, so I could totally do a part-time job but no... 40 hours for insurance."
I don't think healthcare should have anything to do with employment. I will never understand how the capabilities and potential are there and they are not available to every single human unless they somehow contribute to what society deems worthy. F*cking excuse me? Lord forbid you take a look at Denmark and see what they're doing. No. Because that would mean "giving something to someone who hasn't worked for it" and that just isn't something we do as a society, right? Wouldn't want someone to get something for nothing. Because unless you work your fingers to the bone you're not worthy of it. Right? F*ck off.
"The expectation of being constantly employed. If you're not producing something then you're worthless."
I was very much raised with the mindset that if you didn't work every single day, including on weekends, then you were considered lazy. The kind of work didn't matter, you just had to be working. Then again, if you had what people deemed an "easy job" then you were lazy too. Didn't matter how much you worked or how much of yourself you gave, it was just never enough and people would call you lazy for it. It took me a long time to realize that was an extremely toxic way to live. I've made many changes to myself over the last few years and one of those changes was I opened my mind to rethink things that had been ingrained into me since birth. With that came the "work ethic" point. I no longer fault someone who doesn't want to work round the clock, forty hours a week. I want people to be happy and to be fulfilled. Yes, we have to work to survive and not everyone was born to be a rockstar or doctor. Sometimes, we just want to live our normal lives and spend as much time with the people we care about as we can. That's extremely hard to do when you're chained to a desk or working yourself so long and so hard that you immediately collapse given the first opportunity.
"The quest for youthfulness. Growing older is a privilege, and I don't understand that hate on wrinkles, grey hair, etc. There used to be a saying, "grow old gracefully" which implies accepting the changes and making the most out of it."
Look, if you want to dye your hair or wear makeup or something, go for it. If you want to take care of yourself and have a skin care routine, go for it. There is absolutely nothing wrong with taking care of yourself or making yourself feel or look good. As long as it's for you. But how about, we leave everybody the f*ck alone about it? I don't care if you're twenty and look thirty. I don't care if you have grey hair. I don't care if you're thin or heavy or purple or have wrinkles or wear pajama pants in public. I DON'T CARE. Are you happy? Because that's what should matter. I do not care what someone looks like. Why are we judging people solely based on that? What the f*ck is wrong with you? Are they a good person? Do they treat others with respect and kindness? Are they minding their own f*cking business? Yes? Take a note and do the same.
"The false idea that men cannot be abused, or men cannot feel emotion. Men are supposed to slap on some bootstraps or, however, its called and "take it like a man." It's disgusting."
This is the dumbest shit I've ever heard and I've heard it my entire life. Men are supposed to have absolutely no feelings and women are insane for acknowledging theirs. It's a vicious no win cycle. I love that my husband shows me his emotions. There are no secrets or kept things between us. I'm 100% me and he's 100% him and that's one of my very favorite things about our relationship. I don't want to have a warm piece of stone walking around the house nodding along. I married a whole ass human with feelings and emotions and secrets and strengths and weaknesses. All of which he's entitled to have and be because again, he's f*cking human. He, and any other person. You should be allowed to feel your own feelings and not have to hide the fact that you have basic human capabilities.
"Beauty standards (for all genders). Human bodies should not be treated or seen as a trend, in my opinion."
See my quest for youthfulness. Again, I don't care how you want to look or what you want to wear. The chances of me paying attention to you instead of in my own little world or having a self-induced anxiety attack are pretty f*cking rare. You wear or dye or feel whichever way you want and if somebody has a problem with that, f*ck em. They're probably miserable little shits that get off on judging other people on the regular. You know what you should do with the people in your life that do that to you and make you feel that way? Cancel them from your life. You no longer have to pick up that phone or read that text. You don't have to stand there and listen to them. In all areas, you can simply walk away. From the situation, the person, the bullshit.
"The 40-hour work week."
This all goes back to my mindset growing up. The amount of shit I have received over my lifetime on this could fill a bucket. I've held a full-time job since I was fourteen years old. Before that, we worked every summer in tobacco and I had responsibilities on not just our land, but on the land of our neighbor because our family did work for him and his. What I'm saying is, work is not something new to me. I've never minded working and don't really know what I would do with myself without a job (although I bet with enough f*ck you money at my disposal I could figure it out). HOWEVER, I do not hold it against someone for not having that mindset. I don't care if you don't feel the need to hold a "40 hour" job or if you do odd and end jobs to make ends meet. I simply don't care. I want you to do what you need to do to get you to the next day and I want to do what I have to do to get to the next day and maybe we can meet somewhere in the middle and have a cup of tea or something. Because f*ck, life is hard and there's no reason to make it harder by being a dick to somebody because they don't meet your standards. Why do you even have those standards? My guess would be because society has influenced you to.
And when that happens, I want you to remember the toilet paper-laden fist fights of 2020.
"The stigmatization of mental health: Nothing says 'progressive society' like still treating mental health issues as taboo or a sign of weakness. It's almost impressive how persistent this standard is, considering the leaps and bounds made in understanding the human brain."
I'm gonna be real honest with this one... I struggle with my mental health daily. And I am certainly not the only one. It's easy to get lost in your head and let your mind take over. It literally is an every single day process to deal with. With that being said, I should also throw it out there I have a dark sense of humor. Do I crack jokes about something another person is going through? Absolutely not. But, do I crack jokes and make sarcastic quips at my own expense? F*ck yes, I do. Because that's what gets me through and I won't apologize for it. We all deal with our lives any which way we can. And I will never understand why someone would feel the need to shit on somebody that is just trying to live their life the best way they know how or can.
We need to do better as people in general. Humans as a whole. And society? Well, society as a whole can suck a bag of dicks because we've decided we're not listening to those f*cking losers anymore.
