Thursday, May 10, 2012

Get Over Yourself Day


We have all these holidays, probably more than we need. Some are religious, some are patriotic, some are man-made. Many have been commercialized beyond repair. I still don’t get why we get more days off for Thanksgiving than for Christmas, but whatever. All that said, I propose another holiday that needs to be on the books…

…”Get Over Yourself” Day.


It is what it sounds like: a day for people to just get over themselves and their personal issues and influences that they want to push on everyone else. People are just hung up on too much stuff, and rather than keeping their mouths shut and letting others live they want to try to shape the opinions of others. Now, there are quite a few people who need this holiday - and there’s one great place to start.

1. Religious fanatics who are against gay marriage

The reason I singled them out in particular is that religion is the thing we always try to push on others. I know the Bible speaks against homosexuality. I also know it speaks against judging others. I’m pretty sure it’s not in favor of divorce, which straight people (you know: why are we “straight” as opposed to “heterosexual” - connotation is a mug, ain’t it) participate in regularly.

Which is more disrespectful to the institution of marriage in a religious sense: homosexual people getting married or heterosexual people getting divorced?

Thank you.

2. People who complain that no one of the opposite sex is worth their time

Such complaints sound like a broken record by now, and they sound just as good. That “all men are dogs” and “all women are gold-diggers” stuff is just mind-numbing. Are there people out there who fit those characteristics? Well, of course. Simple probability says as much. However, probability also says that there good and honest people that aren’t like those who hurt people enough that they live those sayings and thoughts.

*To head this off at the pass, the difference between this and me saying that I’ll be alone forever is that my situation is based on compatibility rather than simple generalizations and short-sighted judgment.

3. People who think football (and the 100) should be banned

I have a completely separate series of notes in which I discuss football, but I’ll make an exception here. I’m upset enough with the possibility of them banning kickoffs (way to take special teams out of the game - and can someone tell me the difference between kickoffs and punts in that regard). Banning the game entirely is incomprehensibly far beyond stupid.

It provides too much entertainment and makes far too much money. Let’s focus on the second part for a second. You know how many pockets would get smaller if football were gone? Alcohol companies, hotels, media outlets, sporting goods stores, government entities…yes, government entities: especially state colleges and universities.

Academics can say what they want, but who would know - or care - about an Oklahoma or a Florida State or a Notre Dame or any of those schools if they didn’t have football? There’s a reason the highest-paid public employees in quite a few states are football coaches: they bring in so much money. There are quite a few schools around the nation whose identity they owe to football…but people want to get rid of the sport because they think it’s too violent. Alright.

A lot of this also applies to the 100. There are other factors with them, and of course; chief among them is hazing. Hazing is not going to stop: in the band or anywhere else. There’ll be (and there already has been) some grandstanding and smoke-blowing and brown-nosing, but there won’t be any change. Anyone who believes otherwise is fooling themselves.

4. People who think they’re more important than they really are

Now this is a broad category, but we all know at least one person who thinks of themselves more highly than they should. You know: people who swear they know everything but run to you like Whitney Houston the first time they’re asked a question, people who think they’re so attractive (in general) but their personality has a larger and opposite effect than their looks, people who flaunt their status with no idea that it’s either undeserved, fleeting, or both…I could go on, but y’all get the picture.

If these people had to live with themselves, they wouldn’t know what to do. Guess that’s why they have to be the ‘one in every group’.

5. People who feel overly offended over things that don’t even involve them

Yes, this is a direct reference to CM Punk telling the guy to kill himself. I thought it was hilarious. Of course, the PC Police got hold of it and it became a story and Punk ended up (probably for the greater good) apologizing for the comment and furthering the dialogue. The guy was against gay marriage and Punk was for it. Guy said it was so wrong and unholy and Punk dropped the pipe bomb.

Anyone with half a brain would be smart enough to know that the WWE champion wouldn’t literally tell someone to kill themselves with such a public audience. Over the last few years, “kill yourself” has become the new “go sit down somewhere”. That didn’t stop people from saying how wrong Punk was and so on.

Then again, this incident shows how much the last one was utter nonsense (when Punk used a homosexual slur toward a fan…in a way that had nothing to do with defaming homosexual people, as it - like “kill yourself” has also taken on additional meaning).

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We probably all have something we need to get over. May not be as pronounced as the things above, but there could be something. Could be fear, could be doubt, could be resignation. In any event, most of us could use a day to get over whatever is stopping us from being the best of ourselves.

For that, we need “Get Over Yourself Day”.

2 comments:

  1. I hear ya, JAH. This reminds me of IM I sent today that simply said "hello thorn, meet side". These are definitely pet peeves of mine.

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  2. Get over yourself day? I'm in. Sign me up for two. Agreed on the other points, as well.

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