I say "'Tard"

You know what I don’t understand?  Why we all make allowances for everybody else’s actions.  I’m as much a recipient of this as anybody else, so I’m not really complaining.  It’s just a wonder.  Haven’t you ever wanted to tell someone to “stop being such an f’n ‘tard?”

Let’s say you’re an asshole (me,) or a drunk (me,) or a stoner, or self-absorbed(me,) or living in the past, or shallow (me,) or any other of a myriad of assholery (me.)  Everybody just moves on.  We forgive the belligerent drunk because he was belligerently drunk.  We forgive the stoner because she was too out of it to pay attention.  We forgive the thieving ass-hat because it was the heroin’s fault.  Unless you kill somebody, we just seem to let it go.  And if you don’t, then you’re the mean prick for not forgiving them.  We have these silly interventions because we are “sad” or “worried.”  Why does it all have to come from love?  I think we should be allowed to tell people to stop being an idiot because they are being an idiot!  

In major things, this is obviously a problem.  The drunk driver who eventually kills the pregnant teenager taking night GED classes will be hated, but not until we have a dead teenager.  But what about the little things?  What about the person who has tons of potential but simply never lives up to it?  I’m not sure why we feel sorry for them when maybe we should be sorry we know them.  Look, I know that I’m a large waste of most peoples’ time even though I could have been a mediocre waste of most peoples’ time.  Isn’t that tragic? I coulda been a contenda!  But nobody is mad at me, they are just depressed about me.  (Speaking of which, stop thinking about me so much, it’s embarrassing.)

We like to make allowances for other people, and it’s pretty understandable.  Most of us don’t like conflict, and it’s rarely worthwhile even to those of us who do.  But it’s also condescending in a way.  It’s almost like you all expected my ass-hattery but were too kind to mention it when I was younger.  Why aren’t you vocally disappointed in the father who ignores his kids?  I’m pretty sure we’re allowed to refer to them with expletives, though I use them too often to have much sting.  But if you never swear and then call them a “fucktard,” think of how awesome that would be?  Some of you may be offended that I swear like a sailor, but when I stub my toe I get to swear like a sailor guilt free.  That’s worth your disappointment.

I’m not necessarily saying that this is all a bad thing.  I was at a party where somebody was far more touchy than they normally would have been.  It’s not like I wanted to give them a hard time for being red faced and happy.  We do make allowances for people, I’m just wondering if we go too far.  Unless I’ve blacked out, then I’m all for it.