Warning, vent ahead. Blah, my brother and I are butting heads because I'm so "politically correct." Boy do I wish that phrase would die in a fire. At issue is the Imagine Dragons video where a bunch of Latino men are watching and betting as stuffed animals fight (instead of roosters) while the poor indie rockers are trapped in the cellar. A white girl rescues them with a pink teddy bear that shoots lasers. My sister and I both failed to appreciate it - her more for the echoes of cock fighting, me for racial stereotyping. He looks up where cock fighting is prevalent. Then he brought up Godfather. Because Italian Americans were othered too.

I am, apparently, humorless and overly sensitive. I think he feels attacked as a white dude, IDEK.

I'm not denying that some Latino cultures practice cock fighting. But why that story? Why not Mixed Muppet Martial Arts in the Octagon? I guess I should be grateful it wasn't black dudes and a metaphor for dog fighting?

Uggh. This is frustrating because I love my brother so much and he's so smart. I hate butting heads with him. But he questions my shit and then when I back it up with facts he says he feels like I'm lecturing him.

he feels like I'm lecturing him.

Not to side with him or defend him, but you are lecturing him. You're taking the high moral stance and trying to correct him.

Sorry, smonster, I'm not trying to lecture you.

Just making an observation about the dynamic in play.

The weapon in the restaurant reminded me of something Gavin de Becker wrote about. He'd gone to Texas to testify about some public-places carrying initiative, which he opposed, but on a lunch break he asked some citizens "What do you want this for? I don't understand."
And they were all like "In case something happens...we'll be ready."

De Becker's like "Can you do the Heimlich? If someone were anaphlactic in here right now, do you think you could keep their airway open? Because that is far more likely than an armed gunman really." "Ugh..." one guy says. "I wouldn't want the responsibility for that!"

He had to conclude they were perfectly fine with the responsibility of firing lead into fellow beings at 150 MPH, though.

A .45acp fires at roughly 845ft/sec. Which is roughly 576 mph. Only a wimp would fire something at 150 mph.

ducks n covers

So I express an opinion, I get eye rolls, I explain my opinion and I'm lecturing? Awesomesauce.

"Expressing my opinion is not a terrorist action."

"Tell that to Bobby Ridgeway. By the way, his testicle retrieval operation was a success."

"I still maintain he kicked himself in the balls."

You're lecturing him. Because he asked you to! Next time he pulls that, tell him this. "Asking a question is like inviting a vampire into your home. If you don't like the outcome, it's your own fault."

BT for the win!!

It's only lecturing if he was proven wrong.

So I express an opinion, I get eye rolls, I explain my opinion and I'm lecturing? Awesomesauce.

I'm going with explaining your opinion is NOT lecturing.

Meanwhile, yesterday we had a preschool field officer come to Ryan's childcare to assess his school readiness. Executive summary: he's ready. She was meeting us at 11:00 to discuss her findings, and apparently Ryan periodically reminded her of this while noting the current time was not yet 11:00. (Just in case she was wondering.)

While she was there, Ryan and a friend of his were playing on scooters. Another kid took his friend's scooter. Apparently Ryan went to tell her that someone else was using the scooter and she should give it back. When they refused he called in a teacher. Assertiveness! I'm proudest that he intervened, not for himself, but on someone else's behalf.

Final observation: parents turning up at childcare in the middle of the day get treated like celebrities.