Yay, Shir!

I'm just feeling so worn down from work. Like, I get home, and I don't really have the energy left to cook even something simple for dinner. (I've got some stuff from one of those dinner kit services waiting. It's basically just slicing a carrot and an onion and some garlic and some seitan and sauteeing them, cooking some noodles, mixing together a bunch of pre-measured things to make a sauce, and then mixing it all together. When I was in grad school, this would have been an "I don't have energy to do real cooking, so I'll just make something quick" meal. Now, I don't have energy to make it.

And, just got into an argument with a random dude on my mom's Facebook post. Basically, it was: Me: "I think that society now is more respectful than it was in the past, since there are now more people included under the umbrella of 'people who deserve respect.'" Him: "Are you fucking kidding me? You think you're so woke, and you're calling me a racist and blaming me for things that happened before I was born." And that's barely even a paraphrase.

Ugh. That break down of how "respect" means two different things in " I'll respect you if you respect me" has broader application.

Things I am not saying to Matthew (because I've already said it twice) you want to go fishing, you don't want to be out when it's so hot we need to go out now (actually 2 hours ago) or you'll get hot and miserable too fast . So why are you still watching the anime that will be here when we get back in? Let's please just go fishing (I need him to help carry stuff otherwise I would go alone.)

You are more than right there, askye.

Ugh. That break down of how "respect" means two different things in " I'll respect you if you respect me" has broader application.

Yep. He was arguing that people nowadays are a lot less respectful than they were in the fifties and sixties, and he seemed intent on being his own Exhibit A. He was going off on an unhinged profanity-laden rant on my mom's post. And completely arguing with a straw man -- I was saying that people are less racist now than they used to be, and he responded as if I'd called him racist.

So we got out and I realized that Matthew has a serious level of heart intolerance that I think might be a medical issue or ssymptom of something. He was sweating by just a few minutes outside. So I reworked my plans and then went to myself.

He did walk down the dock and then we walked back so that was nice.

Hil I am sorry that guy is on your mom's fb page and you had to encounter him

I'm sorry, Hil. Strength~ma in your rightness, askye.

I failed math by 5 points (half a grade. We're metric here). Good news is that they're being very nice and letting me re-do it again (because of migraines and chronic pain issues), and the classmates who studied with me are angry on my behalf and wanting me to ask for a better grade (not sure on what grounds... but the solidarity is nice). It sucks and I hoped for a relaxed Rosh HaShana but that's what it is. And I will actually have time to study properly for this one, with enough sleep and less stress. And maybe with a private lesson or two.

For the record, I have zero, zilch, no idea how I passed economics but didn't pass this one.

I hope the next time you take it goes better, Shir.

Hil, it sounds like you and this guy are arguing two different things. Because I think it could be argued that good manners -- as the term would have been defined 50 years ago -- have declined. "Four-letter words" that were unthinkable 50 years ago are now commonplace. People don't dress up for events that they used to dress up for. (Note: I only argue that such things exist, not whether they're good or bad.)

At the same time, you're absolutely right that bigotry and discrimination have decreased significantly in that time. Members of certain groups now get treated with the common courtesy that they wouldn't have received 50 years ago.

For what it's worth, I think there's an intersection between the two arguments because a certain amount of "good manners" arose from the idea that a woman should be treated like a lady. At least some (and I'll defer to others whether it's some, a lot, or all) of that idea is based on the sexist idea that women should be sheltered and protected. Case in point from my experience -- when I was a child, I was taught that, when walking on the street with a lady, a gentleman always walks closest to the curb so if a car drives through a puddle nearby, he (and his clothes) get messed up. I now know women who do not like it when I try to take the curb side.