Today’s stupid comes from the public, non-political sector. I participate in a variety of prepper and off-grid living groups on Facebook and elsewhere. Yesterday, one of the groups highlighted a set of stairs basically like the ones Chris made for our shed. They fold up against the wall. I liked the post, and was going to move on, but stupidly decided to check the comments. I ran into a guy, Todd, who said, and I quote, “Don’t weigh more than 150 lbs max for those stairs.” (I cleaned it up. His grammar was so atrocious I couldn’t do a direct quote.)
I patiently explained that it’s entirely possible to make stairs that will hold heavier weights, and that I know it’s so because a) math and b) hubby actually built some and he weights quite a bit more than 150 lbs (as do I) and he goes up and down the stairs just fine.
The response? “How ’bout a picture? I don’t believe you.” I kind of stared at it for a while, but then I responded to him. I basically said, well, I had facts on my side, but he was welcome to not believe those facts… however they were still facts. *shrug* Chris then responded by asking if the dude knew the type of wood, the type of hinges, the ratings for the screws, etc etc, and if not, then you couldn’t judge how much weight could go on the stairs. Basically, what I’d said… *math*.
There’s stupid on all sides of me these days.
I had someone from the “new poor” group who woefully explained that a single person cannot eat healthily on $30 a week. I sat down and made a delicious week’s menu for two people, two whole grown-ass people, for $30 a week. Well, $32 actually. But for TWO people, not one. I got told I was unrealistic for expecting people to… *gasp* cook. Because people on welfare don’t have time to cook, because now they’re burdened with “working” for 20 hours a week.
I didn’t bother explaining how I’d been working 40+ hour weeks for most of my life, and still managed to cook meals from scratch every night. Sometimes it meant careful planning and cooking on the weekend, then judicial use of the crockpot or microwave during the week, but I had food on the table, hot, delicious, healthy, and as far from processed as I could manage. Every. Single. Day. For years, folks.
There is a subset of people who are actively choosing to be willfully ignorant. They go out of their way to complain about things, especially online but occasionally in person, and then will not even glance at a fix for their problem. If you try to spoon feed it to them, the result is a tantrum that would look poor on a 2 year old, never mind a grown-ass adult. And while I do agree that the majority of them do appear to be on the Left, there are some doozies on the Right as well, and it bothers me.
I can’t help someone who actively WANTS to be poor, ignorant, hurt, or damaged. There’s this wonderful trend right now where people are claiming to be “triggered” over pretty much anything. That is, and I say this with no remorse whatsoever, weaponizing trauma, and it’s a VILE habit.
Some of us lived through real trauma. You can tell, because we’re the ones helping the OTHER ones with trauma, while telling people “what I went through wasn’t that bad, not as bad as Ms. X here.” We’re not using our trauma as an excuse. We might occasionally have to ask for grace, but we don’t use it as an excuse. And we never stop trying to get over it, to fix it, to repair it, to patch it, to soothe it.
“Ohh… but I’m triggered!” Yeah honey? So am I, but I’m still out here helping others, taking care of myself and my family, doing my best to earn a living and get shit done. Your trauma can be real but that doesn’t mean it’s a reason to not work, or do whatever you need to be doing. Get off your ass and go get shit done.
While you can’t fix stupid, you can point and laugh, and invite others to point and laugh, especially when karma grabs hold of them. Schadenfreude isn’t JUST a word.
“This life’s hard, but it’s harder if you’re stupid.” – John Wayne (attributed in The Sands of Iwo Jima, 1949)
“social” medis isn’t social…
any and all is filled with people who because you can’t punch them in the face can be as nasty and vicious as they want. everyone luvs to tell you that YOU are stupid,dumb,weak, useless and incapable of functioning. I don’t comment on socials much cause they turn on you like jackels all to build themselves up.
as the saying says- bees don’t bother to tell flys that honey is sweeter than shiite..
negativity and hate is the “norm” online. you don’t have to try to fix it.. just ignore it, block it, erase it.. Ive stopped following several pages cause it was chock full of commentors telling many how dumb they are.. long time ago I built a snowplow for my tractor,2011 I believe it was. had 5 different people tell me it wouldn’t work.. plowed the drive with it today, 2026…
“better to be thought an idiot, than open thy mouth and prove it”…. many can’t wait to prove it…
“…who woefully explained that a single person cannot eat healthily on $30 a week.”
It is not that they cannot do it, and they will refuse to believe you can do it. It is they do not want to do it. They want to get Door Dash delivered several times a week, microwave up boxed means, and eat at fast food or chain restaurants the rest of the time. And, they want someone else to take on the burden of paying for it.
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Are they “willfully ignorant?” Maybe. I have no doubt they are lazy, and likely they were spoiled to a certain extent as a child. And, yes, when you point out to them their ignorance and laziness, they will get angry. Take away their excuses, and they have no other choice.
I once had a conversation with someone who was convinced it was cheaper to get lunch at Subway than it was to bring in lunch from home. And, maybe if you only lunch one day a week, perhaps… but in reality, not a chance.
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So, you get the $6.99 meal deal of the day five days a week. That is $35. A week’s worth of lunches, 6″ sandwich, small drink, and a (small) bag of chips. That is actually not too bad, as long as you are willing to eat what is on special.
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On the other hand, you can hit the supermarket. And, I am not including condiments (mustard, oil and vinegar, etc…) because you should have them in your kitchen all year anyway. A six pack of kaiser rolls fresh from the bakery, $4.99. A pound and a quarter of deli meat of your choice, $15, a bag of lettuce/salad $1.99, a tomato $1, sliced cheese (8 slices) $4, an onion $0.50, misc stuff and additional $1. That comes to $28.5. Well below the $35 it would cost in Subway. And you have stuff left over for other meals, or next week if you freeze that additional roll right away.
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But, when I brought that up, the person who wanted to get his lunch out, instead of brown bagging it, acted like they were going to spend $28.50 on a single sandwich. Well, more like $16.50 because they were only getting a quarter pound of lunch meat. Apparently all the rest would get tossed because tomorrow is so far away saving anything is impractical.
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It was obvious to anyone who had half a brain this person’s ability to make excuses far exceeded their ability manage their money.
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When you want it to happen, you will make it happen.
When you do not want it to happen, you will make excuses.