Men are from Mars... And I'm Terrible.

I don't know if you guys have seen The Glossary's video of a David Foster Wallace commencement speech that's been circulating.  Entitled This is Water, it challenges the audience to look beyond our  natural self-centerdness and consider that everyone has a story.  As my college acting professor would say, "We all have that wagon of shit trailing behind us."  In case you missed it (and it is worth the nine minutes):

Upon arriving home after a long day slinging beers, my nerd was super excited to show me this.  He is an inherently positive person, and steady and unwavering.  He wanted me to see this video, because it succinctly summed up the way he views the world.  I was moved, sure.  And I see the value in reminding yourself that everyone around us is dealing with their own issues, triumphs and struggles.

But a few days later, we came across this Louis C.K. standup clip while looking for something else:

As we watched, I realized: I am a jerk, and I think everyone else is a bigger jerk.  If you walk slower than me, I cut you off, because I'm busy, and you're a slow jerk.  If you cut me off, you are a jerk for being too busy for sidewalk decency.  Your coffee order is stupid.  You don't know what movie you want to see.  You are bad at putting your MetroCard through the subway turnstile.  These are all major offenses (::salutes::).  To quote the great Louis C.K., "Now I have to know you exist?  You piece of shit."

While brainstorming titles for this post, I submitted, "Men are from Mars... And I'm terrible." to imply how different my nerd and I are, and to further suggest that our (*society's!*) differences balance each other out.  I voiced the title aloud patting myself on the back for cleverness, but my nerd hesitated to approve.  When pressed for a reason, he admitted, "I just don't like that you're grouping me in with other men."

Even the most accepting and welcoming among us have limits.


Fine print: videos posted from YouTube are not mine, no copyright infringement intended, they just helped to prove my point.