There is a cold snap making its way across the Midwest. We are currently at -22F, ‘feels like’ -34F. I had stuck out one hand to see if it was really that cold–it was. Some time ago, I don’t know when, they changed the way they measured windchill to be more accurate. That means we’ll never have a windchill of -100 again. We had that when I was a kid, by the way. And, yes, they closed school for it.
I’m someone who loves the cold. L-O-V-E-S it. WHen I was younger, I used to play the (to me) fun game of seeing how far I could go into winter without closing my car windows. I could make it until it dipped below zero, and then I would roll up the windows.
Even then, I would keep the heat off. This was part two of the game–how long would it take for me to begrudgingly turn on the heat. Usually, it was around ten below, and then the game was over fror the year.
I use to have the thermometer in my house set at 62 during the day and 60 at night. As I said, I like it cold. Here’s a weird thing, though. The older I get, the less cold I’m able to tolerate. It’s not a huge difference, but it’s there. I think it’s partly menopause, honestly. They talk about heat flashes, but I was getting cold flashes instead. It was interesting to get the cold shakes; it was almost an out-of-body experience.
Back to today. It’s cold. It’s really cold. It’s “stay the fuck in the house” cold. It would have been cold for me before I hit menopause, and it’s still cold now. I’m ready to hunker down the whole weekend and not step a foot outside.
Here’s the weird thing. The last four or five winters (the ones since my medical crisis)have been all over the place. More snow in general (save one year), not as cold, and just all over the map. Probably because of climate change, sadly. I love the more snow personally, but I don’t like what it says about our weather patterns. Also, I’m aware that other people don’t like snow and/or cold as much as I do, so I feel bad for them. I don’t have to drive in it, either, which helps.
I bring it up because one of the things that makes me happy is watching the ICE fall on ice. I have included a SNL skit that has a St. Paul-born comedian ragging on ICE falling on ice. It’s easy to tell that they are not Minnesotans because they are not prepared for Minnesota winters. Wactching them flail their arms as they vainly attempt to stay upright has given me much joy.
Here’s a tip: As soon as you start flailing your arms about, you’re doomed. You’re going to go down, so you might as well relax. Not to enjoy it, but because ti’ll hurt less when you land flat on your ass.
Let’s go back even further. Before they even came to Minnesota, someone should have tipped them off that sneakers, loafers, and/or hunting boots were not going to do the trick on Minnesota (lowercase) ice. I know ICE recruits are not our best and brightest, but that doesn’t mean their trainers should deliberately set them up to fail. Someone should have made sure they had proper footwear before sending them to Minnesota.
Anyway, it’s a small, petty pleasure, but it’s all I’ve got. Well, that and my fellow Minnesotans standing up for their rights–and their neighbors. That’s to be expected, though. That’s how we do.
I’m still ruminating over the fact that people who are being oppressed in one way may not be sympathetic to people who are oppressed in others. I know it’s human nature, but it still manages to surprise me from time to time. It took me decadse to truly internalize that many people, perhaps a majority, are not able to…
Hm. I’m about to say two not necessarily rrelated statements that are simultaneously true.
1. People are self-absorbed. A person thinks of themselves much more than they think of anyone else or anyone thinks of them. Even martyrs who claim they do things only for others do it to fulfill something for themselves (their vision/belief/view of themselves. In other words, their identity). In addition, they think they are the norm and that everyone else think the way they do. They also think that other people think about them much more than other people actually do.
2. People aren’t willing to give other people the same benefit of doubt that they give themselves. In fact, people often are much harder on other people than they are on themselves. Therefore, what is sympathetic in themselves is unforgivable in others.
Oh, and 3. People suck.
I’m kidding about the last one (though they do. We do). But the other two? Still true. I’m not even mad about the first one because no one can really know what other people think or feel. Not really. Empathy can get you close, but it’s not going to get you in someone else’s skin. There’s only one way to do that (ew).
The second point, though, is the one that continues to punch me in the gut. While I can intellectually understand it, I don’t get it on a visceral level. It’s because I am so much in the minority in almost everything that I automatically assume others think differently than I do. The few times I don’t assume that, it slaps me in the face–making me regret that I assumed anything.
It’s so fucknig irritating to me when it’s a combination of religion and gender/sexual identity. As it was for many immigrants who voted for Trump. In the last post, I wrote about this a bit, and it’s still gnawing at me. Not to mention that people who aren’t religious have to put up with religious people and their bullshit. Mostly Christians, but people of some other religions as well are so anti-queer, it’s palpable.
This is where I’m struggling. I’m not going to get into it now, though, because it’s too late in the post for that. More tomorrow.