I’m mad that libertarian has been coopted to mean narcissistic asshole who doesn’t give a shit about his (and it’s definitely a ‘his’) fellow man. I used to say I was liberttarian in my ideals, but I never wanted to be associated with the term itself. Now, however, I stay as far away from the word as possible. Too many assholes have warped it into something other than letting people be themselvves as long as no one is hurting anyone else (deliberately and with malicious intent. As defined by me).
I’m grumpy. Why? Because I was reading a thread about professional norms and one of the ways it devolved was someone proudly declaring that they were a coffee snob. Coffee was only to be drank (drunk?) black, damn it. End of. Like, she wrote that with her full chest. She’s not the only one, by the way. I’ve read and heard that so many times.
Same with tea. Those funny Brits who like to think they invented tea stand by putting milk in their tea. Which, fine! If you want to drink tea with milk, go for it. Asian people have milk tea, too, but it’s a specialty and not for daily dinking. Well, at least before Taiwanese people invented boba tea, which is now everywhere.
Apparently, if you dare try to order tea without milk in Britain, you will be exiled with prejudice. Never mind that the people they stole tea from did not drink it taht way. Again, I have no issue with people drinking their tea that way–until they say it’s the only way/the proper way to drink tea. Then I have to laugh in their face as a person of Asian descent. Oh, and as someone who is lactose intolerant, no thank you very much.
But, wow, do people have so many opinions about how food should be eaten, what music is good or bad, how video games should be played, and so much more. I’m particularly irked about food, though, because I have struggled all my life with food and eating. It’s hard not to as a human being. I was going to say in American society, but it’s not limited to America. It’s just a different flavor of toxic negativity than it may be in other countries.
I mean honestly, who. the. fuck. cares? If you’re not the one eating it, then keep your eyes on your own plate.
I really can’t get why people are so–yes, I can. It’s a way to sort people as in or out as are so many of our other societal norms. Like choosing a sports team or something like that. For a ot of people, being in the in-group is a comfort. Or at the very least, having hard and clear rules. It’s comforting, I guess.
For me, I find rules and laws to be restrictive and almost punitive if there is not a good reason for them. Like, I can get with not driving forward on red because that’s a safety issue. Not stealing other people’s shit? Yeah, that makes sense to me, too.