This is Joe's Fault

Tuesday, June 10, 2003

Stupid, Stewpid, Stoopid!

I am not a nice person. I have lots and lots of prejudices and very little patience. Let's pick one at random and shine a light on it, shall we? Let's pick... stupid people!

Okay, I know that lots of people hate stupid people, I am not alone in this hatred. Heck, there are whole websites dedicated to hating stupid people, especially stupid people that one might have to work with. But I don't mean your run of the mill "how do you change the toner, again?" stupid people (and of course I hate them, too), but I mean real stupid people. People who actually have a low i.q. that nothing can be done about. (I know that there is a a lot of contention about "i.q." and the testing of it, etc. I am using it here as a general term wherein i.q. is a scale to determine how much a person can grasp certain complex ideas and concepts, etc.)

For example, I used to have a roommate who was 17. Now 17-year olds are stupid, sure. But this one was actually stupid stupid. He grew up in a household where his parents were about as smart as Gomer on ludes, who taught him nothing. Not his fault, surely. Also, I believe he probably didn't get enough nutrition in the crucial first 5 years and that he will never be much smarter than he is now. And even knowing this, I still couldn't stand to talk with him. It almost physically hurt me. He would ask me to read over an essay (for lack of a better word) for school. I'd read it and I felt two things: anger and pity. But mostly anger. I just didn't want to talk to him. Ever. (There were one or two other things that bugged me about his character but the overarching theme was just plain stupidity.)

A few years ago I was watching television and I saw a 20/20 episode about intelligence levels. This one dude's theory was that communication between any two people depends on the level of intelligence of each. The wider the gap between the two, the more difficult communication becomes -- to the point that if a large enough difference exists, real communication becomes impossible. Now, I've been a lot of situations where this has happened to me (and believe me, I've been on both sides of the gap - Einstein I ain't), and I think I believe this to be true in a lot of respects. But that doesn't really address the anger.

I have no idea where it comes from or how to stop it. They are not being stupid to annoy me or to taunt me. They are just simply stupid. I'm sure it must have something to do with my doubts about my own intelligence or something. Or perhaps I'm confusing frustration with anger. But whatever it is, I'm no closer to conquering it.

E.g. A friend of mine has a pot-head boyfriend who is always so nice, but SO FUCKING DUMB. I can't stand talking to him. He calls into work each day and always wants to chat a bit, but I can't stand his stupid pot-head voice. I know his brain cells are all gone or altered and there's nothing to be done about it, but I just want to hand him over as soon as possible. I am sure, though, that he's not too dumb to notice my kurtness and be hurt by it. He's just loving the weed and loving life, dude and I'm all harshing his mellow with my hate. Bob Marley would hardly approve.

Ah well. I take it to be a good sign that I am aware of this unfair prejudice that I harbour and that I really am working to overcome it. One day I hope to be able to sit down with a dullard and have a nice, long chat about... oh, I don't know... how Tony Robbins really knows his stuff or something. Maybe one day...

Today's update is dedicated to Bob. Not because of the topic (which is unfortunate, to be sure), but because he keeps whining like a little baby about the lack of updates. I would remind him that I said I would be posting ONCE a week. But anyway. Happy Bob?