You tell 'em, grannyI recently engaged in a conversation on Twitter about Dr. Laura and her unfortunate use of the n-word on her radio show. The friend I was talking to reasoned that Dr. Laura has her 1st Amendment rights to protect what she says, and that it's dumb of her to become a pariah for using a word, as derogatory as it is, that many public & non-public figures say or think outright. I called PUBLICITY STUNT on the whole situation and reasoned Dr. Laura just caused a commotion to draw attention to her impending (and much welcomed) retirement.
The convo eventually led to us pinpointing the age at which we'd both say "F*CK IT" and unleash our every thought, concern, annoyance and/or displeasure onto the world. We all know at LEAST one elderly person who stopped giving a f*ck what you or anyone else thinks around 1978, and isn't ashamed to say it either.
My age was originally 55-60... or whenever my boobs hit my waistband. Mi amigo's age was 35-40 ("Hell, why wait"), but to me, that's still fighting/shanking age. I personally would have no problem tearing a middle-aged muhfugga UP (j/k, peace & love y'all), but if sh*t's sagging off your body and ish... well damn, gravity already did half the a$$whupping for me, you dig?
Anyways, the whole convo got me to thinking about this one time I was on the Metro and it was rush hour, so it was super crowded. As the doors opened at one stop, I almost got trampled by the crowd of people both trying to get on the train and come out of it. Some 350-lb grandpa in a wheelchair trying to get off the train looks dead in my face and screams, "MOVE OUT THE WAY, FAT ASS!"
Literally everyone just stopped and stared. Not only was the comment weird--this guy had more than 200-lbs on me--it was so unexpected and rude, like who says that sh*t for real? You already know the answer folks: Old a$$ geezers. And possibly NYers.
And there wasn't sh*t I could say to the guy! Not only was he old, he was in a wheelchair. Didn't stop me from coming up with something though. As I recall, I told him to go f*ck himself (knee-jerk reaction y'all). He was already off the train at that point but he heard me and his face turned bright red like he was about to explode. Not my brightest moment, pissing off a rotund old muhfugga in a wheelchair, but hey, you win some you lose some.
Guess I shouldn't have shared that story since it shows that regardless of age (and handicap... terrible, I know), not everyone's going to tolerate your old person rants just because you're old. Yes, the wisdom that comes with age should accompany the respect of those younger than you, but only if you extend that same respect to them.
At one point during our Twitter convo I asked my friend, "Do people even realize what they say/do anymore?" He replied yes, but after a certain age, why censor yourself?
I guess. And I personally cannot wait until the day where I can say whatever I want to whoever I want and have little to no repercussions because, hey, I'm old, but really. Drumming up negative attention for myself as a "last hurrah" before my retirement? Being all hostile on public transportation on the off chance that some equally as bold mofo won't tell dat a$$ off? Or, to a greater extreme, alienating friends and family with constant negativity?
Choose your battles wisely old folks!
