Saturday, February 19, 2011

People upset me.

I know that all adolescents profile as sociopaths, which is why you can't be diagnosed as a sociopath until you're eighteen. But I also understand that it is not normal behavior to go out of your way to run over an animal walking down the road.

Most teenagers don't do that.

I was not the only person to witness two teenage boys murder this doe. I admit, I started bawling. I might have screamed a few obscenities at their retreating vehicle. And for some strange reason, people looked at me like I was doing something wrong.

Two boys just went out of their way to inflict pain and suffering on an innocent creature, and I was the one they gawked at because it upset me? I realize that as a human being I'm at the top of the damn food chain, but I fail to see how that gives me, or anybody, the right to go around killing things for the hell of it.

In society there is an appropriate time (deer season), place (the woods), and way (with a damn gun) to kill deer. It's called hunting, and while I personally don't like hunting, it's a lot more forgivable than vehicular homicide. At least the bullet kills the deer instantly. This poor young doe was left suffering in what I can only imagine was an intense agony for several minutes. This morning was the first time in my life I wished I had a gun. I would have happily put that creature out of her misery rather than watch her suffer.

I'm not sure who I am more disgusted with at this point: the two teenage boys who did it, or the four witnesses aside from myself who weren't the least bit bothered by what they saw. Or maybe just the one witness who actually had the nerve to laugh at me like I was amusing while the others just looked at me like I was nuts.

I find myself wondering what the hell is wrong with people? 

I'm changing the subject now because this is upsetting me again. I'm not particularly fond of crying at work, which is exactly what will happen if I stay focused on this.

In other news...

I don't know what person in his right mind wants to bring fifteen five year olds to a music store, but I know which man in his obviously not right mind agreed to allow someone to bring fifteen five year olds into the store for a field trip. That would be our Manager. And I know which flutist/receptionist/guitar stringing guru he's volunteered for demonstrations. 

I'll give you a hint: she writes this blog.

My talent and dignity sold off for the entertainment of children.

Children. 

With their sticky fingers that like to grab things (like my chest and hair), mouths that never stop asking questions (mostly silly ones), feet that never stop running around, and tongues that will lick anything that holds still long enough (like our drum kits). 

Well, it's not really anything new. In high school I did Theater, and we did a children's show for the elementary school every year. If there's anything I've learned from those experiences it's that children are easily amused and impressed, and they love it when you overdo it. (Though I have to admit, playing Sher Kahn in the Jungle Book was definitely my favorite role ever. And I had the gratification of three hundred children telling me how awesome I was, and could I please roar one more time?) 

Playing a flute for children should be easy enough. At least I don't have to memorize lines for it, or wear animal ears. That's a relief I suppose. And like I said, it doesn't take much to impress five year olds. I could play a scale and they'd love it.

It's the principle of the thing that bothers me. First of all, he really should ask us employees how we feel about fifteen five year olds running around the store when we're trying to work. And he should ask us if we'd like to help entertain them with demonstrations, not just say, "Oh, no. Chanel would love to play a flute for them." 

All I'm asking is for a little respect. At least offer me some sort of compensation for my valuable playing expertise.

Is that too much to ask for?

18 comments:

  1. Is that true about adolescents profiling as sociopaths? I did not know that. That's messed up.

    Your doe story reminds me of a very disturbing incident of extreme animal cruelty that I had the misfortune of witnessing years ago. I am not going to share that story, though. I don't think I've ever told that story to anyone that didn't immediately regret hearing it. Some things are better left unsaid. Besides, you sound like you've had enough for one day.

    And yeah, 5 years old in a music store sounds like a bad idea. They talk about a bull in a china shop, but at least the bull doesn't keep incessantly asking, "What does this do?", before it breaks things.

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  2. Wow. That is not the kind of day anyone would envy. Either one of those stories would have most people running for the hills. I have a hard enough time with a class of little kids in their classroom. Forget about a place FULL of stuff that could break and costs a lot of money! I hope your day starts looking up.

    But flute huh? That's cool. I played trumpet from 5th grade through 11th grade. Now my daughter plays it. The same one, too. I kept it after all these years. I'm kinda proud that it's getting some use again.

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  3. Bryan, yes that's true that all adolescents profile that way. Learn something new every day.

    Thank you for not sharing whatever the awful story is. I have definitely had enough for more than a lifetime. I hate people who are cruel to animals.

    That kind of reminds me of this cartoon I watched as a kid called Dexter's Lab. His sister Dee Dee was a blond who would always say, "OOOOOOOH! What does THIS but-ton dooooo?" and then she would press it and break the robot or the machine or the tool that her genius brother had invented. I bet you ten to one that there is at least ONE Dee Dee in the group that comes in next week.

    Hannah, the bright side to this is that the field trip won't be until next week, so it's not today. Fifteen children on the busiest day of the week would be disastrous. I've only been TOLD about it today.

    Yeah, the flute. You play trumpet? Awesome! I play trumpet, too, because I was in Jazz Band in high school and the teacher wouldn't let me play my flute the first two years of Jazz Band because he said flutes didn't belong in Jazz. He stuck me on trumpet, which was fun. Except the spit valve. Oh, how that nasty thing grossed me out.

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  4. My one cat, Dexter, is named after that show. My daughter used to love it when she was really little. I watched it, because...ummm she watched it. Yeah, that's it. I loved the one where he fed the dog the dictionary and it learned to talk and it kept going, "Look, it's the thing, you know, the thing from before! Hey, it's the guy!" They even did a time travel movie "Ego Trip" Yeah, it was good show...for my daughter, I mean. Ahem.

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  5. My Mom liked it, too. She liked to watch it even if we weren't there. My favorite one was when Dexter woke up late for school and didn't finish his homework so he slowed time down so he could shower and do his homework and get ready. And then he restored time to it's proper speed and Dee Dee told him it was a snow day. :) Awesome.

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  6. Ok- the deer thing. Where I come from, practically everyone hunts. The difference about what you saw and hunting though is that hunting shows respect for the animal through the process of killing it. You go to it's habitat, you track it down, you kill it as quickly as possible, then use it to feed your family. Mowing down a random deer in the road just shows disrespect for living things which makes those children more likely to be psychopaths than sociopaths. Sociopaths are highly characterized by a lack of disregard for the feelings of others. They know others have feelings but put their feelings first. Psychopaths fail to see right and wrong. Psychopaths are actually easier to rehabilitate because they will accept that you don't do things "just because." Sociopaths fail to understand why they shouldn't get to do as they want. Unfortunately, psychopaths in the teenage years are usually also sociopaths which makes it difficult to manage. And then we have teenagers killing/raping/etc. Which is why I think it's just fine to diagnose young children as psychopaths so we can teach them right from the get-go and make them functional before they reach the sociopath years.

    At least that's the understanding I gained from my psychology and therapy classes in college. Sorry for the "teacher" tone and moment, sometimes I can't control it....

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  7. I am willing to bet a nickle or two that had your flute playing entranced the children into a single file line that you could then escort them out the door, some nearby musician or window shopper might have tossed you some loose change for the sweet pide piper routine. I know I would have given at least a dollar.

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  8. I do my hunting at the grocery store. And since Mrs. Cheese is a vegitarian, most of it involves ruthlessly taking down unsuspecting broccoli.

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  9. I have never fully run anything over. I even dodge chipmunks. The superbowl commercial with the beaver made me laugh like crazy because that is soooo me and hopefully some woodland creature will save me someday.

    I did clip a dog once that darted out in front of me. I spent twenty minutes searching bushes while crying my eyes out, but never found it. That was over ten years ago and I still hope the thing was okay.

    I played trombone. Ü Lmmmmmmmmmmbbbbb (that is the sound of licking) drum kits taste thumpy.
    Funny Stuff I Write And Draw

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  10. Jenna, they're considered a nuisance out here, too. I don't get why...I like them. They're so cute and they like it when you pet them. Even the bucks. It's okay. I don't mind teachers. Some of my favorite people in the world are teachers.

    Scott, that is a brilliant suggestion. Where could I leave them though? I'll just leave them at the tanning salon three stores down. Those girls deserve some payback.

    Doug, that poor broccoli doesn't stand a chance. If you like hunting vegetables, you should catch some of that living lettuce. It's not washed in chlorine and it's the best lettuce EVER.

    Charlie, I didn't see the beaver commercial. I'll have to google it. I'm glad I'm not the only one that cries when an animal is hurt. I don't drive because it scares me, so I never ran over anything. But one time I did step on a baby lizard and I sat down on the sidewalk and started crying.

    How do you do the little dots over the U? And I agree. That IS how it sounds when you lick something.

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  11. If I killed an animal with my car or some other way, I would be guilt ridden for months. When teens torture animals, they are just a hop and a skip away from becoming serial killers.

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  12. Isn't there some sort of law against purposely running over a deer in Texas? It would be too bad if idiots like that would be thrown through the windshield while doing that crap.
    Who writes your blog?
    When you played Sher Khan, did you do the George Sanders version?

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  13. Johnny, I completely agree.

    George, it is illegal to intentionally run over any animal. I wish I had gotten a license plate and make and model. As it is all I know it was a white truck.

    I write my blog, of course.

    When I played Sher Khan we did the Joseph Robinette version. It alternated between Rudyard Kipling's school days, and his imagination when he wrote the story the Jungle Book.

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  14. Ok, that running over of the doe pissed me off! You were justified in your reaction. The people around you were buttfuckers!

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  15. i feel much more pity for animals that are harmed than I do for most humans... And the reason I feel this way is because of what you just documented: Humans killing for the sake of being cruel mutherfuckers...

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  16. Sandra, I couldn't have said it better myself. They were buttfuckers of the lowest order of life.

    Organic Meatbag, I'm beginning to think like that. I'm also beginning to think my already low expectations of teenagers in general are entirely too high and I should just lower them some more.

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  17. Ü Hold down alt and type 154 with the keypad Ü

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  18. I don't have a keypad on my laptop and it doesn't work with my number keys up top...I'll have to try it on Padawan's computer. He has a proper keyboard. :(

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