What characteristics do you possess that make you the object of ridicule?

[Bertha Venation]

I've been thinking about this since last night, and McGreevy started it. So McGreevy cheated on his wife. So did Bill, and he lied about it, and got caught lying about it, and was impeached for lying. Nevertheless he served two full terms as president, did a pretty good job, and will be revered by many of us. But McGreevy cheated on his wife with a MAN, and this makes him so much more the target of ridicule and outrage and derision -- even among some who don't really see anything wrong in being gay. (Don't misunderstand me: there IS nothing wrong with being gay, but a lot of people disagree.)

My question then is this: what characteristics do you possess that make either right-wingers or religious people or your family or your co-workers (or others) think that you are sub-human? Or insane? Or immoral? Or . . . ?

Examples, about myself:

didn't choose/can't fix:
I'm gay

didn't choose/can fix but won't do it according to accepted, "normal" methods:
I'm obese

good thing I did for myself that makes people say, Good?! :
I've been in a mental hospital by choice

did choose/won't change:
I forgive
I don't hate Freepers or garden variety Republicans or religious fundamentalists

could fix but don't work much on:
I'm an abysmal housekeeper

All of these things make me the object of someone's hatred, ridicule, derision, or judgment.

How about you?

[EstimatedProphet]

1. I think

Drives the closed-minded crazy.

[terrya]

2. I think it's the fact that I'm gay....and that I didn't choose it.

Apparently, according to some people, sexual orientation is a myth. It's a "lifestyle choice"...similar to changing your wardrobe. I didn't choose to be gay, folks.

[Shoeempress]

3. Whenever someone tells me being gay is a choice, I always ask

them when did you choose to be straight, Cause I never had to make a Choice, I've always been attracted the opposite sex. This usually embarrasses them, and I hope makes them 1. think about the bigoted statement they made and their ridiculous assumption behind it, and 2. Stop saying dumb ass things to me.

[MuseRider]

7. Even if it was

a lifestyle choice, so what? Even if you did choose to be gay, so what? I simply can't find any way to understand why that makes one bit of difference. We love you any way!

[Bogus W Potus]

42. Some think it makes a difference with regard to anti-discrimination laws

i don't think that, because religion is a choice and religion is protected under anti-discrimination laws, but some think it makes a difference.

[Bertha Venation]

31. People loooove to deride us for our orientation.

They revel in their ignorance. Even if they know they're being ignorant, they don't care. :(

[vajraroshana]

58. being gay, but

I just have a hard time relating to people. I'm too brunt. Or I know that I'm too brunt or forward, so I giggle, or in some way make people understand that their "costume" IS a "costume". That makes some people uncomfortable; but not those that understand what I'm inferring. Those are the people that I really like.

[sniffa]

4. my things that i do

i'm poLiticaL (i care about the coming eLection) - i wore my john kerry shirt out w/ my friends the other night and they ridicuLed me aLL night for it. they were aLso piLing on about my activity on messageboards.

my freaky sexuaL preferences - it freaks out the squares.

i rareLy feeL shame (despite my cathoLic upbringing) - i think everyone shouLd be proud of who they are.

i'm anti-reLigion

i don't Listen to "white music" (not true btw) or "dress white" or "taLk white" - i thought these issues were Left behind in high schooL.

[LiveWire]

10. wait a second...

FReaky sexual preferences? I gotta hear more about this.

[Jo March]

14. Me, too!

Let's hear more about those freak sexual preferences!

[Beware the Beast Man]

15. I think I know already...

It's nothing that racy, trust me :evilgrin:

[sniffa]

25. weLL that's one aspect

and you're right, that's not that racy.

i won't go into the midget cLown fetish.. i don't wanna get this thread Locked.

[Beware the Beast Man]

27. What a small world (no pun intended)

I just renewed my subscription to "Mimes in Latex" last week! :bounce:

[Jo March]

28. Dang it.

Well, what am I supposed to think about for the next 4 hours of work?!?

[MuseRider]

5. My poor bleeding heart.

I am constantly teased and sometimes ridiculed because I easily cry about things that many do not ever consider past the point of just hearing about it. A dead cat in the road, even a dead skunk always makes me sad. Atrocities against anyone or anything distresses me to the point of tears, even smaller things that I consider atrocities others see as just life. Right now the fact that I am constantly teary over my youngest moving out has caused me a lot of ridicule. Somehow I am supposed to think of this as freedom when I am actually losing someone I love from my daily life. I don't understand I guess.

This McGreevy thing is more than I can even think about. He cheated, yes that is a bad thing but why is it any different that it was with another man?

I am an atrocious housekeeper, that always pisses me off because there were 4 then 3 now there will be 2 of us in the house but nobody ever teases my husband about being an atrocious housekeeper. What's up with that?

Sorry if this is not what you were asking for. I am quite far over the edge at the moment! :cry:

[Bertha Venation]

13. yes, this kind of thing is exactly what I'm talking about

and I seem to have found a kindred spirit. (Sorry you're hurting today. :hug: )

[MuseRider]

18. You are so sweet!

:hug: to you. This place has given me so much to think about to distract me for small( large!) amounts of time and many nice people who help me get through. Sometimes our real life support is too close. I suspect next week I will be posting some really odd, mispelled things as I try to work through this. Thanks.

[DemWitch]

57. MuseRider...

"I am constantly teased and sometimes ridiculed because I easily cry about things that many do not ever consider past the point of just hearing about it. A dead cat in the road, even a dead skunk always makes me sad. Atrocities against anyone or anything distresses me to the point of tears, even smaller things that I consider atrocities others see as just life."

If this bothers other people, well, screw 'em... the world needs more comapssionate, beautiful human beings like yourself :hug:

[Don_G]

6. I like to do everything for a woman

My last gf use to get upset when we went out to dinner and i would pick out what she was going to eat but that is something that i like to do.

[Marnieworld]

23. don't do that

seriously it's really obnoxious. Why would you want to pick out someone else's food? How is it your concern? How in the world could you know what she's in the mood to eat, how hungry she is, what she likes, how concerned she is with calories or health or whatever? It's also a big turn-off because it's controlling.

Open a car door, pull out a chair, help someone with their coat. These are all perfectly acceptable ways of showing a woman old fashioned chivalrous respect if that is important to you but let a woman make the decisions that affect her herself.

[Don_G]

29. My passenger door is broken

When my old gf came up to Ky to play housewife to me she didn't mind getting out on the drivers side. I always ordered her a good steak because I don't like seafood.

[Beware the Beast Man]

8. Hmmm....

1. I'm overwieght.
2. I'm hairy
3. I believe in Jesus and I'm a Catholic (though still a liberal), which makes me an object of ridicule on the left and right, depending on how you look at it.
4. As Sniffa noted, my "freaky" sexual preferences.
5. I used to collect star wars toys.
6. Last night, I made a recording of my belly button.
7. I have a growth on my eyelid that's a source of some embarrassment.
I could go on all day...

[LiveWire]

9. Well, lets see

Im a traitor: I was a republican awhile ago.

Im a moderate: right-winger HATE that.

Im a complete dick when it comes to debates: Yes Im good at it. However, I have been kicked out of speech-meets because my speeches were too "provocative".

I didnt like Bush when I was a Republican: I was more of a McCaine man. Still am, to an extent.

I watched Fahrnenheit 9/11: I love how right-winger HATE this movie. Even though most have never seen it.

[Kolesar]

11. I remember when I used to make scathing, cynical remarks about Reagan

I did not realize that there were actually people who liked Reagan. I had coworkers who hated me and made work difficult for me and I think it was related.

Oh, to be young again!

[SarahB]

12. On the surface, I'm an easy blender.

I'm reasonably cute, I'm strait, and get along with most people, but it doesn't mean I'm typical or like everyone else. In fact, I fit with very few people and find them incredibly dull in the world I live in. Not many suburban mommmy types people follow politics or have my sense of humor, etc. Most people bore the shit out of me with their inane conversations, so I'm polite, but aloof. I've told a few people about tidbits of marriage problems (not even that I want to leave) and all I get is "but J. is such a nice guy..." as if other people can understand the intricacies of the personal details of a marriage or sees what someone is like behind closed doors.

Because I can, I spent too many years trying to do so and absolutely failing at it. Not entirely, but still. Who even knows if this makes any sense to anyone, but I guess it does to me.

[Jo March]

16. SarahBelle! My sister!!!

We were seperated at birth! I too do not "blend" in with most people. I am married and in the suburbs and I find most people dull as dirt.

I'm into politics but not many around me are.

I own The Book of Bunny Suicides and think it's hysterical yet many people look at me like I'm an idiot. I think that a dark, twisted sense of humor makes me more attractive. ;)

1. I cry easily.
2. I get riled up quickly.
3. I believe in things deeply and get aggravated with those who don't have any beliefs.
4. I am a Christian but have a big problem with organized religion.
5. I'm overweight.

It goes on and on....

[SarahB]

22. Yep!

1. I cry easily.
yes!
2. I get riled up quickly.
depends on how one defines riled up :7
3. I believe in things deeply and get aggravated with those who don't have any beliefs.
yes
4. I am a Christian but have a big problem with organized religion.
yes-- kind of given up on the whole "church thing" right now too, maybe I might go Unitarian, but I have zero motivation to do it right now
5. I'm overweight.
I used to be, then lost it and look better and fit in even less.

As for humor, no one gets anything I say it seems-- maybe my husband sometimes when he understands the vocabulary. It's like I'm in the wrong universe. But I should be happy, right? That's what I heard anyway.

[Jo March]

30. (Sobbing softly) My sister! Finally!

I knew that the one they've been trying to tell me is my real sister isn't! It's you. Hooray!

You need to read the following:
Bless Your Heart, Tramp
Kiss My Tiara
The Book of Bunny Suicides
Love Is Hell
Work Is Hell

All of these will make you howl with laughter!

I bet that I'd get your sense of humor, Babycakes!

I keep hearing that I should be happy, too. Fuck 'em. I ain't gonna.

[Wapsie B]

32. Same here.

1. I cry easily.
Yes depending on the situation I can get all teary-eyed. I have a lot of passion for the things that I believe in.

2. I get riled up quickly.

Depending on what is upsetting me.

3. I believe in things deeply and get aggravated with those who don't have any beliefs.

I just can't relate to those who's lot in life is to go to work, do as they're told, and question nothing, except maybe Democratic politicians.
Just so many droids around. And I don't go out of my way to fit in to a certain group or clique. Some would rather die than not fit in.

4. I am a Christian but have a big problem with organized religion.

Yes, agree in spades with this one.

5. I'm overweight.
Just starting that long lonesome road. Exercising 3-4 times a week, treadmill, free weights, pilates ball....cutting portion size and watching calories and carbs. God I want this soooo bad. I'm tired of this fat I carry around. 100# to go.

[Jo March]

33. So many Christians are leaving the church

According to some, we shouldn't be called "Christians" anymore. It's sad that churches have become such political beasts.

I don't know what it is about the crying thing. Man, I cry when I'm upset or mad so I usually cry a lot. I hate that!

Good luck on the weight thing. I've been on medication that causes me to gain weight. I've gained about 30 pounds since my dosage regulated. Now I'm about 60 pounds overweight.

I now have two sisters! (Hoping that you are a woman, bushwentawol. )

[Wapsie B]

50. No

I'm a guy arnheim. But I share your views about the church.

[AgadorSparticus]

43. my god, there are others like me. i was beginning to think that

there was just something wrong with me. i have tried like hell to blend in but i just don't fit. I think differently and I have a different type of humor most people don't appreciate. Sooo, i've become more secluded (maybe guarded?). I keep trying to blend in because it doesn't feel normal otherwise. But I wonder sometimes if life ever feels normal.

btw, i can completely relate to the "...but so and so is such a nice guy" response. sigh. people don't understand the intricacies of marriage...unless they are in the same boat which is why i completely know what you are talking about.

[flamingyouth]

17. My penchant for sitting home reading books

while everyone is/was out enjoying themselves. Also, I like to go out to eat by myself.

[Bertha Venation]

20. Introvert?

I sure am. Why that offends people, I'll never know, but it does. Their loss. They'll never know how much you're enjoying yourself. :)

[flamingyouth]

24. That's me too

It especially seems to bother my parents, for some reason.:shrug:

[Mara Steele]

34. Ha ha ha!!

I will change that second one, you pathetic loser!! :D

Once I live in your city, you will NEVER go out to eat alone again!!

BWAHAHAHA!!! :evilgrin:

[flamingyouth]

35. Cool!

Cafe Lago every night! You're paying! :evilgrin:

[Mara Steele]

37. Never been there!

Where's it by?

[flamingyouth]

39. It's on 24th Ave E

In the Montlake "shopping district" (LOL). It's expensive. Thanks for offering to take me there! :evilgrin:

[Mara Steele]

46. Anything for you, my dear!!

Of course, you DO know what is expected when someone buys you a pricey dinner, don't you??

:evilgrin:

[eyesroll]

38. I'm a reader, too...

books, magazines, Internet, you name it...and in many ways, I prefer the company of my online friends to that of my offline ones.

Case in point: Earlier this year, we attended two parties. One of them was a housewarming/birthday party for someone I've known since I was 4, and her husband who she'd been dating since she was 16. The second party was a housewarming hosted by RandomKoolZip -- I had met exactly no one in person, prior to that night, except for my own husband. I had a much, much better time with RKZ, prolesunited and a bunch of strangers than I did with my old friend. Nothing against her or her hospitality -- but I just didn't feel as comfortable.

I get tons of crap from my mom for that. I'm just being antisocial and there are all of these axe murderers, you know...

[flamingyouth]

40. I have social anxiety

I freak out before social events, but I often enjoy myself once I get there, as long as I'm among like-minded people. But I usually work myself up into a panic before going out.

Oh, there we go! Another of my wonderful traits! :D

[Moonbeam_Starlight]

54. I LOVE doing things by myself

browsing in a bookstore, going out to eat.....love it.

[MisterP]

19. 1.) to the left of Francisco Franco

2.) love animals
3.) uh...
4.) think Arthur C. Clarke philosophy is twaddle, but love the sciences

[MuseRider]

21. I can see in the future

being the little old lady the neighbors warn their kids not to hang around. I am odd and I LIKE being odd but it does sometimes keep people from getting to know how nice and fun I can really be. I just hope I can keep myself from becoming one of those cat ladies with more cats than litter boxes.

[Spider Jerusalem]

26. Um...I'm autistic.

I have Asperger's Syndrome. I tend to speak in a rather monotone voice, I don't look people in the eye when I'm speaking to them (I find it intensely uncomfortable to do so), I don't do very well with reading body language, and being around large groups of people is extremely stressful and under the right conditions (or should that be wrong?) can bring on sensory overload, which is more or less like a panic attack. I get afeeling of intense claustrophobia, shortness of breath, and the overwhelming need to get the fuck out of there immediately. I also find most ordinary conversations utterly pointless and screamingly dull, since they tend to be almost utterly content-free...most people seem to talk just to talk, rather than to actually SAY anything. And I find it pretty difficult to mask my emotions or go along politely just for social reasons...if I disagree with someone or am unhappy, they are going to know about it. I pretty much tend to be generally asocial and introverted.

Fortunately, at this point I care sweet fuck all about the opinions of most people. If they don't like me, it's not my problem.

[Mara Steele]

36. I'm a lesbian, and I drink cheap beer...

...go ahead, hate me now!!

:D

[last_texas_dem]

41. Several

1. I'm very shy. This has become harder for me as I've gotten older because I've slowly started to very much want to change that about myself, but it's easier said than done. I have a complicated sort of shyness anyway; for example, if in a situation where I'm with someone I don't know or have just met but have the opportunity to talk to just them, one-on-one, I may feel a little nervous and won't talk their ear off or anything, but I do alright. But, if you add in one more person I don't know well, I will essentially hand over the conversation to them and just become a listener. I won't talk or talk very little if I'm in a large group that has even one person in it that I don't know well, and, if in a group with people I don't know, I tend to direct all my conversation in the group to the person I'm the most comfortable with- and not even realize I'm doing it. I smile and laugh a lot and try to indicate to people that I care about what I have to say, so I think people tend to realize I'm just shy and not antisocial, but it still means I have fewer strong social relationships with people than most do, and less than I would like to have. Those are just a few examples of my shyness/anxiety that it seems will forever frustrate me.

2. I'm liberal. Coming from where I come from, especially with the friends I had in high school, you can often be the object of ridicule. Because I'm a southern white male from a middle-class background I have also been put on the spot because I'm not racist and not religious (I'm agnostic, but you may as well be a Satanist in the eyes of the fundie types).

3. I don't mind watching sports, but never feel a need to, and I've never been good at playing them. This is tougher to live with than it sounds...

4. I have pathetic direction sense, especially when driving. Most people are actually sympathetic about this, but a few are not.

5. I'm different. I'm who I am, which I'm sometimes proud of and sometimes very frustrated by. There's a constant battle in my head about where the line is drawn between trying to fit in and being true to myself-- and trying to figure out exactly whether I should try to eliminate undesirable qualities that really are my nature (the shyness, for example) or just accept them as a part of me. But more than my nature, simply what I like to do and what I'm interested in differs from most people. It causes you to feel alien and isolated from your peers more than it causes you to be ridiculed by them, but it's still not a comfortable experience. I just have so little in common with the white suburban southern Baptist mentality I've grown up around. In school, I never fit in with the outcasts (I wasn't "weird" in the right way) but definitely not with the popular or "normal" kids either. I had a group of friends, half of whom were "cool"- whom I had little in common with besides that we liked to hang out together, and half of whom were "nerds"- which the same is true of. But I'm just me- I'm into politics, history, music, reading, and just talking to my friends. I don't think I'm a conformist but I've never tried to rebel in the same way as others and be a "fashionable nonconformist." I'm a very openminded, tolerant, politically liberal person but I'm actually fairly conservative in how I live my own life, which it seems like few liberals can understand or identify with.

Anyway, I feel like I'm writing a diary entry or something here so I guess I'll stop. I guess these are the main things about myself that I've been ridiculed for. I think this a very interesting thread.

[jpgray]

44. Nothing. I'm that perfect

Seriously, I've been made the subject of fun once in a while like everyone else, but ridicule is a little too melodramatic a term for what I've experienced through childhood up to the present. I think ridicule has to have a real negative intent along with it, and I don't think I've ever experienced that.

[ChaoticSilly]

45. I'm an easy target

I have a beer belly.
I'm hairy.
I'm ugly.
I'm a geek.
I graduated 3rd in my high school class.
I'm extremely introverted.
I have absolutely no fashion sense.
I get nervous when talking & end up butchering my words.
I could go on with this list all day.

[InkAddict]

47. Your co-workers are NOT your friends

Something to consider while playing Truth or Dare when the boss is away.

[Ellen Forradalom]

48. here's my shot at it

didn't choose/can't fix:
I'm bipolar

did choose/won't change:
quit a job to take care of my dying dad

good thing I did for myself that makes people say, Good?! :
walked out of my last incredibly stupid job

didn't choose, but won't change to keep them happy:
I'm sensitive and won't put up with others' manipulation or mockery

did choose but don't really give a shit what my in-laws think:
buy stuff second-hand

[guitar man]

49. independent thought

I don't need preachers or AM radio wingnuts to tell me what to think and I research subjects instead of accepting what I am fed. Many family members are annoyed by this. I think deep down they are envoius that I have escaped a form of enslavement they are afraid to throw off.

[Flaxbee]

51. I'm kind of a pompous asshole, I think, though I really, really

don't mean to be.

I think I also probably come across as rude and/or condescending. Mostly I'm shy, but also have a bit of foot-in-mouth disease. But I wouldn't ever purposefully hurt someone's feelings (at least, not on the first meeting -- if they're an aggressive republican asshole, I'll do it, but then still feel bad later) and I try not to even kill flies or spiders or ants or anything. Just don't always come across real well.

[Cerridwen]

52. A couple I think of first

which have shown up here quite a lot.


I'm "too sensitive" - my father yelled this at me my entire life
A former boss told me to "not take things so seriously"

My sense of humor isn't universal; offends some, confuses others

I'm sometimes extremely shy; others think I'm aloof

I don't suffer fools lightly; and I'll say so

I seem to think of things that others miss. A friend was told me I had a knack for seeing the obvious. It was a compliment.

I'm "too independent"; from a former boyfriend "I didn't mean that independent."

Many more I'm sure.

These are mostly criticisms rather than ridicule; if that makes a difference.

[Moonbeam_Starlight]

53. I honestly don't know!

Does it have to be ridicule you are aware of? Because I am aware of very little to none.

My conservative friends used to ridicule me for being against bush and being a liberal until I kicked their asses in some hard-core debates (they don't even READ so it wasn't hard).

Hmmmm. I am dorky and goofy. But most people seem to like that.

[ikojo]

55. My responses

didn't choose/can't fix:
I'm not very femme. I've never worn makeup. I wear mostly polo type shirts and khaki pants. Not a very femme outfit but comfy.

didn't choose/can fix but won't do it according to accepted, "normal" methods:
I'm obese

did choose/won't change:
I forgive my mom for not being the mother I needed. Probably why I never wanted kids.

could fix but don't work much on:
I am a packrat.

[Red State Rebel]

56. Aside from the Gay thing, we could be sisters...hehehe!!!

We obese, messy, people are not alone!!!!

[WindRavenX]

59. I think and analyze too much

This has been my biggest social issue for as long as I can remember, but ever since going to college, it really has made an impact.
Like others have mentioned, I do like doing things alone: eating, going to Starbucks and reading for hours, writing poems and novels...
I cannot stop thinking.
It's like I'm working on my novel in my mind...I see people on the streets and subway, and start describing them and their fictional stories...
Weird?

[DemWitch]

60. me

didn't choose/can't fix:
Gay here...

didn't choose/can fix but won't do it according to accepted, "normal" methods:
Fat here (genetics do play a role, but also see below). Extreme softee when it comes to animals. Can't watch Animal Precinct without raging or sobbing incoherantly. Refuse to shut up when I think someone is being given the short end of the stick. Follow politics like most people follow sports. Most friends and family are just like "shut up".

good thing I did for myself that makes people say, Good?! :
Made peace and am good friend with my real Mom. Maintain excellent friendship with my ex.

did choose/won't change:
Witchcraft as my spirituality. My career working with the Developmentally Disabled. My friends.

could fix but don't work much on:
I smoke. I eat too much, exercise too little. Spend way too much money and am quite obsessive the care, comfort, entertainment, health about Kyra, my dog. Mom and Dad have been informed she is the closest thing to a Granddaughter they'll have... get used to it...

[kiahzero]

61. Large and archaic vocabulary

I'll use words that are generally labeled "Obselete" in the dictionary as a regular course of action without even thinking about it.

I'm also partly a computer science major - we aren't exactly well regarded.

That, and I'm a pagan deist, a group generally not well regarded by the religious right.

[SuffragetteSal]

62. short fat and a witch

sarcastic humor...oh wait that sounds something like a Roseanne Barr, which I have been accused of being like...ha...if I only had half her $$$. But seriously sometimes I think I am a cross between Ms. Barr and Kathy Bates...yeah that has earned me a bit of ridicule...but it's fine with me...I can take the heat yes indeed!

[Placebo]

63. I am the only person who ridicules ME...

I'm the one who calls myself fat, disgusting, repulsive, revolting, a loser, a freak, a pervert, a faggot, an asshole, lazy, selfish, uncaring, short, a spick, an idiot, one who deserves to have his head sucked off by a giant squid, one who needs his face ripped off etc...

I tell myself I am all those things, no one else does.

I wonder if anything is wrong with me?