Common Sense 101
Tags: amateur comedians, comedy, Saskatoon, stand-up comedy, The Stand-Up Diaries, trevor deanI realize I’ve only wrote one blog posting for this month so far, it might have something to do with my present living situation, or maybe I’ve just rambled on enough that I have ran out of topics. What I would like to do, I think, for this posting is to talk about being homeless and the types of reactions I have been getting from people.
I have had a wide range of reactions from friends when I mention that I am staying at the Salvation Army Men’s Shelter. Most of my friends are supportive, actually….the majority have been supportive of me in this phase of my life. My parents on the other hand, well, if they were worth talking about, I’d talk about them. But you notice I am not talking about them.
The friends who have reacted to my being at the Sally Ann fall into two categories. They are either supportive, or they judge and jump to conclusions. I realize that we live in a free country, and we’re able to state our opinions freely, but there is one thing that really pisses me off, that occured today from a discussion on my Facebook page.
If you are going to judge, at least be mature enough to get ALL of the facts before you pass judgement.
There was a post I made today that simply said it’s tough to make ends meet andbe able to save some money from working for $12/hr in today’s Saskatoon. Then this friend I know thinks she should “speak her mind” and tell me that most people do it because they live within their means.
I have a big problem with this for a few reasons. First of all, this is the type of person who is full of hot air, and likes to espouse her opinion because she thinks the world needs to hear it. That’s fine and dandy, but the problem with this is that she lacks the common sense or maturityto at least get ALL of their facts straight before they pass judgement upon me and my present circumstances. People who judge others without all of the facts are ignorant, lazy and useless wastes of skin in my opinion. This world of ours today is full of fear mongering and bullshit spinners who want to take only half of the story and spin it to suit their own agenda, or in this friends case, just to make herself feel important and useful.
Did this friend have the courtesy, common sense or maturity to ask me first about my situation? Nope. I then blocked her from my facebook. The world is full of enough negative people (my parents included) that I don’t need her useless bullshit, because that’s exactly what it is. Useless. Then she sends me a message on my comedy page and says that I shouldn’t block her because she is “speaking her mind.”
Let’s be clear here. There’s speaking your mind, then there is coming off sounding like a mouthy windbag who shoots first and asks questions later. I have zero respect for these type of people let alone no patience or energy required to talk to them. But, the good thing is that I wrote some new material based on this situation today. It will debut on Thursday.
So, let’s recap here. Before you decide to jump to conclusions and judge, get your head out of your ass and either be empathetic to the situation, or ask the questions you need to ask, to get the full picture before you pass judgement on me. Plus, the other thing is that every person who ends up at the Salvation Army has a story, and each one is different. For example, did you know that the Sally Ann is used by guys that come here from Alberta to work in the mines? The mining company pays their employees to put them up in a hotel, but they go to the Sally Ann and pay $80/week. They make money hand over fist, yet they stay there.
So as you can see, stories are different. Plus, if you want to judge me beofer you get all the facts straight, then have the guts to come to the Sally Ann and open your fat mouth to judge everyone else in there. I guarantee you that you won’t make any friends that way. Instead, you will get your ass kicked.
Lok, at the end of the day, I take ownership of the decisions that got me into this mess in the first fucking place. But here’s the thing…. I don’t consider this a “mess” to be in. I have a responsibility I feel to educate people on the homeless situation, and for me to be a name and a face to put to the Sally Ann as well. At the end of the day, people are usually receptive to the material. They ask questions first, and wish me well. Some of my friends are supportive and don’t ask many questions, figuring I will tell them about the situation in due time. Some ask questions to get a better understanding of the situation, but they still don’t pass judgement (to their credit).
Then there are some like this hot air balloon idiot chick (who used to be a friend), that likes to run their mouth without checking to make sure they have the story straight first. That’s an easy way to open yourself up to criticism….and believe me, if you looked at this chick, you’d see there is a lot to criticize about her. So in other words, nobody really has a right to sit there and judge others, even though we live in a free society like Canada. If you secretly are one of those people like Lisa who want to judge me, do yourself a favour and have a bit of class about it. Get the whole story, by asking questions. Sit and listen to the answers, then you can come to your own conclusions. Otherwise, don’t waste my time and stay out of my face.
Plus, if you talk to this person and tell her she is out of line, she is one of those who will just yell louder and get belligerent and rude just to make her point, because she thinks she is right.
Again, it’s all about common sense. Back in the day, the news media always made sure to get the entire story, all their facts straight before they reported the story. It’s called taking the common sensical, responsible and mature approach to things. Too bad everyone isn’t like that.