So...You Have Six Friends
Ya'll agree on who the good people are and who the bad people are, the best TV programs, the cars and trucks you like, and, of course, politics.
Talking to your friends about politics is pretty enjoyable. If you're a Democrat, ya'll can go on for hours about how wonderful they are, and if you're a Republican, you can go for hours in a similar fashion. If you're an undecided, what's wrong with you?
While sitting around the kitchen table, I can hear you six nice Democrat folks commenting that you'd like to snatch that wig off of Trump's head or Trump is a dictator or the Republicans are viciously mean people or Republicans hate Blacks, Hispanics, and especially homosexuals, and, oh yeah, women.
While sitting around the kitchen table, I can hear you six nice Republican folks commenting that Obama was the worst President ever, or that Hillary was a terrible candidate or that the leadership of the Democrat Party is composed of fools and idiots and that they all want open borders and for the government to give them something.
Now I know damned well that I'll never change a single mind by offering facts and reason, but I do have a warning for you and your six friends.
I call it the “six friends at the kitchen table” syndrone. Not very catchy but the best I can do for the time being. Henceforward, I'll refer to this as SFKT which makes it sound more official.
SFKT explains a lot of what's going on in our world today…you know, the stupid stuff people say and do in public. Although your remarks at the kitchen table may be incredibly stupid, no one cares because your friends are just as stupid as you are and, naturally, agree with you. By the way, six relatives is not the same as six friends---they seldom agree about anything.
Case in point: Stephanie Wilkinson harassed and kicked out of her restaurant, The Red Hen, Sarah Sanders because she is the White House press secretary. Stephanie, Stephanie, Stephanie, you may have been in your kitchen, but you weren't with your friends: you were in public. You may have noticed since your actions against Mrs. Sanders and her family that it was not universally greeted as a wonderful act. There are consequences for saying and doing foolish stuff in public.
Case in Point: Henry Fonda's son, Peter, a fellow old enough to be my older brother and should know better, tweeted that Barron Trump, the President's son, should be “ripped” from his mother and put in a “cage with pedophiles.” Now I think we can all agree that his tweet, a public forum, was not only stupid but also…very stupid. Now I'm sure Peter talks that way all the time with his six friends in Hollywood---which is fine---but Peter said this in public. Peter, ya got to be aware of where you are…dumbass.
Roseanne, Roseanne, Roseanne. You forgot where you were when you tweeted a comparison between Valerie Jarrett and The Planet of the Apes. Tweets are public. You were not at the kitchen table. Your friends may have laughed, but NBC and most of America didn't laugh. I'm going to miss Roseanne.
Oh my goodness, Maxine Waters. Encouraging the Democrats to harass Trump administration officials is insane and a little dangerous. Go back to talking with your six friends over a cup of coffee. Don't grab a microphone and jump on a soap box and shout out in public what you're thinking and have been sharing with your six friends. I don't think most of the public nor your fellow congressmen thought your public thoughts were smart or helpful.
Now these are just recent stupid, foolish, and regrettable things said in public which, at best, should have been shared with the six good buddies.
This paragraph is for the older readers only. If you don't recognize the quotes, ask an older man or woman. “Lay back and enjoy it.” “I've now been to 57 states.” “I've commited adultery in my heart many times.” “I took the initiative in creating the internet.” “When the President does it, that means it's not illegal.”
Holy crap, guys. Save these remarks for your close buddies. Don't say this stuff in public.
The problem with speaking only with our six friends is that just because our six friends agree with us we get to thinking that everyone must agree with us. Wrong!
I've watched this scenario play out on the local scene many times. I won’t name names, but I suspect you know who you are.
It's quite apparent that SFKT is alive and well in America, but there are solutions. The overriding solution is not to just listen to your six friends. There is a big world out there with lots of opinions that aren't the same as yours. Even if you don't agree, talk to them. They may be idiots but the practice may save you from saying something incredibly stupid in public.
So many folks unfriend people on Facebook because they don't agree with them. When one unfriends me, I beg him or her to come back. I want to know what they're thinking and what they're up to. Get your face out of your cellphone. You'll never know if your thoughts are appropriate for the public arena without speaking to the public in the...arena…oh, yeah, you might also listen.
Although I know that liberals are idiots, you'll not find me saying this in public. I say this to my cats because I don't have six friends…very sad, very sad.
enough