Post what you are thinking right now, part two

[Walkie]

my latest little post just got me thinking about a pair of middle-class friends of mine, that I fell out with a couple of years back. Well, not fell out with , exactly. It's just that i felt too glum after my last visit to return as planned . And now it suddebly strikes me that i never sent them a Christmas card this year, nor even let then know that I;ve moved , and passed on my new address. And I'm not at all sure that I want to put that right

It's not that they're remainers , exactly. I will happily overlook political differences. It's that they voiced the opinion that Brexiteers are all racists. And  they  followed that up with the observation that they had some very nice Polish people as well as Pakistanis  living in their neighbourhood, and how much they enjoyed the multicultural vibe, just as if that were relevant to the question in hand (which concerned the Housing Crisis, at that point in the conversation) .  And these are really intelligent people, which made it all the more depressing.

I would probably have swallowed my sense of offense at being casually put down as racist, and got over that.  But then,   after changing the subject, and chatting away for an hour or so about more agreeable topics, we got on to talking about Asperger's and one of them suddenly chimed in with  "We're all on the spectrum, arent we "

Huh. Well, maybe that was supposed to reassure me that we have  something in common. But, somehow,  it had the polar opposite effect.  Never felt so roundly dismissed in my life.

PS. oh! and hark at me, calling them ""middle-class friends"  when i would normally, much more warmly,  call them "very old friends whom I've known since my schoodays"  at which point in time i never understood, nor even noticed those  class distinctions.  Even now, I dont consider it especially meaningul, normally.  That must be my óngoing sense of alienation talking, eh?  *sigh *

[Walkie]

seriously. I don't think I've ever used "middle-class" as a term of disenchantment before. Huh, i'd better watch that. And maybe should apologise the middle-class folk amongst our membership, for misappropriating that term.    i don't have a down on anybody on that account.

[Minister Of Silly Walks]

Don't worry, I am well and truly middle class and I don't take offence. Well, upper middle bogan would be a better description.

I hate that "we're all on the spectrum" crap. And it's often propagated by people who actually are on the spectrum.

[Walkie]

I had to look up "bogan"". Turns out its an aussie word

cashed up bogan (plural cashed up bogans) (Australia) A person who is unsophisticated or of a lower class background but achieving a high salary, who spends money on flashy or trashy items to fulfil their aspirations of higher social status.

is this about right? 

I hate that "we're all on the spectrum" crap. And it's often propagated by people who actually are on the spectrum.

Yeah, i spotted that on the top of a list of things not to say to an autie, so my reaction evidently isnt unusual.  But I'm finding it hard to pin down exactly why it's so offensive.  Disconfirmation of one's very real, and not inconsiderable,  sense of being an outsider? and all the bullying and crap that goes along with that?

[Walkie]

This just leapt out at me from the Newsbox:

Health tip #112: Never ask a woman who is eating ice cream straight from the carton how she is doing

Eek! unusually, that;s exactly what I was doing 2-3 fdays back... whilst watching TV by myself.
And there was I thinking I was doing OK

Well, anyway this is the icecream in question:


and it is absolutely freaking gorgeous, especially the raspberry ripple and the two (aargh!  three but i haven't yet tried the first one) chocoloate varieties

Luckily for my tastebuds, and unluckily for my wallet, it's the only icecream i know of, that gets round all my food sensitivities.

I try to reserve it for special occasions and/or guests.  But this week, i failed

[sg1008]

WHAT IS THIS MAGIC??? (referring to the dairy free delicious looking icecream)

[Minister Of Silly Walks]

I had to look up "bogan"". Turns out its an aussie word

cashed up bogan (plural cashed up bogans) (Australia) A person who is unsophisticated or of a lower class background but achieving a high salary, who spends money on flashy or trashy items to fulfil their aspirations of higher social status.

is this about right? 

I hate that "we're all on the spectrum" crap. And it's often propagated by people who actually are on the spectrum.

Yeah, i spotted that on the top of a list of things not to say to an autie, so my reaction evidently isnt unusual.  But I'm finding it hard to pin down exactly why it's so offensive.  Disconfirmation of one's very real, and not inconsiderable,  sense of being an outsider? and all the bullying and crap that goes along with that?

No. I dress like a houso. Some of my clothes embarrass my wife so much that she throws them away while I'm at work. I'm just a bogan with a middle class lifestyle (brick 2 storey house in the suburbs, 2 cars, occasional nice holidays).

(Words like bogan and houso are not offensive, at least not among people I know. Not like "redneck" or "chav").

[Jack]

I hate that "we're all on the spectrum" crap. And it's often propagated by people who actually are on the spectrum.

Yeah, i spotted that on the top of a list of things not to say to an autie, so my reaction evidently isnt unusual.  But I'm finding it hard to pin down exactly why it's so offensive.  Disconfirmation of one's very real, and not inconsiderable,  sense of being an outsider? and all the bullying and crap that goes along with that?

It's offensive because it's dismissive. Everyone is a little of multiple disorders; that's normal and it's not disabling.

[Jack]

seriously. I don't think I've ever used "middle-class" as a term of disenchantment before. Huh, i'd better watch that. And maybe should apologise the middle-class folk amongst our membership, for misappropriating that term.    i don't have a down on anybody on that account.

No worries. I don't talk to my old lower class friends anymore either.

[Walkie]

No. I dress like a houso. Some of my clothes embarrass my wife so much that she throws them away while I'm at work.

That is  a joke, I hope?
I wouldn't think you'd put up with that. I know I wouldn't.

[Walkie]

seriously. I don't think I've ever used "middle-class" as a term of disenchantment before. Huh, i'd better watch that. And maybe should apologise the middle-class folk amongst our membership, for misappropriating that term.    i don't have a down on anybody on that account.

No worries. I don't talk to my old lower class friends anymore either.

Yet  you still talk to proles like me. I guess I'm honoured 

[Icequeen]

Oh hell, I'm some yard sale, trash picking gypsy flying around incognito in an faded pickup that looks like it belongs to the lawn crew (that we don't have) when it's parked in the driveway.

The neighbor to one side of me collects $$ collectibles and buys a new car every 2 years, the other has a closet for her furs and a brand new beamer.

I'd sell it in a heartbeat and become some van dwelling vagabond if my son was settled as to where he wants to be in live. I'm part of the drop out and don't give a damn class.

[Queen Victoria]

Oh hell, I'm some yard sale, trash picking gypsy flying around incognito in an faded pickup that looks like it belongs to the lawn crew (that we don't have) when it's parked in the driveway.

The neighbor to one side of me collects $$ collectibles and buys a new car every 2 years, the other has a closet for her furs and a brand new beamer.

I'd sell it in a heartbeat and become some van dwelling vagabond if my son was settled as to where he wants to be in live. I'm part of the drop out and don't give a damn class.

I'm in a bit of a similar situation.  The PR's mental/emotional state can turn on a dime.  Finding help who understands her would be nigh impossible when traveling.  And Medicaid doesn't cover things outside the state.  Glad I did my traveling when I was in my 20's.  Just wish I had the Internet back then to learn about places.

[Jack]

seriously. I don't think I've ever used "middle-class" as a term of disenchantment before. Huh, i'd better watch that. And maybe should apologise the middle-class folk amongst our membership, for misappropriating that term.    i don't have a down on anybody on that account.

No worries. I don't talk to my old lower class friends anymore either.

Yet  you still talk to proles like me. I guess I'm honoured 

That was a joke. As if I have friends.

[Minister Of Silly Walks]

No. I dress like a houso. Some of my clothes embarrass my wife so much that she throws them away while I'm at work.

That is  a joke, I hope?
I wouldn't think you'd put up with that. I know I wouldn't.

One of my friends hooked up with a lady who was 39 and desperate to have a baby after a series of failed relationships with the sort of guys she was actually attracted to. So she hooked up with my "different" friend who owns a nice house and doesn't blow his money on fast cars, clothes, and trying to impress women.

He was packing up his stuff and getting ready to rent out his house in Sydney and move to her new house about 2 hours outside Sydney. She drove down and went through his clothes and threw out all the stuff that was too embarrassing. Ancient shirts with yellow stains around the collar and armpits.

He waited until she had driven off and he went to his rubbish bin and pulled out all the old clothes. Then the next day he drove up to see her wearing some of the clothes that she had thrown out the day before.

And you can imagine how that went down. He was telling me later that he couldn't understand why she was so angry with him for wearing a shirt that was still perfectly good apart from being a bit threadbare and yellow around the armpits and collar, and some old tracksuit pants with a few holes and tears.


My wife isn't that bad. I think in the past 10 years she has thrown away one jacket. We had a couple of incidents early on in our relationship where she threw my stuff away because it was embarrassing her or because it was old and I was displeased and made sure she understood that it was not acceptable to me. These days she mostly just tries to encourage me to dress a little more presentably.