WHAT BRISTLES MY BEARD - EPISODE 2

Am I the only person who keeps that one delusional friend on Facebook, who is so out of touch with reality, just to see what will escape from their thought locker? I mean, who doesn’t stare in perverse amazement of a gray matter train wreck? As much as I loathe the “full disclosure” friend, I secretly watch with one eye in bemused anticipation of what they will drop next.

I’m not quite sure what about this situation leaves me in a constant state of flux in regards to simply just removing them altogether. I think it’s the unequivocal certainty that I will miss them opening the Pandora’s Box of inexplicable absurdity. Perhaps I need a hobby, one that involves staying away from social media, something like pin stitching.

If you read my last blog, you may have noticed that misinformation, especially the downright fabrication of facts really clams my chowder. That delusional friend, when not talking about how the Illuminati is genetically modifying our corn in order to control us, is often spouting off about how his family has let him down, or how his friends really were never his friends. He is usually the one that is adamant that he dislikes drama and then calls out his ex on Facebook.

I admire the ability for one to be able to live inside a cocoon of narcissism. It would take quite a deal of dedication and unwavering ignorance to believe that everyone wants to know your personal business, your upsets, and how you feel about immigrants taking over this country on a daily basis. I, for one, yearn to digest a platter of views on burkas, turbans, women in the workforce, and why painting Pride colours on crosswalks is wrong.

It continually reinforces what I do not want to become as a person.

A fellow Dad Club London user, Jamie Donaldson, who is an absolute beauty, posted a video recently that discussed why tradespeople need to stopped being looked at as the cesspool of the working class. As I am a trades person myself, I found the video quite interesting, as it suggested that we are viewed as buffoons, idiots, and less than educated people.

The reality is many tradespeople are educated and highly motivated individuals. Some of us advance our careers with additional education in order to obtain academic recognition in the form of degrees and certifications. Not all of us fit the standard stereotype of foul mouthed abusive drunkards that consistently have our butt cracks exposed and have cinematic catch phrases like “Uh oh” or catcall at women relentlessly.

Unfortunately, the rest still fuel that stereotype that many believe. I personally know fully grown men that can’t count past potato, that are unable to complete a sentence without cussing, who have alcohol or drug problems, and who likely couldn’t tell you what the capital of Canada is. We still have those droves of men that talk about how annihilated the got the night before, dropping F-bombs, while they crank darts, as elderly women walk by along the sidewalk.

In order to dissolve the stereotype that society has developed of tradesmen, we must stop pointing fingers outward and clean up our act as a whole. It is much easier to deflect rather than deal, as with most situations in life, but we have no one to blame but ourselves. I refuse to paint myself as a victim because of the repugnant behaviours of those that I call my brethren.