Monday, October 10, 2005

Arrogance of youth

What is about being young that leads people to be so blindly arrogant to what is around them?

I should start by saying that my definition of young has expanded quite a bit in recent times. I would now almost automatically include most people under 27. Prior to this point, I would have thought it was just the under 20s that ticked me off. It is odd, since in many ways I continue to believe I can relate and talk with young people, (Christ what am I like referring to ‘young people’, perhaps it’s a sign of impending middle age.) What I think I mean is that I’m reasonably lacking in some aspects of maturity and so share many of the interests and motivations of people younger than myself. However, I’m beginning to wonder if I’m not forcing the youthfulness. I can't do the arrogance. It is just a fact of being aware of my own failings sufficiently that arrogance doesn't work anymore. I have the slippers, perhaps the pipe is next.

In parallel, there seems to be so much spite and petty vindictiveness about and it’s so negative. It’s all fun and games being a tad bitchy once in a while, but it is so morale sapping if that is all you get up to. True, some are just naturally up themselves, Mocking Birds for example. Yet there are others who I suspect are playing up to it. And what for exactly? Is no one supportive anymore?

Of course, without that arrogance many people would never attempt the things that later come to mean so much them. Yet, it is an attitude that continues to rankle with me.

I saw the 'killer driver' today, he was stopped outside the Groody apartments so he must be a local. Have to drop into the local cops and report that. Also, Laune Rangers set up a semi-final meeting with Dr. Crokes of Killarney. Mike Frank against Gooch, should be interesting.

Interesting quote in the IT today, in a article about Harold Pinter's 75 birthday. It concerns Michael Gambon who left Dublin age 6.

"Gambon was born in a house in the city too, but still "loves Dublin". As a boy he accompanied his father to Camden town in London and once asked him why so many Irish lived there.

"It was as far as we we could carry the cases," was the explanation."

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

You should also report the driver to the Motor Insurers Bureau - they have specific reporting procedures about dangerous driving. If you wish to share the reg plate details - a little birdie could do some interesting work delving into records and find out lots and lots of interesting facts.

Not that I would know anything about such birdies.

Is mise le meas

PS : If you do feel yourself to be approaching middle age in the same way that trains approach the Hatfield Junction then perhaps you should cut your hair, get a job and just take up whinging on a professional basis like the rest of us old f*ckers (mgb immediately springs to mind for some reason).

Apologies for invading your blog but I like to read about the people that I sometimes slag off in my own, I mean mgb's blog ....

Stay safe young/old/inbetween man

Is mise le meas aris

mgb said...

I resent the implications that I may end up getting a job or that I am old.

Funnily enough I'm happy with the accusation of whinging on a professional basis.

Anonymous said...

You spend far too much time thinking Dan - and don't use age as an excuse. Some people just do and unfortunately that doesn't always mean "it". As for actually stating the reg online, well, I have made interweb mistakes, some of a monumental nature, but that is asking for trouble.

If you really want to irritate a car owner, there are a number of avenues open to you :
- reporting the car stolen
- dousing the vehicle in undiluted washing up liquid or any detergent that is inherently transparent
- send in a spurious claim to the drivers insurance company (all details available on the windscreen disc)
- lob a tin of beans at the car as you whizz by (assuming the tin is unopened and preferably frozen overnight)
- and let's never forget splashing some blood on the front bumper (for light coloured vehicles).... (ask me no questions and I will tell you no lies...)

Right, I'm out of here

Is mise le meas

PS : Mike - you are a whinging boll*x but you seem to work on a pro bono basis, you should sort that out

Unknown said...

I have the reg (now removed), actually I've seen the bloke around and it seems he lives at the end of the road. I've been tempted to consider cycling past with a tin of beans and lobbing them at the windscreen.

I did have a job and paid my taxes all through. mgb would be one of the older folks around here, though that still leaves him much younger than I. I suppose in part, it's that many people act as if they are older and have more life experience than they actually do, and every once in a while I'm reminded how young they are.