(Okay, this is a pretty big rant post about humans. Guess it was one of those weeks.)
That’s been my week due to exhaustion and weird health blips. I became so worn down by Monday evening that all attempts to edit were met with blank staring. I did manage to get one page of Darwin & the Beast Collector done. Hopefully, I can recover and get the rest of the chapter done this weekend. Need fresh air badly, so I’ll be taking a bunch of walks for Pokemon, my health, and socializing. Might not be enough to ward off the fatigue, but fingers crossed.
That’s if this is even fatigue. The whole experience is strange. I wake up feeling ‘odd’, but my blood-oxygen, pulse, and blood pressure are typically normal. Once I had really high BP for a minute after waking up in a panic. So, this could be anxiety, which wasn’t helped by me accepting a glass of wine last night. Ugh, I don’t drink much these days, but I still need to say no more consistently. Anyway, I did my best to rest when I could, but there were a lot of stressors.
First, it was a week long ‘Battle of the Classes’ at work, so a bunch of activities were going on. It’s a lot of fun, but the kids I work with can have trouble. Schedules are changed, so all of us are thrown off. I even found myself suffering from a little overstimulation, which is why walks after work were necessary. Next week won’t be as crazy, but we still have 4 to go before reaching spring break. I’m trying really hard not to succumb to whatever is beating me up because I don’t want to take a day off aside from a personal day in April. I don’t know why I’m determined to do so, but I am. Maybe it’s to make sure I don’t lose money even though I have enough sick days. Not making much extra money, which is also why I’m trying to convince people to give me Lego giftcards for my birthday in April.
I’m also tired of dealing with selfish people who see being fair as them being victimized and screwed. Maybe I give off a pheromone that attracts narcissists because the amount of people I’ve run into this year with this mentality is insane. Did I miss a memo where everyone is out for themselves? I’m typically down and feeling like the universe is out to get me, but these people are the types to punch you in the face and call you a monster for their knuckles getting bruised. They’ll pull a stunt and shriek in rage when you give them a taste of their own medicine. Exhausting to deal with such people.
Third, I’m also tired of . . . Okay, this might piss some people off. I’m tired of people who think empathy is a weakness and caring about fellow humans who aren’t from your ‘tribe’ is wrong. These are the same people who applaud while watching the rich and powerful turn people against each other and act like barely cloaked monsters. Why? Because the groups being targeted aren’t the same ones they hate primarily for existing or voicing a different opinion. The amount of times I’ve been insulted, ridiculed, and faced with anger by stating you should care about certain groups or that a person’s favorite billionaire is clearly a bad person is crazy. Even worse, I sometimes see kids emulating the public displays of rudeness and cruelty because the powerful are doing it with applause instead of consequences.
That was as vague as I could make it since I know a few people who watch this blog and will come at me in real life. Some probably will even if I’m not talking about them. Ugh, I don’t even know where to go from here.
Next week doesn’t have a going on, but I might be able to get a little editing in on Wednesday or Thursday. I still bring a chapter with me to work in case I’m the only one without a coverage at some point. Can’t edit when other people are around because I feel it might be rude. Definitely not a good idea this week because this is the hump for the stretch between winter and spring break. 3 weeks down and then 3 weeks left after this one, which is going to be grueling. On the plus side, the weather looks nice enough for most of the afternoons to give me some walking time after work. That’s been helping with my mood in spite of the exhaustion.
So, what are the goals of the week?
- Edit more of Darwin & the Beast Collector
- Daily walks . . . That came out weird.
- Helping son with homework and life stresses.
- Do a few May posts.
- Puzzle time.
- Continue planning dinners for a period of time I have the house to myself.
- Try to avoid the above stressors. I know one of them is unavoidable.
- Sleep better.
- Finish watching ‘Invincible’.
Legends of Windemere 
We live in troubled times. I have basically become a hermit. It’s not bad, and I like the hours.
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Too bad hermitage doesn’t pay or have benefits.
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Benefits would be great as a hermit.
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It is infuriating how some people think empathy is some sort of weakness and the current climate in this country definitely has not helped. I’ve seen some people who I know are immigrants and refugees get legitimately scared even if they aren’t going anything wrong. It also angers me when people get free passes for bad behavior just because of people on top getting away with it, and I’m sorry to hear that you’ve seen children emulate those behaviors. I even get frustrated when people say I’m over analyzing, I should “not bring up the past” when mentioning atrocities, or people minimize these historical facts about various groups even if I’m right.
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I know people who are terrified too. Some are citizens as well, but worry that their papers can be negated. I’ve gotten the ‘in the past’ argument too. Another is how the horrible things a famous/rich person does isn’t a sign that they’re a bad leader. Guy cheats on every wife he’s had? Apparently that’s not a sign he’d be disloyal to others. It’s only said for their ‘team’ too.
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Same here regardless of citizenship status. That or the ones whose families came from other countries worry and rightfully so. I get the frustration how rich and famous people get carte Blanche and people think these negative actions are okay as long as they don’t hurt someone like them even if they do despite them not noticing it.
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There’s another mentality I’ve noticed too. People are okay with rich people doing bad things to others because they expect to be rich one day. It’s rather telling that they won’t hold the powerful accountable because they would commit the same sins if they could.
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Sorry for the delayed response. Glad I’m not the only one who’s noticed that about that kind of behavior when rich people do it.
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I think more people notice than we realize. There’s a common sense of helplessness when rich people do these things.
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Good point. I didn’t think about that helplessness, but I can see why people would feel that way.
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I’m beginning to despair, too, Charles. It’s not as bad here as in the US, but when the Labour party, which has always stood up for workers and fairness, is cutting welfare benefits, it shows we’re not so far behind.
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It’s getting scary. Seems a lot of countries are sliding towards these actions. Just don’t understand how hurting the majority of people struggling to survive is now a popular trend.
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There are a lot of people who think like we do, Charles. Sadly, those others shout louder, and the few who are ‘on the fence,’ or are uneducated, think that they should go with them.
It happened here in the UK with Brexit. A very close vote. Only 4% difference. But the Remain group didn’t run a good campaign, while the ‘Leave’ people peppered everyone with lies.
People believed those lies without any thought.
£350m a WEEK they said would go to the NHS if we left the EU. Anyone who thought for a few seconds would ask, ‘Where is such a vast sum coming from?’
The answer to the problem, of course, is education. Not education as it is now, but a new kind that teaches people to think for themselves. In the UK it tends to be the opposite and rewards ‘Do as I say and you’ll pass the exam.’
Independent thought? No. That might upset the status quo and cause problems for those currently ‘on top.’
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I remember reading about the Brexit stuff. People ended up looking it up after voting for it. Similar to people looking up tariffs and other things after voting for Trump. As far as campaigns go, it always baffles me when one is openly saying they will do bad things, but the other side loses because they aren’t doing a ‘good job getting their point across’. It’s like we aren’t allowed to believe our eyes anymore.
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Maybe we’re more aware of the attacks on empathy because as teachers we rely on it so much. However, I would say you are not alone and many people are also infuriated at seeing basic humanity being described as some kind of sin.
If they don’t like it here, maybe they should go back to their despotic home countries.
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Maybe, but I know many non-teachers who notice as well. It’s more that I’m seeing people actively speak out against caring for others who aren’t like them. It’s disguised as nationalism and patriotism, which reminds me of some historical events.
With them going elsewhere, all the people I’ve heard talk about it are American born and bred. This is their home country.
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But most people who consider themselves ‘Americans’ are descendants of immigrants. That’s the irony of it.
It’s the same everywhere, though. In the UK, from time immemorial there have been waves of immigration. The Celts came from Europe, then the Romans, Anglo Saxons and people from Scandinavia. The Normans then came. The Dutch to drain the marshes of East Anglia etc.
But it’s more obvious in the USA. It was a safe place for many to escape persecution and poverty. Now the descendants of those people are hating immigrants.
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Yeah. The descended from immigrants thing never registers with some people. Just makes them angry at times.
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I’m so ready for Spring break! Four weeks and counting.
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Feels a long ways away.
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Yup.
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