Hand me the Goo-Gone

Recently I got behind this guy:

and expressed on Facebook how disturbed I get by the willingness of a person committed enough to Jesus to put a Jesus fish on one side of his bumper to spout unprovoked venom on the other side of it. If you can't read it, it says, "I may be fat but you're ugly and I can diet."  When I got behind him on the other side of town AGAIN I figured that was because there was something I needed to address.  Before you worry, I didn't wave my arms and ask him to stop so we could talk (although that wouldn't be the worst idea maybe).

Ever since I was old enough to notice, inconsistencies between word and deed have driven me bonkers.  I remember wondering why my teachers was SCREAMING at us to BE QUIET.  Hmm.... I think that phrase, "Do as I say, not as I do" was a response to a kid very similar to myself.  Surely I am not the only person who spends the day drowning in these sorts of inconsistencies though.  Does the person who smacks her kid to get him to stop smacking his sister appeal to you? Or maybe you roll your eyes at the young drama queen who always professes how she despises drama.  One of my favorites is the bully's parent who plants himself in the school office to chastise the school for allowing his darling's feelings to be injured by a kid who finally pushes back. There's the gossip disguised as a prayer request and the absent relative who always claims at Christmas that there's nothing more important than family and I'm not even talking about MY inconsistencies.  Those involve food and gossip and all manner of bad behavior, but I'll let you use your imagination.

I'm sure that bumper shouldn't have gotten under my skin.  BUT, even in a small town, what are the chances that I will get behind the same vehicle, within days, on opposite sides of town, when we are from two different counties?  Made me think that there was more to consider.  Maybe inconsistency is not what I'm supposed to write about on this.

Just the other day I wrote about things I hope Olivia learns and I mentioned that I'd love for her to regularly CONTRIBUTE to the world, either through an actual creation of some work product (like writing, art, paperclip inventions) or even through an kind act towards someone.  When I see a sarcastic bumper sticker or smart ass t-shirt I wonder why this person chooses to contribute by spewing venom into the world rather than something helpful or even memorable.  It's not like I even did anything to deserve being called ugly (not to him anyway) and his pronouncement before we've even met guarantees that we probably won't end up being BFF's (YOUR LOSS BIG GUY!).

Is this kind of snarky contribution attractive because it's easier than creating something positive? Maybe.  I do think it's much easier to point out what's wrong than to imagine how to make something right.   It appears the object is to out-smart-ass each other day after day after day.  Check my Facebook feed and you'll see I'm so guilty I should do jail time and I confess that lately I'm weary of it.  When I try it, I get the same blowback that the driver probably gets, not the warmth and camaraderie I hope to generate.  

I think our driver's venom is a lot like my own - it's a taking more than a giving. It's about taking the cheap, quick route to attention, a mistaken attempt at humor that slides into rudeness and sends people running in the opposite direction instead.  Thank goodness I don't do it in regard to politics. This stuff is not a contribution at all - it's an awful, awful misdirection. For instance, the driver is hoping, when he steps out, that you will think what a funny guy he is instead of what an unhealthy and overweight person he is (he's already warned you of his weight problem in his sticker).  I don't think he's a funny guy at all.  I only think what a miserable experience his life must be if he greets everyone with this offense and outside of using some of that miracle substance called Goo-gone, I'm not sure I even have a solution.  Assuming he's not joking about it, he's got JESUS RIGHT THERE on that bumper if he needs help.

You know that if I find myself behind him a third time I'm going to take it as a real sign that I need to get to know this man. I fully intend to wave my arms and invite him to a sit-down at Starbucks so that I can ask him all about it.  He's going to find me so pleasant that I'm going to get him to put in writing that he doesn't think I'm ugly. Keep you posted.