Fishing in the Corona age

[rps]

I went to the lake today. My boat has a broken trolling motor, but I went anyway. I fished without reward for a little more than four hours. I truly enjoyed myself. I know that at some point I will get this new lake figured out.

When I came in, I secured the boat, gathered my gear and headed to the car. I was wearing my mask in case I encountered another person.

There, at the junction of the walking ramp that leads up to the parking lot, stood three or four couples in ski outfits with three dozen rug rats. On top of that, a large extended family was coming down the walking ramp. The first group took forever to realize the second group could not pass.

As i stood there in mask with gray hair, the first group reassembled, blocking the way to the ramp.

I suppressed my natural reaction.

Finally. one of them noticed me waiting to pass. He said, "We need to move." Another said, "Why?"

As they finally moved, I lied to them. I said, "Thank you."

It felt like lye in my mouth.

 

[Jerry Rapp]

we have a place on black river that we visit during the summer.  Nice gravel bar.  I get it, people are going to use it.  But, the rudeness some of them possess is just amazing.  It seems like common courtesy is going away very fast.

[laker67]

1 hour ago, Jerry Rapp said:

we have a place on black river that we visit during the summer.  Nice gravel bar.  I get it, people are going to use it.  But, the rudeness some of them possess is just amazing.  It seems like common courtesy is going away very fast.

Ain't that the truth?

[Johnsfolly]

4 hours ago, Jerry Rapp said:

But, the rudeness some of them possess is just amazing.  It seems like common courtesy is going away very fast.

The age of entitlement is the degradation of common courtesy!

[rps]

1 hour ago, Johnsfolly said:

The age of entitlement is the degradation of common courtesy!

My older daughter, who I love dearly, has an opinion on everything. She works as the teacher training/curriculum writing person for a Mass. charter school. She informed me some years ago that what I say and do is "colored by white and male privilege." She did not laugh when I pointed out that white was the absence of color, and it wasn't my fault I was a male.

In the years since I have come to realize she was correct, but only in my unconscious thoughts and actions. This point applies to my incident yesterday and JF's comment several ways. The maskless friends and kids unconsciously know they are immortal. They know they are the top of the food chain. (The marina where I have a slip makes Big M look like a lower middle class neighborhood. I actually wish there were some place where my little boat fit in better.) And their world ends at the end of their nose. If you confront them, they would deny they act as they do. In fact, I am sure they would be offended.

Reflection on one's place in the world comes from hardship, and, to a certain extent, the maturity derived from that experience. My parents, like so many of you, lived in and through the Great Depression, WWII, and Korea. Those experiences gave them a perspective well beyond their own nose. They raised me, and most of you, with the goal of our never having to face things of such nature. By instinct, they conformed to certain standards, not all of which were good or healthy.

Their children, me included, only had to deal with VN, and that did not affect near so many in grave ways. We raised our children from our perspectives. The people we raised have perspectives that differ from ours and would be unrecognizable by our parents. One of the most notable aspects of their perspectives is the oblivious lack of empathy or regard for others, the failure to act unconsciously with regard for others.

I realize I have used stereotypes and sweeping generalizations in my comments above. Consider it a personal framework of how I think of the world. That framework was what I used when I taught character along with content.

I use different words than entitlement. I would use unconscious privilege.

BTW, no offense is intended to anyone and the views expressed are not necessarily those of the management.

[Johnsfolly]

51 minutes ago, rps said:

One of the most notable aspects of their perspectives is the oblivious lack of empathy or regard for others, the failure to act unconsciously with regard for others.

My line managers/supervisors often lack empathy when they feel that their voice or thoughts are not being heard to their specifications. Getting them to see another person's point of view or understand that person's circumstances can be and often is one of my bigger challenges in this new lab.

[rps]

43 minutes ago, Johnsfolly said:

My line managers/supervisors often lack empathy when they feel that their voice or thoughts are not being heard to their specifications. Getting them to see another person's point of view or understand that person's circumstances can be and often is one of my bigger challenges in this new lab.

I hear you. I instinctively knew I was not well suited for the corporate/business world. I do not suffer fools gladly, I have always been impatient with delay, especially if it derives from fear of being wrong, and I have an unfortunate tendency to speak my mind. It seemed to me those traits should be utilized elsewhere. So I became a paid a******. 😁