Fat kid and stuff .....mental issues?

[Wapaloosie73]

When I was young I was the fat kid. Plus we was poor and I had to wear tough skin jeans with patches to school. I got called every name in the book. Sometimes I would get into fights because kids were slapping my head or knocking books out of my hands. My mom said I would go out and then up. Out and then up. I broke 5 ft in the forth grade and 6 ft in the eighth grade. Later I played football with a lot of these kids and become good friends.

 

We also had a ranch. Lots of firewood to cut, fence to fix, cows to doctor....pink eye and mastitis being common, horses to ride, etc. Our bull threw me through a fence one time and I was hanging upside down by barb wire. My dad came and untangled me. I still have the large scar on the back on my arm.

 

My dad had a moving company. When I was 13 years old I was stronger than most of his crew. My baby fat had evaporated and I was big and muscular. I was on the end of a grand piano helping dad at this time. Learned a complete profession from my father. Two actually.... Truck driving and furniture moving. My back is talking to me now. Kids were expected to help their parents!

 

As an adult I was married at 19 and had my first daughter at 21. By now I was a 6’3” 250 lbs mover in a uniform. And mostly wives and women handle the move as the man has already gone ahead and reported for duty or work. I cannot tell you how many times I have been groped, squeezed, pinched, patted, etc by older women. They were also good tippers sometimes too. I was also polite, maybe a little red faced and a few times had to be a little forceful. I guess that’s a plus being a man is that if it got out of hand I could take the bull by the horns. But then if you pissed them off they could complain about the move. And well manure rolls down hill. It was a prickly situation sometimes.

 

Anyhow I’m not explaining nothing new to you all. I think I’m pretty grounded mentally.

 

My question is, I see teenage kids these days that act like what they are experiencing is a new and very serious problem. Whether it’s racism, sexism or some other “ism”.  They just cannot get past it and move on? I’ve got four good kids. But some of my nieces and nephews? Still living at home with “issues”.

 

Why? What’s different? Thoughts?

 

 

[Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984]

Well, back in the times of the Roman Empire, 2000 years ago more or less, Pliny the Elder wrote about problems with the younger generation.

[Dantankerous]

Once upon a time we were taught to overcome our problems and work hard to succeed. Today kids AND adults are being taught to be victims.

 

Political Correctness is the mental illness.

 

 

[Irish Tom]

Once upon a time, women used to grope me too. Those were the good old days.

 

 

 

Irish Tom

[Sedalia Dave]

The difference is that when you weren’t at school you could escape the teasing. 

With kids hooked on social media they are bombarded 24-7-365. 

 

 

[Wapaloosie73]

2 hours ago, Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984 said:

Well, back in the times of the Roman Empire, 2000 years ago more or less, Pliny the Elder wrote about problems with the younger generation.

 

What kind of problems? Was it parallel to us?

[Wapaloosie73]

2 hours ago, Dantankerous said:

Once upon a time we were taught to overcome our problems and work hard to succeed. Today kids AND adults are being taught to be victims.

 

Political Correctness is the mental illness.

 

 

 

I agree. But why? Is it just progress and a easy life? Or is it some diabolical scheme to bring the US down?

[Wapaloosie73]

1 hour ago, Sedalia Dave said:

The difference is that when you weren’t at school you could escape the teasing. 

With kids hooked on social media they are bombarded 24-7-365. 

 

 

 

But why are they hooked on social media? If your being bullied on a video screen? Turn it off, way easier than a real live one?

[Sedalia Dave]

21 minutes ago, Wapaloosie73 said:

 

But why are they hooked on social media? If your being bullied on a video screen? Turn it off, way easier than a real live one?

 

By design social media is as addictive as any drug. There are plenty of studies that show the chemical changes to the brain caused by getting positive feedback to a post and how similar they are to drugs. 

 

Same applies to the number of friends and the number of followers they have. Doesn’t matter that they are not real. All that matters is having more than anyone else. 

 

 

 

[Smoken D]

Some parents just never grow up.

 

Other than that, last night and tonight is the yearly rodeo at the ole corral in town. Plenty of teens with the boys doing some bronc riding along with the little ones mutton busting. Them teen girls are all sparkled eyed watchen the boys. Plenty of girls barrel racing and it all starts with the American Flag brought out with all the horse riders with everyone citing the pledge and everyone singing. Still some great times across this Country of ours.

[Joke 'um]

Painting with a too broad brush, its like this.:

Todays society raises children to believe they are wonderful, perfect, little bundles of potential.  If anyone fails to perceive their perfection, that person is to be labeled as some form of evildoer.  Since they know that they are wonderful, the fact thst they are not instantly made king/queen of the world is a grevious personal insult, maybe even a microagression.  Better to stay in the cocoon where the evil people can't make them cry.

[bgavin]

7 hours ago, Irish Tom said:

Once upon a time, women used to grope me too. Those were the good old days.

 

And then you woke up...

[Trailrider #896]

Kids are not taught that they should try hard, but not to be afraid to fail  Go to a field day at a local grade school.  Nobody is allowed to go home without some kind of ribbon, even if they come in dead last in a race or skill event.  There is no incentive to try harder next time!  Also, for those kids who simply aren't that good at sports, their parents don't encourage them to find something that they enjoy and are good at, or can improve upon.  But, if I had all the answers, or even some of them, I'd write a prize-winning book and become wealthy!

[Wapaloosie73]

Their goals do not even seem to be the same.

 

Mine where, get a pickup, get a job, get married, buy a house, and have kids.

 

They (nieces and nephews) do not want any of that.

[J. Mark Flint #31954 LIFE]

I always encouraged my sons to make the attempt and to understand that failure is not something to be ashamed of when it happens, but rather a sign that there is more work to be done.  I'm very proud of how they are growing up, even if one did decide to attend the University of Tennessee.

[Charlie Harley, #14153]

 

2 hours ago, J. Mark Flint #31954 LIFE said:

I always encouraged my sons to make the attempt and to understand that failure is not something to be ashamed of when it happens, but rather a sign that there is more work to be done.  I'm very proud of how they are growing up, even if one did decide to attend the University of Tennessee.

So many things, but all will be left unsaid. We’re also a house divided between Knoxville and Tuscaloosa. 

[J. Mark Flint #31954 LIFE]

Thankfully my youngest is going to Tuscaloosa in the fall, so I can disown one and keep the other.

[Finagler 6853 Life]

From the other side of the coin, I was the runt.  I was tiny but my saving grace was that I was quick.  Hard to hit a small, fast object in dodge ball.  Running games I could hold my own.  Learned to water ski when I was 8 but all that did was make me even more wiry but I could hang on for a long time. Started wrestling in JR High.  I weighed 75 pounds in 7th grade, 85 in 8th and was in the 98 pound class in 9th.  Grew 6 inches that year.   When I graduated from High School I wrestled 126 pounds and when school was out I weighed 135 pounds.  I could look down at my skivvies and the elastic would bridge my hip bones.  First year of college I took up swimming.  Swore I'd never diet again.  I had a 28 inch waist and 40 inch chest.  It was impossible to buy a suit.  I could climb like a monkey and work right along men twice my size.  Girls weren't much interested in skinny boys even if I was in great shape.  I was not the class brain so they didn't come to me for help with homework.  I wasn't what you would call "handsome" either.   Graduated from college (the diploma was lost in a flood, no, really) I weighed 165 pounds at 5'10".  Stayed there for a dozen or so years.  Job and lifestyle have caught up and I am dieting again.  I feel good but pushing 200 pounds is just too much.  I don't want to get a new wardrobe.  Married a gorgeous woman, have 4 great kids, 9 grandkids that I adore, a few of which even like me.

 

I hung with a lot of fat kids.  We were always the ones to get picked last for grade school games.  I look back on it as a character building event.  My kids were never huge but they are great people that work hard and care for their spouses.  A couple of them that shoot became state champ juniors.  I still have all of my own hair so that is a plus.  I taught them early on that picking on others because of their size just ain't nice.  Two of my kids are what you would call "normal" sized and two are on the smaller size.  Their gene pool runs from LARGE to tiny, short to tall.  Predominantly Norwegian/German genes.  They are good people.  Their cousins, mostly on my side of the family, not as much but we tolerate them.

[Imis Twohofon,SASS # 46646]

We as a society seem to have lost the quality of "resilience" the ability to deal with not receiving what we think we deserve, are entitled to. We dont know how to accept less than first place gracefully. Participation awards contribute to this. I was neither big or strong when i took a newspaper route in the suburbs outside Denver in the 1960s. It took a while to get strong enough to pedal my bike up those hills. Eventually I could and did daily without stop. We need to teach our youth it is ok to lose . It is ok not to be the best period if we did the best we could. I tended not not apply myself to much. I dont practice cowboy shooting enough to be better. That doesnt mean i dont love it. I can accept the trade off between practice and achievement.

 

Imis