The Bully’s Fear – Bully Week #1
It’s not bullony that it’s officially Bully Week at the NDD!
Tell us a bully story of yours and what your thoughts are about it now.
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Drawing by Marty Coleman
Quote by Eric Hoffer
Imitation #1
When I was in high school, and when my kids were in high school 30 years after I was, there was always the issue of ‘being yourself’. In our ignorance we thought the other kids were all alike and we wanted to be different. We wanted to be different together though. That is the key, even within individuality there is a natural desire to not be TOO different from each other.
My father used to make fun of all us high school buddies because we talked about being individuals but all wore the same sort of winter jackets, had the same sort of hair cuts and all just happened to like the same sort of looks in girls. How individual were we really?
My father was a business man so he, of course, had a suit and tie uniform he wore to work. But he also had a great deal of individuality in his casual dress and the things he surrounded himself with. I appreciated that a lot as I got older, and it gave me the confidence to feel comfortable standing out or fitting in, depending on the circumstances.
What are your memories of trying to fit in or stand out? Did you imitate a lot or did you lead the way and others imitated you?
Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman of The Napkin Dad Daily
One year ago today at The Napkin Dad Daily – The Single Biggest Problem in Communication
Rudeness – updated 2018
Day one in a series on manners
I found this quote on twitter and it hit me as a fantastically concise and perceptive statement about the truth of rudeness.
When I think about examples of rudeness it seems there are two main reasons for it. One, the person really doesn’t know they are being rude. We are not talking about that.
Two, the person does know and feels empowered by it. They like the expansion of their field of control. They stretch out their fork to get food off another person’s plate. They stretch out their voice into a phone and a waiting room or theatre. They stretch out their disrespect by never acknowledging people who serve and care for them.
The list can go on. But what they all have in common is the rude person attempting to be superior. subjugating others to their physical, emotional or psychological space. People who are confident and strong don’t have that need, they know who they are and can treat others with respect and good manners. The weak person is the one constantly trying to get others to see the strength they know they are lacking, usually in a passive aggressive way.
You can’t avoid rudeness in life. But you can contribute to it’s diminishing by not enabling it. Don’t be a weanie when it rears it’s ugly head. Say something. That is unless of course you live in Oklahoma where they just passed a law allowing people to wear guns in a holster on their hip like back in the wild west. In that case, be careful!
Seriously though and more importantly, if you are a parent raise your kids to not be rude by teaching and giving them experiences that bring out their true strength and confidence.
Drawing and commentary © Marty Coleman
“Rudeness is a weak person’s imitation of strength.” – Eric Hoffer, 1902-1983, American writer and social philosopher.
Posted on twitter by Lisa Merlo-Booth of ‘Straight Talk on Relationships’ blog
Passionate Hatred – updated 2017
What makes a person fill their life with hatred? We see a lot of it lately in the political realm with people who are so vehement about their hatred for all things Obama, just as we saw it with anti-Bush people not so long ago. It seems to be getting worse. You see it in people who go over the edge with hatred for their co-workers, family, spouses, etc. They let it consume themselves so much that they rationalize violence and murder.
What can it be but an empty life that allows for nothing to take them off the path of hatred? Where else can they travel if nothing else exists for them? How do you get off your hatred path when you are on it?
Drawing and commentary © Marty Coleman
“Passionate hatred can give meaning and purpose to an empty life.” – Eric Hoffer, 1902-1983, American writer and philosopher
Loneliness – updated 2017
Don’t forget to enter the ‘Guest Blog’ contest from Friday. Look at the napkin drawing from last Friday, decide what would make a good quote to go along with it, then send the quote and a short commentary to me, either by posting it on the blog itself or emailing me at napkindad@martycoleman.com. I will post the napkin again next Friday with the new quote inside and the commentary below, with a link to your blog, email, FB or whatever you have!
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Here is a vintage napkin from way back when, probably 1999 or so.
There are some emotions and feelings I have a hard time recognizing when I feel them. Loneliness is one of those. It hasn’t been until recent years that I knew that was the word that I would use to describe how I felt sometimes. It’s odd realizing you aren’t really even sure you know when it is you are feeling something. Has that happened to you?
It Is Loneliness – updated 2017
Another vintage napkin from my daughters lunches back when they were in school.
Drawing © Marty Coleman
“It is loneliness that makes the loudest noise.” – Eric Hoffer