Did You Listen to That Nonsense?

By Mink

The average person will not have difficulty ordering at Starbucks (see http://minksgarbagedump.blogspot.com/2006/03/starbucks-and-realizing-that-i-am.html) and will surely understand that one is not supposed to fill up the gas tank of a Honda Accord with diesel fuel (yeah I never posted about that, but let's just say that it turns out that trying to save money on gas can end up costing $730….and I digest or digress or whatever). However, I have noticed of late that the normal, adequately functional, human being often will say a lot of weird shit that makes no sense, yet will rarely, if ever, be challenged.

Example: Last night at a local ice cream parlour, I overheard a "normal" young lady ask her friend: "How did you finish your ice cream so quickly?" I think the friend may have responded with a shoulder shrug or something similar but she certainly did not appreciate the absurdity of her buddy’s worthless conversation filler.

Obviously the person who finishes her food first is the hungriest or has fast metabolism but there is really no proper response to such a pointless question. What got my sick mind infuriated was this realization that someone (usually a person whom we consider normal) will always ask this or a similar question to the person who finishes his or her food first. It means absolutely nothing yet we refuse to call anyone out on it because it has the appearance of a mainstream normal comment.

Now this makes sense to some degree merely because we generally accept anything that people say if it is presented well and the speaker has established a decent degree of credibility.

To illustrate this point I will first examine a bizarre idea that is presented by a person who is generally accepted by society as abnormal or “special.”


Mink: I think HBO should make an episode of Entourage which brings back the Sex and the City quartet to mingle at a pool party with Vincent Chase and the boys. I for one would love to see a bizarre twist with a very random Carrie Bradshaw and Turtle hookup. The whole collision of worlds would be amazing, it would be almost as good as when they came out with The Jetsons meet the Flintstones in the late 80's.

Disinterested Aquaintance: Oh Mink, you are ridiculous. Great idea, you should write HBO a letter (heavy sarcasm in the voice)

Now let's change the facts a little. Instead of me making this point, the idea comes from a well established doctor at a cocktail party or even just a regular person with a non-ridiculous reputation. In this case, the "normal" person would probably not attempt to spice up the idea with the ridiculous suggestions and would present the idea something like this:

Normal person: HBO should really consider having episodes where characters from its different shows come together. For instance, that new show Entourage could do an episode with the Sex and the City women. Just a thought.

Responder: That is a really insightful and innovative idea. You really should send HBO a letter (not a trace of sarcasm).

You see the difference is reputation and presentation. The idea itself clearly is an absurd one but because the normal guy has a reputation for saying bright things and presented it without outrageous hookup suggestions and Jetson-Flintstone comparisons, his outrageous comment is met with respect and even admiration. Mine however, would undoubtedly be met with a head shrug and maybe accompanied by a dismissive "laughing at you" type giggle.

So I guess the point of this useless drivel, is to my voice my frustration over normal people’s ability to get away with saying crap that doesn’t make any sense. The next time I hear a regular person ask me how I finished my matzah ball soup so fast, I will probably just respond something like this: “I'm not sure but I was wondering about the shape of your last bowel movement. Can you describe it?” But I guess that would just do little more than solidify my already established whacked reputation that I have built over the years. Oh well.