RANT UPTDATE*****

[Jane, Rooney & Stuart]

I live in a beautiful home, in a beautiful golf community, surrounded by beautiful people but (that is a different rant).  In the summer 99% of them live up north, Canada or someplace in between but this time of the year they all come back.  Let me begin by saying that I'm a mid-west gal, chubby and of a conservative viewpoint.  So basically I'm saying "that I do not fit in".  But I do my best to be friendly and try.  Last year Rooney and I went to small dog time every day at 3:30 and he got to run and play with all the other small dogs but by the end of summer he was pushing the size limit.  Now with Stuart at 53 lbs we go to big dog time but I am OVER IT.  These men bring their giant Weimaraners, mixed breed dogs (that have that boney head of a pit) and delight when their dogs play very aggressively.  Stuart and Rooney hold their own but neither one has an aggressive bone in their body.   And I can't tell you how proud I am of Stuart who will put himself between another dog and Rooney if he feels that it is getting too rough.  So tonight - as things are going as usual and I'm trying to maintain the peace without drawing notice - one of the men asks me what mix Stuart is and I say " he is a Poodle-Golden-retriever mix and he doesn't have an -------   I WAS going to say an aggressive gene when he jumped into my sentence and said "any brains"!  So basically he said Stuart didn't have any brains being 1/2 poodle/retriever!  I very calmly looked at him and said "poodles and retrievers are some of the smartest breeds".   All of this in front of a group of other men and one woman who looks like a man.   I let the boys play a bit longer and then left.  I hate to punish Rooney & Stuart but I will not take them back.  When dh comes back from China he is either buying me a lot to build on that has room for a fenced dog area or I'm going home to MI and not coming back.  I can't take these smug, skinny, liberal, rude, A$$holes any longer!!!!  Stuart is the sweetest puppy you would ever see and I'm not taking this cr@p any longer.  I would NEVER say anything so rude to another person EVER.  I don't care who you are, think you are or what you have, but I'm not taking it.  I grew up very poor but I was taught kindness, courtesy, and manners.  Dh is gone and I'm crying - why are people so mean?  I just hate these snobs!!!!!!!!!!!! 

[Deanna & Desi & Cori]

Perfect response, Donna.  My problem is I always think of the perfect response AFTER the encounter ends!

[F, Calla & Luca]

These people are rude and say nasty things. You and your dogs do not deserve that. But what does skinny or liberal have to do with that? Unless they also called you names based on those kinds of traits. Some of us very far from skinny fairly liberal types might be offended. I do find on occasion that asking people if they mean to hurt my feelings can take the wind out of their sails.

[Jane, Rooney & Stuart]

O.K. F - I have tons of liberal friends on here and some of them are skinny I bet :)  but this is what I mean when I say that.  I love to read so I joined a book club.  It became clear during discussions that they were very liberal in their thinking - o.k. I have no problem with that but then when I show up with an e reader - the tree huggers jumped down my throat about all the poor people in the publishing world that I was putting out of business.  Really but wait - what about the trees that I'm saving?  ,I at the dog park bite my tongue when they cry about the "pay for performance" that FL has adopted for teachers.  Really I stay out of these converstations because these people are not of the more conservative midset but what job have I ever had where my performance wasn't a factor?  My mention of that is just this - I am in the middle of a place WHERE I DONT BELONG.  I'm not like these people and they are not like me.  That alone does not make them bad - but it makes me feel isolated.  That was the point.  Sorry F if I offended you because that was not my intent.

[Jane, Rooney & Stuart]

And the skinny comment - well that IS my issue but tonight as I sat on a lawn chair in the dog park - when their friend (lady looks like a guy) came in.  They told her don't sit in the chairs because Brae has peed on all of them.  So I can set in dried dog pee but she can't.  Hmmmm.  That is what I'm talking about.  Rude.

[Carol and Banjo]

BTW....Jane you are NOT chubby!

[F, Calla & Luca]

I know you didn't mean to offend me. We can all have different opinions and mind sets and peacefully coexist. As Joanne said in a quote from her mom, it's about kindness. Which is why calling people names or lumping them in groups is irrelevant and also unkind. It's about their bad behavior not their appearance, weight  or political views. I try to treat people fairly and I hope we all aspire to that.

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

F, I knew right away that Jane was just letting off steam and did not mean to offend me. I can't help that my body resembles Heidi Klum's body. It is just in my genes. LOL

 

My daughter has two co-workers that say rude stuff to her and always do it in a group. I told her to look them right in the eye and say, "You hurt my feelings when you say those things to me!" In my opinion, that makes them look like the bad guys and hopefully embarrasses them enough to leave her alone, but I am not holding my breath.

[F, Calla & Luca]

Good plan, Heidi Laurie : )

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

LOL.... I was testing you to see if you could hold back from calling me out on the skinny part :) I am very proud of you!!

[Lisa, Daisy & Dexter]

F. I find it hard to come up with a good come back in a timely manner....I wish she would have come up with that at the time, it would have been perfect.

[F, Calla & Luca]

I keep it in reserve. It works whenever you want to bring rude people up short. That and "Let me give it some Thought", have saved the day.

[Nicky, Riley & Boris]

I really feel for you even though I don't what sort of people these are they sure sound extremely ill mannered and brash and therefore I think you are on a road to nowhere if you try to challenge them.  Since you are alone such a lot of the time it would be better to be living somewhere that you can be at peace and enjoy the dogs without having to worry.  It's good women friends you need when your DH is away and I am glad that you have all of us to share with.  For now though try to relax, those ignorant people are not worth a moments thought.