…..this is who I am. If you don’t like me, fine, but make no mistake about it: I am NOT molding myself to meet with your approval. Truth be told, your opinion of me doesn’t stand for one stinky shit and doesn’t bear one iota of influence on how I behave or how I respond to other people or the situations I find myself confronting and thereupon attempting to navigate in life. If you approve of my actions—Fine!—but if you disapprove I’m not going to lose one minute of sleep over the matter and I definitely am not going to alter my behavior purely to appease you and win your approval. You stay in your lane—Okay??—and I absolutely promise that I will stay in mine. There is no good reason why we must interact or exchange meaningless small talk or pretend to be friends for public consumption. Truth be told, I would strongly prefer not being hypocritical and feel a fake compunction to do any of those things. I’ve never invested heavily in the slimy, unctuous appeasement business. Having made that point clear, I damn sure feel no burning desire to begin doing so at this belated stage of my life…..
Fred's Soapbox 