Them VS Us

Them versus us, isn't that an age old problem?

Muslims vs Christians
Rich vs poor
Day time crew vs night time crew
City folk vs country folk
Race against race
Men who love women vs men who love men
Men vs women

John Lennon wrote a song about it, Imagine.
Dr Suess wrote a children's book about it, The Sneeches.
The Bible mentions it more than once;
the beam in the eye, cast the first stone.
Gandhi preached it incessantly.

Them vs us must have some biological survival importance or it wouldn't linger so long in society. The tribe in the valley vs the tribe on the hill. Blue spots instead of red. Skin color, hair color, eye color, type of hut, type of food, number of wives, number of goats, star bellied Sneeches vs Sneeches without stars.

Yet for at least 2000 years people have also tried to overcome it.

I was talking to Roger the other day and he mentioned Boeing was having them do some sort of new personality seminar, akin to Briggs and Meyers, akin to Insights, I forget the name of this new one, but all it's actually trying to accomplish is to overcome the issue of Them vs Us.

I said I can give them a seminar in one word: tolerance.

A gal and I were talking at work, she said I just can't seem to accomplish your level of tolerance. I reminded her I have been the recipient of much intolerance and it tends to burn that bone down to nothing.

I've been mocked due to being a women, an Okie, having an accent, being fat, being skinny, being divorced, wearing different clothes, wearing glasses, wearing glasses on a pretty chain around my neck, being poor, being old, driving with my hands at ten and two; they think it's funny when I do that, but they also don't realize the safety I am providing them because I don't drive nearly as well as I used to. The days of 100 mph are definitely over. I have been scorned because I was too stupid for words and also scorned for being too smart for my own good.

Tolerance vs intolerance is that a division.

I hope 2011 accords you much tolerance.


Just to clarify my previous post, Christian says he has never had a car with a cup holder in it.

I read where Seattle had 49 inches of rain in 2010, 19 inches since 10/1. Not nearly as impressive as Kauai where they have recorded 9 feet of rain before. Or Southern California where they were getting 1 inch an hour.

I don't know why I'm mentioning this, but I have never seen an episode of Saturday Night Live. Yes, I do know why I am mentioning it: I saw a review on a recent movie that the complete second season of SNL was now available on DVD. Lucky me.

TV watchers vs non TV watchers
New car owners vs old car owners
Blue collar workers vs white collar workers
Computer literate vs computer illiterate
Women with children vs women without children
Families with 1 or 2 children vs families with 5 or more
Them vs Us

Right now I love you all...