Jim, just a short note on anchors, shackles, and tethers.

[President Television]

Great piece.

It occurs to me that this model explains a lot of the tension between me and my stepfather. Ours is pretty much a shackle/shackle relationship.

[Freeky]

I still like this.

[Death]

This really spoke to me, even though I can't completely relate.  I really don't feel very grounded to anything except the pursuit of knowledge, and life itself.  I love my family, but I don't feel like I can really talk to any of them.  I have friends but none of them are at the level where I feel like I can really be myself with them.  I generally like people although after being around them I realize they're mostly ignorant, with few exceptions.  No job, just school, and school is a shackle that I so desperately want to break free of, I just need to persist and finish.  I know there's something next, anchors and tethers will come, but right now I feel completely adrift.

[LMNO]

This really spoke to me, even though I can't completely relate.  I really don't feel very grounded to anything except the pursuit of knowledge, and life itself.  I love my family, but I don't feel like I can really talk to any of them.  I have friends but none of them are at the level where I feel like I can really be myself with them.  I generally like people although after being around them I realize they're mostly ignorant, with few exceptions.  No job, just school, and school is a shackle that I so desperately want to break free of, I just need to persist and finish.  I know there's something next, anchors and tethers will come, but right now I feel completely adrift.

Keep an eye on those tendencies.  They're often red flags that you're willfully blinding yourself to what other people can be offer, often due to an unnoticed bout of narcissism.

[Death]

This really spoke to me, even though I can't completely relate.  I really don't feel very grounded to anything except the pursuit of knowledge, and life itself.  I love my family, but I don't feel like I can really talk to any of them.  I have friends but none of them are at the level where I feel like I can really be myself with them.  I generally like people although after being around them I realize they're mostly ignorant, with few exceptions.  No job, just school, and school is a shackle that I so desperately want to break free of, I just need to persist and finish.  I know there's something next, anchors and tethers will come, but right now I feel completely adrift.

Keep an eye on those tendencies.  They're often red flags that you're willfully blinding yourself to what other people can be offer, often due to an unnoticed bout of narcissism.

I know, but you have to understand that the people I'm referring to as ignorant are mostly the people I go to school with.  The wiggers, and potheads, juggalos, so on and so forth.
The friends I have are presumably decent people but it takes a long time/lots of being around the person for me to trust them.  I don't have any friends at the moment that have been around long enough for me to feel comfortable with.
You also have to understand that about 6 months ago I got out of rehab, and I've been trying to rebuild a social circle ever since.

[The Good Reverend Roger]

Well, it's a good thing you're better than those...wiggers.

[Death]

Well, it's a good thing you're better than those...wiggers.

I hate using that term but I don't know another that fits. :/

[President Television]

Well, it's a good thing you're better than those...wiggers.

I hate using that term but I don't know another that fits. :/

Suburban gangstas? Subangstas? I mean, you don't have to be white to do what you're talking about, and it's more a matter of middle-class kids pretending like they came from the ghetto than white people trying to be "black". If I wanted to act like I was "black", I'd go all-out blaxploitation like this cat:

[Death]

Well, it's a good thing you're better than those...wiggers.

I hate using that term but I don't know another that fits. :/

Suburban gangstas? Subangstas? I mean, you don't have to be white to do what you're talking about, and it's more a matter of middle-class kids pretending like they came from the ghetto than white people trying to be "black". If I wanted to act like I was "black", I'd go all-out blaxploitation like this cat:

See that's a much better word for it, except this is the first time I've heard it.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

Well, it's a good thing you're better than those...wiggers.

I hate using that term but I don't know another that fits. :/

Suburban gangstas? Subangstas? I mean, you don't have to be white to do what you're talking about, and it's more a matter of middle-class kids pretending like they came from the ghetto than white people trying to be "black". If I wanted to act like I was "black", I'd go all-out blaxploitation like this cat:

There is an awesome dude who  looks like a buck-toothed Prince, who just opened a sweet motherfucking store in my neighborhood selling some tight pimp-ass style. On the cheap, too. I love him.

[Death]

Well, it's a good thing you're better than those...wiggers.

I hate using that term but I don't know another that fits. :/

Suburban gangstas? Subangstas? I mean, you don't have to be white to do what you're talking about, and it's more a matter of middle-class kids pretending like they came from the ghetto than white people trying to be "black". If I wanted to act like I was "black", I'd go all-out blaxploitation like this cat:

There is an awesome dude who  looks like a buck-toothed Prince, who just opened a sweet motherfucking store in my neighborhood selling some tight pimp-ass style. On the cheap, too. I love him.

On the CHEAP, CHEAP?  LEMME FIND OUT.

[ñͤͣ̄ͦ̌̑͗͊͛͂͗ ̸̨̨̣̺̼̣̜͙͈͕̮̊̈́̈͂͛̽͊ͭ̓͆ͅé ̰̓̓́ͯ́́͞]

Well, it's a good thing you're better than those...wiggers.

I hate using that term but I don't know another that fits. :/

Suburban gangstas? Subangstas? I mean, you don't have to be white to do what you're talking about, and it's more a matter of middle-class kids pretending like they came from the ghetto than white people trying to be "black". If I wanted to act like I was "black", I'd go all-out blaxploitation like this cat:

I think it has less to do with social class than the degree someone is connected with hip hop culture. If it's superficial, it's painfully obvious.

There's no need to use an implied racial slur when you just want to call someone a phony, IMO.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

Well, it's a good thing you're better than those...wiggers.

I hate using that term but I don't know another that fits. :/

Suburban gangstas? Subangstas? I mean, you don't have to be white to do what you're talking about, and it's more a matter of middle-class kids pretending like they came from the ghetto than white people trying to be "black". If I wanted to act like I was "black", I'd go all-out blaxploitation like this cat:

There is an awesome dude who  looks like a buck-toothed Prince, who just opened a sweet motherfucking store in my neighborhood selling some tight pimp-ass style. On the cheap, too. I love him.

On the CHEAP, CHEAP?  LEMME FIND OUT.

I do not think you live in my neighborhood.

[Death]

Well, it's a good thing you're better than those...wiggers.

I hate using that term but I don't know another that fits. :/

Suburban gangstas? Subangstas? I mean, you don't have to be white to do what you're talking about, and it's more a matter of middle-class kids pretending like they came from the ghetto than white people trying to be "black". If I wanted to act like I was "black", I'd go all-out blaxploitation like this cat:

There is an awesome dude who  looks like a buck-toothed Prince, who just opened a sweet motherfucking store in my neighborhood selling some tight pimp-ass style. On the cheap, too. I love him.

On the CHEAP, CHEAP?  LEMME FIND OUT.

I do not think you live in my neighborhood.

...I was making a ghetto joke.