User Tag List

+ Reply to Thread
Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 15

Thread: Walk a Mile in my Shoes.

  1. #1
    Points: 25,022, Level: 38
    Level completed: 52%, Points required for next Level: 628
    Overall activity: 0.1%
    Achievements:
    Veteran25000 Experience Points
    CCitizen's Avatar Senior Member
    Karma
    1253
    Join Date
    Oct 2017
    Posts
    4,581
    Points
    25,022
    Level
    38
    Thanks Given
    2,963
    Thanked 1,244x in 949 Posts
    Mentioned
    28 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)

    Walk a Mile in my Shoes.

    I have many fond memories of my High School years (1984-1988 ). That was the best time of my life. I was full of hopes and plans. Like most teenagers, I was discovering the World around me. In this nanoessay I share one interesting story from our PE class.

    We had to run a mile -- a lap around some track. It was a relatively warm day in spring. In order to get an A, we had to finish the mile within a given time. The time in which we had to run a mile was determined by the students gender. I do not remember the exact times, but judging on similar times for HS students, it should have been 8 minutes for boys and 9 minutes for girls.

    No rule, however, is without exceptions. Given the weight of Future Cyber Citizen, he was given a longer time to walk a mile. I guess, it was about 12 min to 14 min, but I am not sure. It was still somewhat of a challenge. I ran about 200 meters, then walked about 400 meters. I ran several times and walked most of the time. I swore in Russian -- fortunately no one understood me.

    I did it -- I got an A. Most students, boys and girls, also managed to run a mile in their respective times and got As. To my detractors and bullies, my performance, as well as the way the rules have been bent for me was another cause for mockery. For me it was a small cause of pride. I did get an A after all!

    I was more proud of the symbolic implications of the situation. Effectively, the class has been split into three groups. The lowest-status group was the one made of "Snips and snails and puppy-dogs' tails". They were given the harder task. A better group was the one made of "Sugar and spice and everything nice". They were given an easier task. The Future Cyber Citizen was a group by himself.

    Like most teenagers I have viewed myself as special. The division of the class into three groups was in no way unexpected to me. At that time, however, a PE assignment was not on top of interesting events. I ate ice cream with lots of chocolate every lunch. I was a class clown. I studied Physics and Chemistry and made many "inventions".

    Nevertheless, already in this Century, I have found deep symbolism in Walking a Mile. To a great degree, this is an example of my rejection of outdated gender roles. If you like, it is my rejection of Toxic Masculinity. I am not Stoic. I talk about my feelings including Vulnerability and Depression. I ask for help. I talk about my Depression and Autism a lot -- too much for some of my readers.

    I value myself. I avoid risky behavior. I make no commitments which may be above my capabilities. I see no value in risky behaviors. I do not find alcohol, tobacco, and motorcycles exciting -- I find using them dangerous and foolhardy.

    To a great degree, my interest in Men's Issues comes from my rejection of traditional gender roles like Stoicism and Invulnerability. One of the reasons I strongly criticize male-bashing is that I am not ashamed to admit that I am hurt by abusive words. Most men pretend to be too tough to be hurt. If I express anger in some of my online interactions, then this anger comes from Sadness and Vulnerability. Ironically, the anger I express online may come not from Toxicity, but from rejection of toxic expectations. Nevertheless, I do not dwell on negative interactions. When someone is persistently rude to me on a forum, I usually leave for several months.

    Rejecting traditional Gender Roles, or at least their most harmful aspects can be a worthy goal for anyone. Old roles may not be the best in a rapidly changing Society.

  2. The Following 6 Users Say Thank You to CCitizen For This Useful Post:

    Common (06-24-2020),Docthehun (06-26-2020),FindersKeepers (06-25-2020),Orion Rules (06-24-2020),Peter1469 (06-24-2020),Standing Wolf (06-24-2020)

  3. #2
    Points: 445,362, Level: 100
    Level completed: 0%, Points required for next Level: 0
    Overall activity: 1.0%
    Achievements:
    SocialVeteran50000 Experience PointsOverdrive
    Common's Avatar Senior Member
    Karma
    339112
    Join Date
    Feb 2013
    Posts
    66,765
    Points
    445,362
    Level
    100
    Thanks Given
    8,785
    Thanked 18,315x in 10,924 Posts
    Mentioned
    396 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Hats off to you CC...NEVER ever give up and never worry what others say...you live your life for you and screw everyone else that doesnt like the way you do it.
    LETS GO BRANDON
    F Joe Biden

  4. The Following 3 Users Say Thank You to Common For This Useful Post:

    CCitizen (06-24-2020),FindersKeepers (06-25-2020),gamewell45 (06-25-2020)

  5. #3
    Points: 25,022, Level: 38
    Level completed: 52%, Points required for next Level: 628
    Overall activity: 0.1%
    Achievements:
    Veteran25000 Experience Points
    CCitizen's Avatar Senior Member
    Karma
    1253
    Join Date
    Oct 2017
    Posts
    4,581
    Points
    25,022
    Level
    38
    Thanks Given
    2,963
    Thanked 1,244x in 949 Posts
    Mentioned
    28 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Quote Originally Posted by Common View Post
    Hats off to you CC...NEVER ever give up and never worry what others say...you live your life for you and screw everyone else that doesnt like the way you do it.
    Being an Autistic I am proud of not fitting into Society.

  6. The Following User Says Thank You to CCitizen For This Useful Post:

    Common (06-25-2020)

  7. #4

    tPF Moderator
    Points: 74,308, Level: 66
    Level completed: 51%, Points required for next Level: 1,142
    Overall activity: 14.0%
    Achievements:
    50000 Experience PointsVeteran
    Cletus's Avatar tPF Moderator
    Karma
    195693
    Join Date
    Jun 2015
    Posts
    32,309
    Points
    74,308
    Level
    66
    Thanks Given
    3,678
    Thanked 27,378x in 15,847 Posts
    Mentioned
    412 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    I think you use Autism as an excuse.
    “Extremism in defense of liberty is no vice. Moderation in pursuit of justice is no virtue.” - Barry Goldwater

  8. The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to Cletus For This Useful Post:

    Captdon (06-24-2020),midcan5 (06-25-2020)

  9. #5
    Points: 25,022, Level: 38
    Level completed: 52%, Points required for next Level: 628
    Overall activity: 0.1%
    Achievements:
    Veteran25000 Experience Points
    CCitizen's Avatar Senior Member
    Karma
    1253
    Join Date
    Oct 2017
    Posts
    4,581
    Points
    25,022
    Level
    38
    Thanks Given
    2,963
    Thanked 1,244x in 949 Posts
    Mentioned
    28 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Quote Originally Posted by Cletus View Post
    I think you use Autism as an excuse.
    Perhaps Modern Society is wrong in many ways and it is right not to fit into it. I do not need an excuse not to fit into Society. My Autism is an explanation.

  10. #6
    Points: 34,652, Level: 45
    Level completed: 47%, Points required for next Level: 798
    Overall activity: 2.0%
    Achievements:
    SocialTagger First ClassVeteran50000 Experience Points
    midcan5's Avatar Senior Member
    Karma
    71955
    Join Date
    May 2013
    Location
    Pennsylvania
    Posts
    5,953
    Points
    34,652
    Level
    45
    Thanks Given
    1,333
    Thanked 2,497x in 1,841 Posts
    Mentioned
    301 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    "Men are so necessarily mad, that not to be mad would amount to another form of madness." Blaise Pascal

    Pascal may have included women too in his thought? I know several autistic children and grow-ups and they do not express themselves in a negative manner. We see the world as we are and we create our view based on our personal being and our willingness to experience and learn. An obsession with anything in life seems unhealthy to me.

    Have you ever taken those personality tests? Or engaged in the groups that explore personality? It used to fascinate me but being perfect is enough for now. But seriously they can be interesting. Two of my results are below. According to my wife they kinda fit me. I am very rare but she knows that. LOL


    'Character is both developed and revealed by tests, and all of life is a test.' anon

    Advocate Personality INFJ-A / INFJ-T


    https://www.16personalities.com/infj-personality


    'Your Global5/SLOAN type is RCOAI - Your Primary type is Calm


    http://similarminds.com/personality_test.html
    Wanna make America great, buy American owned, made in the USA, we do. AF Veteran, INFJ-A, I am not PC.

    "I have never made but one prayer to God, a very short one: 'O Lord make my enemies ridiculous.' And God granted it." Voltaire

  11. The Following User Says Thank You to midcan5 For This Useful Post:

    CCitizen (06-25-2020)

  12. #7

    tPF Moderator
    Points: 473,135, Level: 100
    Level completed: 0%, Points required for next Level: 0
    Overall activity: 69.0%
    Achievements:
    Social50000 Experience PointsTagger First ClassYour first GroupVeteranRecommendation First ClassOverdrive
    Awards:
    Master Tagger
    DGUtley's Avatar tPF Moderator
    Karma
    200769
    Join Date
    Jul 2016
    Location
    Northeast Ohio
    Posts
    52,922
    Points
    473,135
    Level
    100
    Thanks Given
    17,060
    Thanked 46,039x in 24,874 Posts
    Mentioned
    886 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    I have found that everybody has issues - well, nearly everybody. Some of us take those issues, put them to the side, mitigate them, use them, overcome them, etc. Some of us sit in a corner and constantly plead 'woe is me'. My hope is that you are the former and not the latter. I have two autistic family members. One is the former, one is the latter. Guess which one reaches his full potential?
    Any time you give a man something he doesn't earn, you cheapen him. Our kids earn what they get, and that includes respect. -- Woody Hayes​

  13. The Following 3 Users Say Thank You to DGUtley For This Useful Post:

    CCitizen (06-25-2020),Docthehun (06-26-2020),Peter1469 (06-25-2020)

  14. #8
    Points: 25,022, Level: 38
    Level completed: 52%, Points required for next Level: 628
    Overall activity: 0.1%
    Achievements:
    Veteran25000 Experience Points
    CCitizen's Avatar Senior Member
    Karma
    1253
    Join Date
    Oct 2017
    Posts
    4,581
    Points
    25,022
    Level
    38
    Thanks Given
    2,963
    Thanked 1,244x in 949 Posts
    Mentioned
    28 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Quote Originally Posted by DGUtley View Post
    1) I have found that everybody has issues - well, nearly everybody.

    2) Some of us take those issues, put them to the side, mitigate them, use them, overcome them, etc. Some of us sit in a corner and constantly plead 'woe is me'. My hope is that you are the former and not the latter. I have two autistic family members. One is the former, one is the latter. Guess which one reaches his full potential?
    1) In my opinion, only about a quarter of adults have Mental Disability. That is still many. Statistics.

    2) I have great respect for people who have achieved high status by hard work and extraordinary willpower. But I can not succeed by copying others. I am satisfied with my life.

  15. #9

    tPF Moderator
    Points: 473,135, Level: 100
    Level completed: 0%, Points required for next Level: 0
    Overall activity: 69.0%
    Achievements:
    Social50000 Experience PointsTagger First ClassYour first GroupVeteranRecommendation First ClassOverdrive
    Awards:
    Master Tagger
    DGUtley's Avatar tPF Moderator
    Karma
    200769
    Join Date
    Jul 2016
    Location
    Northeast Ohio
    Posts
    52,922
    Points
    473,135
    Level
    100
    Thanks Given
    17,060
    Thanked 46,039x in 24,874 Posts
    Mentioned
    886 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Quote Originally Posted by CCitizen View Post
    1) In my opinion, only about a quarter of adults have Mental Disability. That is still many. Statistics.

    2) I have great respect for people who have achieved high status by hard work and extraordinary willpower. But I can not succeed by copying others. I am satisfied with my life.
    I did not say a mental disability. I said issues
    Any time you give a man something he doesn't earn, you cheapen him. Our kids earn what they get, and that includes respect. -- Woody Hayes​

  16. The Following User Says Thank You to DGUtley For This Useful Post:

    CCitizen (06-25-2020)

  17. #10
    Points: 25,022, Level: 38
    Level completed: 52%, Points required for next Level: 628
    Overall activity: 0.1%
    Achievements:
    Veteran25000 Experience Points
    CCitizen's Avatar Senior Member
    Karma
    1253
    Join Date
    Oct 2017
    Posts
    4,581
    Points
    25,022
    Level
    38
    Thanks Given
    2,963
    Thanked 1,244x in 949 Posts
    Mentioned
    28 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Quote Originally Posted by DGUtley View Post
    I did not say a mental disability. I said issues
    You are right -- most people have issues.

    But most people do not have a documented Mental Disability. I am proud to be an Aspie -- I have documents to prove it!

+ Reply to Thread

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts