Yahtzee!

Well, it didn't take long for my theory to be proven...that the mentally weak and easily manipulated will often result to childish insults and name-calling.

What's next? I'm waiting for something viciously biting and devastatingly crushing like "Nanny Nanny Poo Poo Head." Cousin Shane and I were laughing about it, and he said that when he heard about it, he thought, “Grow the fuck up!” Seriously.

[putting on my amateur psychologist hat...it's a beret, if that helps you imagine it] I believe this is called "infantilism." [exaggerated finger quotes] Such juvenile behavior is the last resort of those who don't have enough substance or enough wits about them to mount any sort of legitimate case (especially in a court of law) or actual argument.

I believe it's also what is called "projection." [more exaggerated finger quotes] One's own inadequacies and short-comings (and I DO mean short!) are projected onto the object of hate or disdain. A person feels that they are woefully inadequate and they lash out at others instead of recognizing their own weaknesses. A perfect recent example: Sarah Palin releases a video on the day of President Obama's speech about the tragedy in Tucson, and instead of talking about the victims and the tragedy of their loss and injuries, she makes it a diatribe about how SHE is the victim of media attacks, and wonders, in the words of Charlie Brown, "Why's everybody always pickin' on me?"

One more turn on the psychology carousel...I think that would be considered narcissism. [absence of exaggerated finger quotes] True narcissism, the kind that is devastating to most if not all personal relationships, the kind that can only find succor with someone who is willingly and easily manipulated.

It didn't play well in Palin's case, and it doesn't play well in real life. Rather than admitting their own culpability in the matter, it's always everyone else's fault. In Palin's case, don't blame everyone else because you have such a tin ear that you don't comprehend the mood in the country, you're such an idiot that you don't bother to research the speech that your handlers write for you, and you're so unconcerned about gunshot victims that you focus on yourself rather than them.

In real life, don't blame me for your inability to handle things in a reasonable manner, and don't blame me for the fact that you backed yourself into a corner, leaving yourself no room for negotiation. Don't blame me because you suck at money management and have squandered thousands on your hobby of the month or whatever struck your fancy at the time, rather than socking it away for what it was truly supposed to be for. Don't lash out at me because you let time slip away from you and were so desperate that you took whatever deal immediately came your way. Don't get pissed because you handled the whole thing stupidly, badly, and blinded by anger. Don't blame me for the anger of those around you; YOU are the one who fostered that anger, YOU are the one who contributed to that atmosphere of discord and hate, and YOU are the one who had the most influence and ability to change its direction. It's not my problem that people didn't want to be friends with you because of your past behavior, and it's not my problem that you have a hard time holding a job because of your current behavior. I have nothing to do with that. That would be you…all YOU.

I know this doesn't make much sense to most of you, but bear with me, and I'll get back to the usual soon. I've found that certain things I'm seeing on the national stage are mirrored in certain things I'm seeing on the personal stage, and I find both ridiculous. I said the other day that they were also boring...probably a bad choice of words. It's hard to get bored when you're called names and blamed for things over which you had no control. I guess 'tiresome' would be a better word, or as my friend Stan put it in a comment, 'predictable.' It really is utterly and completely predictable.

One final note to the name-caller. Does your wife know that you're calling me a spinner? Considering the circumstances, I really think that's highly inappropriate. And really...crackuh, please. Not only would you be way out of your league, I prefer my necks to be decidedly of the non-red variety!