23 Jul The World Needs A Bit More Honesty

People today are far too sensitive, full stop. You seriously can’t say a damn thing these days without hurting someone’s feelings. And it’s not even necessarily saying something malicious; it can just be opposing their point of view and they emotionally can’t handle it. My friends, this is what happens when everyone is tip toeing around everyone’s feelings and no one is being honest. It becomes all about feeling better instead of doing better, and this… this is how our society got into this mess that it’s currently in.

I’d like to take the leap (and the possible backlash) and take a stand to speak with honesty. Not out of maliciousness or to attack someone’s character, but with the hopes that it leads to someone’s growth to shape a better life. That is the reason I made GI SAID IT; simply me giving honest perspective.

Enough With The Kid Gloves

Let me ask you something. Does babying a child or teenager benefit them long term? Sure if they have a trust fund to support them for life, otherwise no. So why do people display this same behavior for adults? Everyone is so scared of offending others or being cancelled that everything, including our language and everyday social interactions, must be soft and safe. A nice padded psychological environment in case we bump our hurt feelings on a Care Bear’s tummy. Yeah, this produces strong humans (insert sarcasm).

I’m going to say something wildly unpopular, sometimes it helps to get hit in the face. Not for the sake of you getting hurt, but for learning a lesson on other people’s boundaries and when you’ve crossed them (hello habitual line steppers). There was a time in high school when someone threw a baby carrot at kid and I busted up laughing; well the person who got hit thought that I threw the carrot and quickly preceded to punch me in the face. Most people will focus on the human bashing another human (welcome to our entire history btw), but I focus on the lesson learned. I learned that 1. You shouldn’t laugh at other’s misfortunes because it may be your turn next and 2. Everyone’s boundaries are different and they react differently when those boundary are crossed. An extremely valuable lesson and all it took was a punch to the dome without kid gloves.

Truth Hurts

The truth is like alcohol on a fresh wound; it’s good for you but boy does that sh-t hurt. And the F’d up thing about life is that you have to take it straight (unless you have an infinite stash of opioids). The truth only hurts because you’ve been hiding from it for so long. It’s like being underground for days and then finally coming to the surface and seeing the sun; it blinds your eyes and hurts them. People avoid the truth so much these days that it hits them like a sledge hammer on cocaine when they finally hear it. Their response? “Truth be damned.”

Only when your perceived view of the world doesn’t match reality does the truth cause such an adverse reaction. It rattles your emotions as the denial and cognitive dissonance kicks in to try to avoid having to face and accept it. It’s avoidance, escapism, and sticking your head in the sand in the hopes that the painful truth goes away so you don’t have to face the inner truth about yourself. People running from the truth are running from themselves and they’re going to lose their ass in that race.

No More Participation Trophies

Snowflakes are a dime a dozen and they are produced from hardly earned participation trophies. I have no problem encouraging, supporting, and cheering someone on who is genuinely trying. That person has guts. What I do have a problem with is diminishing the achievements of someone who worked really hard to be good at their particular talent AND teaching a child that even if you fail or didn’t try, you still win. WTF planet do these parents live on? How would this prepare your child for the realities of life? I’m pretty sure it’s just setting them up for a life time of disappointments, cultural shock, and probably addiction as a coping mechanism.

People need to lose in order to eventually win. They need to learn how to push through the failure and put in the work to get better and succeed. We are talking about the basics of human development, and every participation trophy robs a child from this important opportunity. Plus, let’s be completely real about it… people support handing out participation trophies because they can’t handle seeing their child hurt for a brief moment, so a trophy for all helps them feel better. It’s a selfish motivation, not one built on what’s good for long-term child development into the fog of war called adulthood.

Bring Back The Real

I’ll take real over trying to spare my feelings any day. One is for adults, and the other for people who have stunted emotionally. One is for those wishing to improve and better their life, and the other is for people too fragile to contribute to society in rough times. Rough times takes a thick skin and resilience and the “spare my feelings” club do not possess these.

My Grandpa was a hard man, but he was real. His upbringing in the rural south helped shape this and it was one of my most appreciated asset about him. I didn’t have to guess his thoughts, beat around the bush, tip toe around his feelings, or walk around on egg shells. That sh-t’s exhausting.

Honesty Leads to Growth

Honesty used to be a desired character attribute, showed high values, and was the foundation for good morals. It was a clear indicator that someone has gone through growth and maturity. Instead, now people will lie to your face and let you fall on your ass when it matters most, all to keep those feelings fluffy and soft. F that. I want to give you honesty, I want to give you the real; I want to give both of us the chance to grow together and both improve our lives. No more pretending, no more bull sh-t. Let’s be real and honest with each other and walk through this path in life together, big cojones and all.

The purpose of this GI SAID IT blog is simple, to provide perspective. GI delivers this unique perspective in a style that is unapologetically honest, straight to the point, and at times a bit brutal. GI SAID IT: Brutally honest, no BS. Click for more GI SAID IT shows and articles.