An Inconvenient Truth ...

 

*Edited -  for typos and 2 other noteworthy reasons:

1)  The original screen shot of the Quora post didn't include the author's name - didn't realize I had somehow cropped that out when trying to fit the whole thing in the screen shot, it was NOT intentional.  I've redone the screen shot to include it :)

Having said that, as I had time to research him a little more, not sure I care for everything he says, but as I've said before, if I "canceled" every author that said or did something in their personal life I didn't like, then I'd have nothing left to read lol.

It's a percentage thing, I guess, or a majority thing - if the majority of the stuff you say or do doesn't make me want to hurl, I'll still read you lol. And even then, occasionally, a pearl can be gleaned still - even a broken clock is right twice a day :)

2)  The doorbell cam video, despite being featured in several crazy doorbell-cam compilation videos with backstories included - IS a parody -  originally done by a voice actress in order to promote herself!  

I wondered about that, especially because it's an apartment rather than a house, as I'd mentioned - but the compilation video I first saw it in included backstories, sometimes with real mug shot photos - but they obviously got this one wayyyy wrong lol.  

Sorry about that!

See, that's what I get for typing something quickly without researching content more first (and why I don't post as much here, less time) - but  I should know better - sorry about that!

In my one small defense, real life events sometimes seem like  SNL parodies, these days, don't they?  

Especially with today's politics, but I digress.

(Not to mention, I've actually met people like that lady, which apparently other people have too, which is why it's funny lol.)

Onto the original post ... 

_________________________

So while my husband is out buying hiking boots for our walk later today (and weekend trip next weekend), I was doing a bit of online reading and decided to write a little blurb.

FYI, I used to go on these shoe trips with him, but then realized this take hours with him, because he's super picky! lol.  (To be fair, he kind of has to be, because he has had foot problems since childhood.)  

In fact, I don't even try to buy him shoes (or pants) anymore. Don't get me wrong, he likes my taste and everything else I buy him - shirts, sweaters, hats - just not pants and shoes, he has specific qualities on those for comfort, so I finally just gave up on those lol.

So anyway, I signed up for Quora to respond to something like eight years ago, judging by my profile picture? lol

That was before I finally understood that people were just posting contentious things to get attention and don't really want to hear what you have to say unless it agrees with them ;)

These days, I don't comment much of anywhere unless it's positive, because I figure other people already have putting out negative into the world covered lol.  

Mostly, I comment now only to say something positive, unless they've said something especially egregious (and I can tell they're serious, not just to be a calamity-creating troll) - then I might say something, because freedom of speech should go both ways.  

Because again, most people don't want to hear what you have to say unless you agree with them - and usually if they DO want to hear what I have to say, it's likely because they already know me in real life,  so they can read here and/or call/text/email me lol

(And again - the only reason I don't have my comments open is NOT because people might disagree with me, I can handle that - but  it's because of a persistent harassment problem - there's a difference between simple disagreement in freedom of speech  VS persistent harassment, yes?) 

On that note, though I rarely read these Quora emails, when they come to this old email, sometimes I do - mostly if they're about which celebrities are the biggest tippers or the nicest in person or something.

This one, though not expressly political, it still struck a cord as a simple truth in general, but especially about modern politics  - and apparently I'm not alone - 20K people upvoted it.

It's actually about HOAs, but delves into authoritarianism in general, and it's, well, brilliant :)

Now, first to the original, more specific point about just HOAs - personally, my only experience with an HOA is my stepmother, who once lamented, living in Florida, that the HOA people would come out and literally measure her hibiscus for regulatory height, and worse, the grass, to see if you were even a half-inch higher than regulation, and if so, you were fined!

They would come unannounced, not greet you or anything or even wave, just show up on your lawn with a ruler - totally creepy, and it was driving my stepmom crazy!

We used to call them the HOA Nazis lol.  

We must all assimilate, resistance is futile! lol

But then again, is anyone at all surprised that the HOAs in Florida are especially Nazi? lol

Sigh - wealthy white people who don't have enough to do or worry about, I guess, and often don't realize what real problems are!

Shortly after that, by coincidence, I watched a video with a montage of 30 crazy doorbell cam videos on YouTube. 

Most of them were genuinely scary, like attempted break-ins or drugged out people - but this was both creepy-crazy and hilarious, and I was later able to find just the clip of this kookaburra woman. 

I thought at first it was a parody, but as we know by the current state of politics, sometimes real life is its own parody.

*PS - It IS actually a parody, I just discovered, as mentioned above - but funny because we've all met people like this, unfortunately.

HAHAHAHA!

So this conservative-dressed lady -  clearly from the Great Lakes area, judging by her accent - with football helmet hair, in a cardigan - repeatedly began knocking on her neighbors' door - "Helloooo?  Knockity knock knock knock" - like,  trying to be nice, but also obviously in distress about the lawn - not a mowing problem, which would make sense somewhat - but the fact that they were not growing the same type of grass everyone else in the neighborhood did? 

Okay, so ... first of all, they clearly live in an apartment, so how much control would they have over the grass anyway?

Regardless, if the grass was never mowed or something, that's one thing, but that's not the issue - she just wanted them to use the same grass seed she did - she even brought a bag of her own grass seed! LOL

Then when she says she hasn't been sleeping because of the grass  type -  and then singing ... I nearly soiled myself laughing! 

(And you can hear the owners laughing, too LOL)

Remember, it's NOT even an HOA neighborhood!

See, this is why I'd unlikely ever live in a co-op or a community with an HOA (unless it's fairly lax) or anyplace too cookie-cutter rather than diverse - and also why I don't join private clubs or country clubs lol.   

Not because I plan on doing anything cuckoo with where I live, but because it's just so - elitist?

"Resistance is futile - assimilate!"

In fact, I'd be tempted to break one of the rules purposely, just to watch the neighborhood Nazis freak out, apparently not having any worse problems than that.

Now, our apartment community has rules, but they're fairly reasonable and only get enforced if someone is being unsafe or affecting their neighbors apartment adversely in some severe way ( especially intentionally or harassing them) -  and even then, only if it's chronic, not like one loud UK-win party or derby party that went too late or something, or one disagreement.

If anything, they are too lax sometimes, i.e, I do find it annoying that I can't park in front of my own apartment in the summer because  people that don't even live here (as evidenced by no sticker) are taking up all the parking spaces, so they can jump the fence for the pool.

However, management likes to investigate reasons why something happened first, like someone forgot their key card etc. or their cards have become demagnetized (which happens frequently), or they're family of people who live here.

To be honest, I'd actually rather they do that, investigate, and err on the side of being too lenient rather than too vigilant, if I had to choose, but they really could be better with their signage of where to park and consequences for people who don't live here taking up all our parking spaces, so they can use the pool. 

Mostly, though, they're just about doing what they can to prevent problems before they happen, rather than correct them later, i.e., they've just installed a 6 foot iron fence around the pool, rather than the 3-foot one, to prevent hopping and a call to the office first before entry if their key card doesn't work or is lost, etc.

Now -  to the bigger point made in the Quora post, I've had these observations myself about people, of course, especially in recent political times, as have many others - but nowhere have I seen them tied together so simply, but brilliantly, about the nature of people, regardless of political side, and this is this simple truth: 

Most people actually like dictatorships/authoritarianism and will  even vote for it, as long as the dictator agree with them! LOL

As for me, not a fan of authoritarianism, right or left - and for whatever reason, I can usually recognize it right away, from either political side (despite their best protests and self-deception otherwise).

Especially the extremes of fascism and/or theocracy VS. communism (the later of which in theory works, but in practice, has always historically ended up with a scary oligarchy that controls personal freedoms, too).

Because regardless of left or right, both extremes eventually lead to less rights, even death, for those who either disagree or are otherwise deemed unlike themselves - and the dictators always end up getting too power drunk and out of control.

The first two telltale signs of authoritarianism, IMO, are: 

1) There is no middle ground, no gray areas allowed - you  must tick every single box, you must assimilate - you're either for us or against us, either all in or all out  - and with government authoritarianism,   being "out" can be even punishable by death, eventually.  

2) They will always (falsely) claim that they are the ones being persecuted, despite being the majority, just because somebody stood up to them. 

 

I would like to shoot for good balance between regulation and allowance of personal freedoms (as long as they aren't harming others, physically or otherwise) based on common sense, rather based on than fear-mongering, vindictiveness, or power grab (or irrational fear of the loss thereof), but I guess that's too much to ask - these days you're either with or against, no in betweens.

Here's to hoping someday, we all evolve, yes?