RESPECT.

I learned valuable lessons today.

On my way to work I was detoured due to the funeral procession for yet another local police officer shot in the line of duty. As I made my way down the opposite side of the river it hit home: hundreds of police and domestic vehicles in a funeral procession spanning easily more than ten miles with thousands of people standing out in the pouring rain paying their respects.

The lesson I learned was not from the thousands of onlookers or those involved in the procession. the lesson I learned was from the self centered, soulless, waste of oxygen fuckbags that ruined the spirit of the event by yelling, honking, using choice fingers, and generally causing a ruckus due to their own inability to pay respect to those due and postpone their venture from Point A to Point B in that act.

I pride myself on being a joyously cynical human being. I often grumble about stupidity, children, adolesecence, and other typical cultural failures all the while professing my deep seated hostility towards humanity as a whole. But I don't think once I have ever shown disrespect to those that did not deserve it.

On a typical day I don't spend much time thinking about the world outside my little shell. It hurts too much. My personal philosophy is that the general populace of the world only wants to hear the negative. There is no such thing as positive media. If something good is to be said about anyone in the world, that information is followed by report after report of death, rape, bad politicians, terrorists, child abductions; the list goes on and on. I create my own world at my comic book store. Although I am the resident grumbly 'old man', I ensure that all exposed to my store feel joy. Its what I do.

The only reason I am able to provide this service to my customers is because there are others out there performing selfless jobs day in and day out to ensure my freedom and security. I recognize that. I was overwhelmed today by the sheer beauty of the event, then mind raped by the sheer stupidity of a chosen few. In my heightened state of rage, I took cell phone pictures of the douchebags and wrote down their license plates. Be aware. There are those of us in the world fully prepared to publish your personal info everywhere just to let the world know how much you suck. Don't make me do it.

Two lessons learned today:
1. I like my bubble. When I venture out of it I will make a concerted effort to pay my respects to those worthy.
2. I will make a concerted effort to hone my doucehbaggery and save it for those most worthy of my wrath.