[R 233] Neither am I. I listened just shaking my head. I kept thinking to myself, "Son, I'm glad you're finally finding your voice and speaking your truth, but damn. You've been shown a lot of love and empathy lately. Even if you hadn't, show it." I was in absolute awe over his casual comment using Schizophrenia as a joke. Mama Hen is gonna give him some home truths, and I'm no delusional frau. If ya'll would like the proper term for me, I'm an Ally to our LBGTQ brothers and sisters, and in this particular thread, I'm a Alte Verheiratete Hausfrau. In other words, I'm not a plain old stan/frau lusting after this kid. I'm old. Well, for him, anyway, and I'm not a cougar, certainly no offense to my friends or anyone who is. I like my men at least in their 50's.

Anyway, back to Hometruths with Mama Hen. There's absolutely NOTHING funny about Schizophrenia. Nothing. Three days before SXSW, a dear friend from high school buried her son. He was Eric's age. He committed suicide because he feared he would harm someone (fatally). He left behind a wife and 2 year old son. His diary left passages of a tormented mind that fought horrible thoughts from the voices in his head. ANYONE who has lived with mental illness knows it's no fucking joke. Don't get me wrong, I live with a lot of shit, chronic illnesses/pain, and yes mental illness as well. Have I dealt with some of my conditions with humor? Absolutely. There's a time and a place. In front of a panel like that in THAT context is not the place.

The next thing that I shook my head over and thought what the hell, son was the advice he gave young people. I know, I know, he was trying to relate to them and be cool. I'm certainly not gonna fault him for that. I'm not being sarcastic when I say this, the kid had a hard time in his youth. Being sent to a boarding school is a load of shit. I can't blame him for being a little angry, or even bitter. Hell, Mama Hen dealt with bullying in middle school. I finally punched the guy's lights out. We got in a knock down drag out fist fight while the teacher was out of the room. When he came back in, he said NOTHING. I think he was secretly proud of me. Now, your ass would go to jail. In 1991 in a rural county school, you simply got a nod.

Him telling the kids don't fit in and such- no problem. Be your own person. Do your own thing. Be you. This is where I had a problem. He went on to proclaim loudly, not once but TWICE, how the "popular people were losers." No, baby. Mama Hen is here with a hometruth. In high school, the popular people might've made your life a living hell, they might've made people's lives here a living hell, they might be making kids lives in high school right NOW living hell, but that's not the right attitude. Be kind, BUT take no shit.

Be kind to everyone you meet. Everyone you meet is going through something you don't know anything about. To look at me, you'd never know I'd extremely sick. In high school, the captain of the cheerleaders was anorexic. At home, her father was a severe alchoholic. No one knew. The girls star basketball player was bulimic. The star football player's father was severely depressed and suicidal. The December after we graduated, he found him dead with a gunshot wound to the head in their kitchen. You don't know what people go through.

This NEVER gives ANYONE a right to bully ANYONE (hence the take no shit). So, if they start after you've been kind, then you don't take shit. You shut that shit down immediately. Still, don't be lumping ALL people into a category. No one wants that shit. It's not good.

I know ya'll are saying son of a bitch, the only thing worse than these crazy fucking stans, and delusional teenagers and fraus, has to be a momma on here preaching. Well, you're damn right! My work here is done. I'm going to get back to Alte Hausfrauing. My husband leaves for work soon. Ya'll be good to each other. Yes, I know it's a gossip board, I've been reading it, but don't be so ugly one another. There's enough of that to go around in his fandom.