Recklessly Small

Words have power and a resonance not easily captured in a dictionary. How often do you see a definition explain that using a certain word over another will make you sound wankery? Words can be used to hide things too. Hidden in plain sight by words that paint you as a victim or martyr while ignoring your complicity in your downfall. If you're one of these people, that let words do your lying for you, then fuck you. This is all prompted by a young man who told me he was set upon and received a kicking from two other young men. That they chased, caught and threw the boots in. This young man described it as an assault. Others have used the word assault and have just been straight up lying cunts. They started a fight, lost and explain the little blue and purple badges of dishonour away as having been assaulted. This young man's lie is more pernicious, it ignores his complicity. It paints a picture of a man who through no fault of his own got beaten up. You see, this man is 10 stone in weight. For the metrically minded that's 63.5kg. His assailants were about the same. And no, I'm not talking about a dwarf. This young man is 5'8" or 1.72m That's 2 inches shorter than me and nigh on 5 stone lighter. His complicity is in being recklessly small. Take a theft as another example. If you are simple minded enough to leave your phone unattended on a table in a busy bar, if it gets taken then it's not so much a theft as a tax on the stupid. If you drink and drive and crash, while people passing on the bus on their way to work may think human tragedy that is not the full story. You are at fault, at least partially, for going out there unprepared knowingly putting yourself in the path of harm without the skills or abilities to deal with the the forseeable future. Fuck you and the work you've caused the emergency services. The small, the frail, the unprepared need to take some responsibility. While crimes shouldn't happen, they do and it is upon us to be prepared. Insurance companies set higher premiums in houses with poor locks and no alarms. They pay less if you weren't wearing a seat belt. If you left your keys in the car and it's gone come morning - you're screwed. If taking some responsibility means putting on some shoulders over a back and holding them up with some legs of note then do it. If it means being sober and keeping an eye on your phone do. I don't want to have to pretend to give a shit about you if you're to blame. Conan The Caring Sort