Bad Blood

I was born the youngest of seven. I have three older brothers and three older sisters. All of them are half siblings. Mom's somewhere in the middle of ten and Dad's somewhere in the middle of eight, I think. I have countless cousins. I could probably walk past a majority of my aunts and uncles without recognizin' 'em. Big family might be an understatement.

With a big family comes lots of problems. I come from a clan of thieves, vagrants, and brawlers. They drink and smoke. They cuss and spit. They also work hard and try to do what is right. I got people addicted to shoppin', I got people addicted to meth. I got people that can't stay sober, and others that can't hold a job. Good and bad family always has both. Nuthin' we can do 'bout it.

They say family is the key to society. (That's the defense they have against gays adoptin' and bein' married and generally bein' accepted. The world's never been in short supply of assholes, dunno that gay parents would change that but an open-minded ashole's gotta be better right?) Family is very much the key to society. Through some random chance we're stuck here with a bunch of people, some good some bad and there's not much gettin' rid of 'em. You gotta deal with 'em or avoid 'em. Some people opt for the kill/eat/feed to ravenous pigs option but it's a bit less popular with the rest of the family in general.

So, what can you really do with a jerk?

Ignorin' it never really seems to get you anywhere. They just get to keep bein' a jerk and you get to keep puttin' up with it. I never liked that advice. Just ignore the bully. Ignore the guy poundin' my face in? Ignore the guy eatin' food that should be mine? Ignore the guy that talks bad about me, my momma, and my dog behind my back? Ignore my big brother/big sister/little cousin that's actin' like a huge jerk? Can't do it. I wanna hit 'em.

But hittin' 'em never really does anything. I mean it can make you feel better. It usually helps if you're justified in it. Should be something deservin' of a punch to the nose. Hit me, I'll hit you back. Hit my girlfriend, I'll hit you back at least three times. Hit my kid, I'll hit you til you apologize to him at least three times. Ate a piece of cake I wanted, I'll wanna hit you so you give it back, but I won't. I can't do it on those everyday annoyances where there's no real reason to. If you already did sumthin' like that a punch wouldn't fix anything.

Shoutin' is another one of those that feels good at the time but may not do anything for you. I know when I get yelled at I'm not really hearin' anything anybody's sayin'. I'm just gonna get angry and yell back or maybe lose control and start a fight. (Well maybe not not 'cause I'm generally chill as a cucumber but someone might.) People get attacked verbally and they become stubborn and uncooperative.

Reasonin' is the thing that tends to work most of the time. For everyday infractions like a messy room needin' to be cleaned, or a cross word spoken, or some rule broken I think reasoning works best.

"I don't like this and here's why."

"Oh well I didn't realize." Or "Still gonna do it and here's why."

Then you gotta work it out from there.

We gotta be slow to anger. We gotta decide what about these situations makes us angry and what's a realistic solution. Especially with family and even if they're assholes. We'll be stuck with them and the world would be a better place if we can learn to make peace with 'em.

and now crappy poetry by me:

Viper's Venom

I worry for you little snake
For the life you might take

Your venom knows no mercy
In it is no controversy

It passes through your tooth
Knowing only one truth

Whatever you strike you kill
That is your defensive will

Spot, hidden, a predator tail
Strike, bite, there is no fail

The damage is now done
And down comes this one

The circle complete
You are your own defeat