We were getting ready to leave for a dinner/choir event my younger sister was participating in at the high school. We were literally moments away from leaving. I grabbed my wallet like people do when they go places. I put barely any thought into it. It's habit for me when I have my wallet I have my chain.
I had just put it on when my dad informed me that I was not wearing my chain. I said that I was an adult and I would dress how I pleased. My dad shut up for a moment after that statement. I continued about my business. Then my dad realized he could make a big deal about it. He threw a tantrum.
As I've noted (see Problem Solving), arguments in my family suffer from shear ridiculousness. They are very rarely actually about anything important. My dad's tantrum consisted of this. He started off just being pissed off and yelling. He then stormed upstairs and started to change out of his dress clothes. He wasn't going to go if I wore my chain. While he was throwing his tantrum my family took up the cause as well.
My mom told me that I was barely dressed up as is. (Note: When we actually got to the dinner, I was actually complimented on the niceness of my sweater and it took every muscle in my face to avoid being a smart ass.) Then my dad came down without his jacket and yelled at me some more. Then he headed back upstairs. Then my aunt took up the cause. She informed me that my dad was embarrassed by my chain. My dad then came back downstairs with his shirt unbuttoned and without a tie to yell at me some more. He then went back upstairs. my younger sister joined my cause and said that my dad just didn't want to go. My dad came back downstairs with normal clothes on and yelled some more. He then went back upstairs. Then the guilt trips were laid on my grandma was talking about how she never would have disobeyed her father. Then my aunt said that they make my cousins take off their chains as well. Then my mom started arguing about with my dad telling him to get dressed again.
It went on like that for twenty minutes. There was various levels of arguing, guilt tripping, and yelling. As well as my dad going up in down the stairs in various levels of clothing. It was beyond all else ridiculous. Eventually I did just take off the chain. It was more for the reason that my sister was going to be late than any other reason. I would have been perfectly fine having not gone and would have out stubborned my father had it not been for my sister needing to be on time. (It would be nice if my dad didn't always get his way.) Growing up I was late to all manner of things because of arguments, so I knew where she was coming from.
I'm not saying that I reacted in the best way possible or even that I wasn't just being a stubborn jackass, but there are a few things said I call total bullshit on.
1. That my dad was embarrassed. If my dad is so embarrassed by a strip of metal that he won't be seen in public with me, that's just shit. Sorry, but honestly I'm the one with the jingly ass. It really doesn't affect you.
2. That my wearing the chain was disrespectful. Sorry, but no it's not. My chain doesn't attack or damage anything. (Not counting the occasional chair that get's scratched. Sorry chair.) It doesn't say or do anything offensive. To be honest, it's more disrespectful for you refuse to go to something based on the way a person is dressed.
3. That my wearing a chain was the equivalent of me wearing too much make-up or a skimpy bikini. Once I'd removed the chain and we were waiting for my dad to put his clothes back on, I got the lectures. My grandma informed me that when she was a teenager and she'd go out, her father would inform her to wipe off lipstick if there was too much on. My aunt lectured me about how she once bought a bikini and her father refused to let her wear it. A chain is for the purpose of my not loosing my wallet (plus I like jingling). It actually has a practical purpose. It's not for the sake of looking sexy or pretty and I'm not trying to impress anyone by wearing it. I'm also not showing any part of my body off. (And what's the big deal about a bikini anyways?)
4. My father wanted to be proud of me. I would just like to know how my clothing in anyway shape or form should affect how proud someone is of me.
I think the most absurd thing is what happened next. After the lectures and the redressing, we finally all crammed into the car. This of course means my dad sat in the trunk because he was too cheep to spend the gas on driving two cars so everyone had a seat belt. (It should be noted my family does this a lot.) While we were all packed into the vehicle, my aunt decided to get all worked up about how my dad would die if we got into an accident. (By this point an accident actually didn't sound so bad.)
Somehow though we got past all the whining and praying for a meteorite to smash into the car and actually were having a legitimate conversation about religion. Religion. We can't diplomatically decide whether or not I should wear a wallet chain, but we can discuss religion and no one was even grumpy. What the hell?
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| Even Jesus found this funny. |
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