AN UNUSUALLY INSIGHTFUL BLOG COMMENT ON TAKING GUFF

​I hesitate to post this because it will reveal that I occasionally waste time reading blog comments.  This comment by “The Cracker Emcee Activist” (I have no idea what that means) was so insightful, however, that I think it’s worth sharing.  The context was a discussion about how we react to opposition as we age.  Here’s the comment (sorry about the profanity):

​“If someone is above you authority-wise, you still take shit. But it's a lot lot harder not to be caught rolling your eyes when it happens.”
I rolled my eyes when I was younger. Now I just say, in a spirit of helpful and productive cooperation, exactly why I think it’s not such a great idea. I’ve reached that point in my career where I’m older than many of my work peers and I’m enjoying that, as it allows me to stand free of their agitations and competitions. Look, if you really are wiser for being older, you’ll soon find that younger people will seek your opinions and advice. If growing older is merely turning you into a difficult curmudgeonly asshole, they’ll avoid you like the plague. People, of any age, who loudly proclaim that they’ll take no shit, usually receive no love either.