In a group conversation with several of my co-workers, a friend mentioned to me, “By the way, I notice you don’t swear a lot.” I shot back, “Open your f*cking ears, jack*ss.” This got some pretty loud laughter, perhaps at the expense of a missionary moment. Ever the fun loving frat boy, I generally get along a lot better with non-Mormons, and I have since my early teens.

I do get along quite well with some Mormons, even some surprisingly conservative ones. But in life and on blogs, mostly I get the feeling that many Mormons begrudge me something, though I’m uncertain what it is or why it matters. Perhaps it’s my keen sense for the inappropriate.

In other words, Kris complaining about her lack of intelligence is as silly as the cute cheerleaders complaining that they’re fat.

In fact, her protests remind me of nothing so much as the cute cheerleaders in high school who would complain about how fat they were, when they all had bodies that the rest of the school would kill for.

And come on — isn’t it common knowledge that intellectual lightweights go to law school? (Or become computer geeks, of course).

So the whole phenomenon strikes me as silly. I thought it was silly in high school too. But then, I’ve never been one who had a particularly good understanding of the female psyche. I sometimes think it’s amazing that I managed to get married.

Even if I were “politely” trying to point out that you’re not very smart, that would be rude indeed. That was not my intention (I suppose I did imply that an Eastern education is not per se better than any other formal education).

Please no hard feelings. I was not aware of your sensitivity re your educational/intellectual status among the T&S permabloggers. FWIW, I think you fit in just fine there, at least from an education-level standpoint.

We are most certainly not our caricatures: I know Kaimi a little, and he doesn’t seem nearly so wild and crazy in person as he does in the ‘nacle. ;->

I’m with Pete — I don’t think he meant his comment as rude.

Besides, I know him slightly, and he doesn’t seem like a mean guy.

Pete,

Kris isn’t mean either. She’s a teddy bear. Don’t let her ferocious feminism frighten you.

I’m sorry you view my comment as unkindness/rudeness. I suppose I could view your response the same way, since it gives me no benefit of the doubt, instead presuming maliciousness on my part.

But I choose to view it instead as responding to my *arguments* (that bloggers respond to arguments and that I could not tell from your blogging that you are “Eastern-educated”) not to my self-described identity as a Western-educated caucasion male non-liberal/feminist member of the CJCLDS.

And I will certainly try to view your reaction as not disparaging all other forms of education other than “Eastern” ones.