Let me introduce you to my dad.
He’s a professor of labor economics at MIT, loves outdoor sports and sayings things that aren’t pc or appropriate just to shock people. I won’t get into examples because that would be embarassing. For me, not him. I’m pretty sure his brain has been wired conveniently numbing him to the feelings of embarassment. If only we all were so lucky.
My dad also has a lot of pet peeves including loud gum chewers. So I am sitting in my brothers room while him and my dad discuss something about courses for next semester. My brother is chewing gum quite loudly. The conversation goes:
Noam (my brother): So do you think I should take Econ or Cognitive Science ((while chewing like a cow))
Dad: loose the gum.
Noam: I forgot that you hate gum.
Dad: I’d rather you go smoke a cigarette.
hm…my mom would’ve had a heart attack had she heard this.
Moreover, this reminds me that when my parents found out about my smoking my mom flipped shits while my dad rationalized my behavior as a social phase. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure my dad loves me and my brother and would certainly not want us to die from lung cancer but sometimes his parenting skills confuse me.
My parents hate gum too–I’m not even allowed to chew gum in front of my grandparents. I’ve been lectured time and time again…I can’t believe your dad would rather you smoking than chewing gum though! Gum is just ugly and obnoxious, but not harmful.