Search Results: slap

I am a white guy but I have made a lot of minority friends and acquaintances over the years. Particularly Latino friends and few black friends. Nothing I sought out to do just to be “progressive” or something. I judge people on how they treat me, the values they hold and simply if we can just get along. Coincidentally some of those people are minorities. All good.

However will admit it really does take more initial effort to really get to know someone from a different race. That in itself is not a “racist” characteristic. But people do have different life experiences and their ethnicity/race will influence that for better or worse. It takes effort and time to understand that.

However sometimes I see my minority friends making bad decisions and/or having the wrong belief systems that I know from an outside perspective isn’t good for them. However I find myself usually erring on the side of caution when it comes to giving them “tough love” advice. I get the impression that harsh but necessary criticism can be mistaken for ignorance or even prejudice.

Also the whole BLM movement only made this astronomically worse in my opinion. Sometimes white people give harsh criticism to minorities because they ultimately want to see them do better not because we enjoy being condescending.

Anyway the trick with “tough love” is it needs to be timed right. You have to trust and know the person cares for you. The have to trust the other person understands you and your situation. They have to know the right moment to deliver it. You also have to know they take no enjoyment criticizing you.

I’ve gotten tough love in the past both from white friends and even some of my minority friends. I know the didn’t enjoy criticizing me too. They were trying to slap some sense into me when I needed it.

But why is vice versa so much tougher with my minority friends?

I was casually referred to as a "middle aged man" by a punk-ass-kid; who I thought I was having a pleasant conversation with.

Is it true? Am I now, properly "middle aged?" Would describing myself as "a middle aged man" be an accurate overall description of my age?

When I image search "middle aged," I get people like the dude in this picture. This dude's at least 50. Right? (this is a stock image for "middle aged"). This is what I think of as middle aged. The time when someone might have a "midlife crisis." I don't think you can have a midlife crisis at 38 years old... can you?

So please, give me the cold hard truth here. I don't want to be under any illusions.

(I also feel like any 38 year old woman would slap-the-shit out of somebody who called them "middle aged." Am I wrong?)