There are folks out in the world who look like idiots or buffoons but just don't care. They are who they are. Quirky, eccentric, unusual. It's all good. Somehow their oddities are acceptable and cute and funny, part of the counterculture that makes them who they are. There are also folks out there who look like Captain Dorkface from the planet Poofendoof, but in their own minds they believe they are Rico Suave. I want to assure you that there is an important difference between these two classes of individuals. One group deserves our ridicule. We are laughing at them, not with them.Let me provide an example so that you can appreciate the gist of my nub. I was driving down the road the other day and was passed by a person on a European moto-scooter. This scooter looked like it should have been an accessory for the Barbie Dream House collection. Frilly and girly and cartoonish. A spectacle to be sure. The problem was compounded by the appearance of the person riding said scooter. It was someone who was trying to come across as a street tough. Dressed in a leather jacket, German army helmet, cool shades, and western-style American blue jeans. He even completed the look with several days of beard growth. It reminded me of the words of a critic of the "band" NKOTB. One of the members of this pre-pubescent boy band took on the persona of a tough guy. The critic described him as a motorcycle guy in a moped band. Someone who was trying to act out a particular role, but in the wrong play. Trying to be a square peg, but faced with nothing but round holes. Now, I am not one to criticize or look down on folks who bring something new to the table, but sometimes folks try so hard to be something that they are not that I have no choice but to gesture and laugh.
