Family fights!

I was home for a couple days and went to visit family. I'm not one of the people who has a perfect family. I'm not sure anyone does, but now I really just consider a family perfect if they don't fight during a meal at Denny's. You can sit down with people you've known since you were young, watch them eat pancakes and not bring up some event that happened ten years ago? Well sir, you are part of a perfect thing in my eyes.

Personally, I don't have that perfect family. There are a lot of fights about a lot of things. Things happening right now. Things that happened in the past. Things that haven't happened but should still be argued about incase they were to happen. It's pretty much a constant over the last few years. And really, I don't know what there is to be done about it. Not sure you can ever just sit down and say what has really gone wrong over your lifetime. What has happened to make people react the way they do in certain situations. That doesn't seem like an option.

It seems everyone says that their family is messed up. Everyone says that their family is crazy, or insane, or that they don't get along. What's strange to me, is if this is true, why when a non perfect family does argue in a diner over some omelettes, do the people around them get so strange? Why do they get tense, and talk about that family as if they are crazy? If everyone's family is nuts, is it REALLY that big a deal?

In public, people put on a front. People walk around showing others that THEY are normal.
"Look, we've got it together. Even though we were just screaming at each other over an iPad, we need to show that we are not those type of people. So, here we are. Walking and not talking to each other because we're pissed, but you can't tell that!"
For some reason, we all decided years ago that when we are in public, around other people who are messed up, we were going to show them that we are not.

Even seeing other families argue, we pretend as if what they are doing is nuts. People get tense, start pointing or secretly talking to each other.
"Look, look, look. Not right now! They're looking. Behind you. You hear that? They're arguing about some cousin in their family whose a piece of trash. Just like we've done a bunch of times. What a bunch of nuts. Arguing in public like just about everyone ends up doing at some point in time. Glad I'm not them, even though I am."
Why did we all decide this rule that we have to look perfect or totally put together for people we don't even know? Do we REALLY care what an usher at a movie theatre thinks of us? Does it REALLY matter if the person at the B

We should allow it to happen. We should cheer it on. We should encourage it because we are all going to be there and have been there.
"Yeah, scream at that kid! I was just yelling at mine the other day, and I'll be doing it again soon. Good for you for letting it out!"

We shouldn't go out of our way to fight in public, but if it happens, and when it does the rest of us shouldn't act like we can't believe that it's happening. As if we have no idea why a mother and daughter would get mad at each other. Or why a family driving across country will pull into a gas station just screaming at each other. Why would that happen? We know damn well why! Because sometimes people you are close to make you angrier than anything else ever could. Traffic can never make you as angry as a family member could. Imagine if the cars in front of you were members of your family just beaking at you.
Honk! Honk!
"Come on, move it!"
"Move it? Really? You're going to talk to your mother like that? After all I've done for you?"
"Well what are you doing in the middle of the street?"
"Ah, again. Never 'nice to see you, mom', 'I've missed you, mom', just anger all the time."
"I'm gonna lose my mind!"

What's really crazy, is we all pretend that arguing is weird, but when any of us run into a family that doesn't argue at all, we think they are the craziest people of all. Are they a part of a cult? Did they have a lobotomy when they were kids? How the hell do you never fight with people you've been around your whole life!
"Myself and my family never argue. We come to logical conclusions about our disagreements over tea and cookies."
"Alright, Dahmer. I'm not sleeping here tonight."

When you see a family arguing in public, don't look at them as if they're insane. Just be thankful that currently it isn't you, because you know that day is coming around again.
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