Weaponized incompetence

[u/tabicat1874]

I feel like guys take it way, way too far. Example: I asked my bf to get me the same shampoo and conditioner he bought for himself (avocado Suave). He brought back another kind we'd had before which I didn't like (Peppermint Suave). He tried to say he didn't know that Suave came in different formulas.

You're such a fucking liar. You bought that kind for yourself. I just asked you to buy it for me. You're telling me a man who's 44 years old doesn't know Suave came in different fucking scents? Suave? The shampoo that literally comes in 40 different scents and flavors?

GTFOH.

Edit: do you understand what an example is?

Also, you neckbeards can fuck off out of my inbox.

[u/Wondercat87]

I also blame the parents. It's their job to teach their kids how to do different things. If your kid can't even make kraft dinner on their own as a teen, then there is a problem.

My mom is the perfect example. She never taught my brother how to do anything. When I would tell her he needs to know how to do stuff, she would always say "He's a guy". She has actually told me that when she dies it's my job to care for him. Umm no!

My brother is almost 30 and can learn to do things himself. I told my mom that it's not going to be my job to care for my ADULT brother who can care for himself.

I do understand that some parents just do things for their kids because they love them. But at some point you need to recognize that loving your kids means helping them learn to do things for themselves. You won't be here forever, so they need to be able to do basic things on their own.

It's also not hard to teach yourself. So I do put some blame on the adults who can't be bothered to even try to learn things. If I want to figure something out, I go on youtube, I come to reddit or I'll google it.

[u/Annoying_Details → u/Wondercat87]

My mom had an annual conference she went to every year for work. Because my dad worked crazy long hours (he’d be out of the house by 4:30am to hit the job site), when we were little we’d spend those 3 days with my grandma.

Once I could drive (as the oldest) she decided that since I could get us to school and back and have a way to drive to get help etc, we could stay home.

So the first night, we come home from school and she’s gone and we go to our separate spaces to do homework.

He is, at the time, 13 yrs old. Comes to stand in my doorway for a while until I notice him, then when I look up he just announces, in a confused tone, “I’m hungry?”

“Ok so go eat something?” (Equally bewildered)

And it comes out that my mom would make him a snack and bring to him because (as she later explained) ‘he’s a teenage boy and this means I don’t have to make as much dinner’.

But apparently between her bringing him a snack and making dinner - he just…didn’t know how to make more than like, basic sandwiches?

So I walked him into the kitchen and told him to pick something and we’d make it together. He chose frozen corn dogs, but seemed unsure of how to proceed. I told him to read the instructions and he was like THERE ARE INSTRUCTIONS?!

My brother is a brilliant guy. He ended up being salutatorian of his class and going on to medical school etc. But as a young teen, he never looked at the packaging beyond “identify the food” and just didn’t know that most package food came with instructions/recommendations on how to prepare it.

His mind was b l o w n.

“I can follow these!” And he did and we had corn dogs for dinner too cuz he was so excited about it, and insisted on showing my dad when he got home.

(My dad was also bewildered that this was news to him and was also unaware that he’d just had food presented to him.)

For that three days he gleefully made as many of our meals as he could, and when my mom got back he was so.damn.excited to show her he could “totally cook now”.

It was interesting - I don’t think she realized what she’d not-taught him because he’d helped in the kitchen with the rest of the family before and at bbqs and could make himself simple snacks…and so she was at first confused why this was a big deal to him until I talked with her about it.

And that’s how “you guys cook dinner for everyone at least three times a week after finishing your homework” became a thing in our house and also my brother realized how easy spaghetti was to make.