Mark Costello's friends are ignorant

By Mark Costello
Collegian Editor
April 26, 2006

Many of us have topics that are taboo in our circle of friends, and for the most part, justifiably so. People might have certain sensitivities or might just be flat-out offended by some things; others might have difficulties discussing seemingly benign topics. Whatever your quirk is, be sure you enjoy it and take solace in the fact that the guy next to you on the bus is weirder than you’ll ever be. Those of us who spend an inordinate amount of time in Holroyd Hall are weirder than that guy on the bus and you combined.

In my circle of friends, though, the verboten topic invariably is pop culture. In my eclectic little group, music and movies, television and theater, anything that falls under the category of “that which might be enjoyed for entertainment’s sake,” is subject to hot debate.

Why? We don’t respect each others’ rights to like things outside of our own tastes.

Now, that might sound like a scathing criticism of the state of things between my friends and me, but come now. Can I really expect someone who likes Dresden Dolls to be right? About anything? I have one friend who watches MTV, which clearly makes her the single most incorrect human being on the face of the planet. I’ve another friend who only reads Shopaholic books.

That works as long as illiteracy is your forte, but I myself am a classically-trained reader. In the vast halls of ancient Greece did my teachers school me—and schooled I was.

How can I be expected to talk to someone who listens to Evanescence? Amy Lee is cute, but Evanescence is a barren wasteland of teenage angst and depression. Thanks, but I’ll keep to my clearly superior and upbeat show tunes.

Stop laughing, you insensitive jerks.

Thus, we see why I can’t talk to my friends about anything pertaining to the entertainment industry. I’m just far too correct for them, and it drives them nuts. I can understand their angst—I myself was once wrong, but only when I bought the Strokes album This is It in a fit of pubescent lunacy.

It’s all for the best...

costellom4@lasalle.edu