Feh!

My reaction to the mid-term elections is bitterness and resentment. Not because the GOP swept the House or that actual Tea Partiers were elected, mind you. I am not the least bit surprised by the outcome of these elections.

Stupid, unworthy, criminal, revolting hacks enjoying success while the talented and visionary get shafted -- that's my beef. I probably had this revelation in some form as a wee Troublet but did not seethe over this putrid injustice until entering the workforce, where it plays out every day, everywhere.

As much as I hate to give her any credit (she is clearly guilty of this offense), Kathie Lee Gifford often says in her Today Show bloviations, "You know what the problem is, Hoda-Woman? In our society we reward people for their bad behavior!"

She's right. Reality TV. Celebrity/Gossip media. Politics.

On a personal level, I've been passed-over, second choice, an also-ran for several potential jobs for which I was, no kidding, a perfect fit. Each time I got the old, "We had a difficult choice -- you are amazing! -- but we've decided to go in a different direction" corker. That's fine, you can't win all the time, right? What ruffles my feathers is that I work in a field where their first choice, the one who snatched the opportunity from my grasp, is highly visible. My most recent experiences with this served to demonstrate my point: those jerks really, really suck at their job and don't deserve it.

The affrontery is unbearable sometimes. No doubt some of the election night losers are feeling my pain right now. Really? I lost out to that bumbling shitass?

Introspection is in order, of course. A small dose of poor me. But for me, lately, it's less about what's wrong with me and what's wrong with the people making these decisions.

In my field the organizations are desperate to stay relevant, so I understand their desire to bring in fresh meat. With politics, the voters are emotional and generally wrong-headed in their decision-making. This time around, and probably in 2012, the gray beards are doing their utmost to unwittingly fuck everything up.

I worry more about the youngsters: what fresh Hell is this, what kind of bumblefuck messages are we sending out?
1. If fame and fortune is your goal, consider a sex tape or sex scandal with an already famous person.
2. If you are obnoxious enough, you will get on a TV show!
3. Education is useless to you, kid. Worry about making money, as much as fast as you can. Also, the world needs fast food workers and janitors, amiright?
4. Talent is over-rated. Align yourself with the right people and ride their coattails!
5. Load yourself up with student loan debt. You'll never get a good job that you'll be laid off from within five years without a Master's degree!
6. If car sales or insurance sales is too hard for you, consider politics! All you need is "star quality" and the ability to babble nonsense with a straight face.

Yeah, I'm bitter. I know a whole lot of other people besides myself who are fed up with complete twatwaffles sailing through life, cherry picking their successes, while we toil and roil like suckers.