We have all been asked of this quiz question before:
What Super Power do you wish you had?
I still don’t know what my answer should be.
Flying?
Mind control?
Teleporting?
“The ability to eat as much as I want without gaining any weight”. Yeah. That’s what I am thinking right at this moment.
You all know The Bloggess. She of the power of turning everything into a hilarious nature. Really. We should send her to the frontline, protected inside an armor car of course, and give her a microphone. She has the Super Power of turning people into a howling, thigh-slapping, LMAOROTF, Dionysian mass. And believe me: I normally do not like touching my own thighs. Except one thigh would always inadvertently touching the other, but that cannot be helped. I sometimes would get mind-clarifying, “Come to Jesus” moments when I read her blog. It ain’t all fluff.
A line I heard from the video embedded in one of her posts still haunts me till this day:
“I have the intellectual confidence to appear stupid sometimes.”
THIS, is one of the best quotes I have learned in my whole life. Now, please repeat it with me:
“I have the intellectual confidence to appear stupid sometimes.”
I believe, by internalizing this line, we can all be liberated from self-consciousness and self-censorship. I believe this will be especially helpful for women climbing the corporate ladder, especially if the work place is predominantly male.
At first I thought that men are so good at “chiming in” and “making their points” at any meeting because they somehow were privy to this secret. Nah. Based on my years of ethnographic study of the male species in the corporate jungle, I believe that they are so good at “speaking up” because, unlike women who are often self-reflexive, most men never even consider the possibility that what comes out of their mouth may just be flat out the stupidest thing someone has ever heard of. See, they never apologize before they speak. The strength of not giving a damn. THAT is the Super Power I would like to have.
Today’s BOGO special:
In addition to the quote above that can serve as an awesomely witty throw-away remark when someone suggests that you are intelligence-challenged, AFTER you sucker punch them of course, here is another motto for you to use in your role as Truth Seeker:
We are entitled to our own opinions; we’re not entitled to our own facts. — Al Franken
Wow, I know I’m coming to this late, but I gotta say, this is an amazing post for so many reasons. I, too, would love the superpower to not give a damn. Instead, it is my own personal Kryptonite.
I gotta figure out how to put this whole post on a t-shirt.
.-= Falling´s last blog…Tonight, On a Very Special Falling… =-.
Thanks for the kind words. Say, let’s go into the t-shirt business. Let’s all go!! We can call it the Snarky Lady or something like that. LOL.
Love this!!! Those quotes? They’re priceless!!
And my super power would have to be MIND CONTROL.
I’ve always wanted an army of robots to obey my every whim.
.-= Jen @ NathanRising´s last blog…The Swiveling Head =-.
How about Mind Control so Nathan stops giving you Poop Explosions? 😉 I guess that won’t work. You almost need Poop Control… LOL
I love this post.. I’m printing it out and reading it over and over again.
.-= Ry Sal´s last blog…Pugsatony Phil’s got Nothin. =-.
XXOO
I learn so much from you.
.-= Robin´s last blog…Movie Snob and Avatar =-.
The feeling is mutual, m’lady.
As always, great post. The quotes are liberating and I plan to share them with my female work peeps. 🙂
.-= Velva´s last blog…Low-Fat Flan Custard =-.
*heart* Yes. We need to look out for each other! And what is that I saw in the title of your latest post? FLAN?! My favorite dessert?! *heart heart*
My most favourite t-shirt in the world from the (best) band (ever) NoMeansNo reads “Be Strong Be Wrong”.
Love that Al Franken quote.
.-= tattytiara´s last blog…Everybody’s going to see this title, aren’t they? =-.
Thanks for visiting and commenting! I LOVE “Be Strong Be Wrong”! Rock that shirt, m’lady!
I couldn’t agree more. So many people worry so much. Now, don’t get me wrong, I worry like it’s my job and I go to work every day as a vacation from worry – but when I’m there I keep working on worry anyway. One thing you don’t need to worry about is saying the wrong thing.
It happens. It makes us more human, and more fun.
Oh and my super power today is time-travel. You can fix anything stupid you’ve done or said, and in a pinch you can recursively go back over and over to make a team of you and help yourself move. Badass.
.-= KeepingYouAwake´s last blog…Where do you Want it? =-.
My good sir, I wish I had Sylar’s power. No, that means I need to eat your brain. I wish I had Rogue’s power (is it ok to mix mythologies?!) so I can absorb the healthy attitude towards saying the wrong things you mentioned. And I love your super power. So what did you fix today? 😉 I wish I could go back in time and NOT eat the lobster roll sandwich after I had two Bloody Mary’s yesterday…
“I have the intellectual confidence to appear stupid sometimes.” Love that…hope I have enough intelligence to remember it because I often have the need to use it!
I want to tattoo it on my arm so I can invoke it when necessary!
I wish more men would lose the power of not worrying about whether they would appear to be stupid. And I wish more people in general would take Franken’s quote to heart.
.-= secret agent woman´s last blog…Silly Wabbit =-.
Tru dat!
I have a whole world I’ve created about being stupid…It makes me happy!
.-= A Vapid Blonde´s last blog…Marbles Really Don’t Taste That Good =-.
Great. BUT not that world is not so stupid that people don’t get to insist on Chopin or other high-quality Vodka when it counts, right? Just want to make sure…
I just go ahead and assume what I’m saying IS stupid. My dad’s advice is always, “better to be thought an idiot than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.” I ignore that advice on a regular basis.
.-= Elly Lou´s last blog…Driving Conversations =-.
LOL. My foot is permanently in my mouth…
i always get derailed by elly lou. now, i ♥your dad even more.
there are times in which i have chosen to claim stupidity as my justification for unpopular choices when it is possible i was just being recklessly spiteful. does that count as intellectually and emotionally superior? it is more favorable to be stupid than spiteful, right?
i hope to find myself readily armed with Al Franken some adult situation in the near future. i can’t wait until my next conflict. i shall facilitate one, first chance.
the power to not care…what a gift it would be…certainly something i fantasize and glorify.
.-= magda´s last blog…Rookie Late Bloomer Discovers Keyboard Coolness =-.
Hey hey, dads are off limits here, ok? LOL. Just kidding. Well, kind of…
I too cannot wait for a good fight to invoke Al’s quote. Do share with us on one of your wonderful blogs if you ever get the chance to tongue lash somebody!
(Down, Elly Lou, down. I can see you now getting all excited because I said “tongue lash”… 😉 )
I think I’d still take mind control, because then you could get people to perceive you as thin, funny or whatever.
Good point! If you did get the power though, please control my mind so I no longer give a damn. Please? 😉
Love both of those quotes. As for a super power. I will pass, way too much pressure put on people with super powers. Hell, I wish I couldn’t cook, once I learned how to cook, all that was put off on me, then it was cook, clean, run the stores, balance the checkbooks, have the sex (well, ok, I don’t mind that super power ;), dress the kids, read to the kids, buy the clothes, walk the dogs. Now, I have everyone trained to do their own thing, a super power would definitely just start a whole new cycle of pressure. lol
.-= Wicked Shawn´s last blog…Wicked Girls……..Playing The Numbers Game =-.
Spider Man would agree with your take on Super Power! 😉
I still wish eating anything I wanted without gaining weight was a super power!
.-= Jane´s last blog…Common Computer Passwords Even a 5 Year-Old Can Figure Out =-.
You and me, girl. You and me. 🙂
See I have the intellectual confidence to KNOW that I am stupid most times.
.-= William´s last blog…Blind Spot =-.
You are wise, my good sir. That sounds like something Confucius could have said!
I often wish to be invisible
And it would be great to be able to speak first think later once in a while like our male buddies…they also pass gas without hesitation
superior beings these guys are (-:
.-= Mrsblogalot´s last blog…The Sex Ref =-.
Yes. I am often jealous of their various capabilities. The ability to not care somehow is what I covet the most…
Playing dumb is an art form that I’m pretty sure I’ve achieved EXPERT status in.
LOL. Indeed. Many of us have Professorship on this subject. 😉
Do you mean to tell me that all these world-class dumbass rednecks and coonasses down here are just INTELLECTUALLY CONFIDENT?! I’ M GOING TO KILL MYSELF!!!!!
.-= Chris´s last blog…OMG! Looky Looky Looky! =-.
Well, good point. I guess the quote can go both ways. BUT since most of these people have NO self-reflexive power to shut the fuck up, we should learn from them and be not so afraid of saying whatever comes to mind.
(Ok, that was tongue in cheek…)
Awesome post — I absolutely love it. And the Bloggess, yes, she should be president of all blogging or something even more distinguished. But only if we get to be in her cabinet. How about starting a campaign? 🙂
.-= Andrea´s last blog…"Sympathy for the devil" =-.
You read that Shorty Award blocked her from the Government category (she was #2 before)? And that a small town in Texas gave her a made-up position? It’s so awesome. LOL.
Love that first quote so much, I copied it and immediately posted it as my FB status! Great stuff! Should be just the jab I needed to make a point to a pompous, self-righteous blowhard that I’ve been arguing with. LOL
The Al Franken quote – used frequently. 😉
.-= Shelli´s last blog…How did I get here? =-.
Isn’t Al great? I was worried at first that he might be a bit too controversial on the floor, you know, going overboard just to make a point (like what he does in his books, or at least his book titles! LOL) But that speech he gave, it was to the point. I don’t think you can argue with this point he made.
There are alot of them these days that are blunt and to the point! Grayson in FL is a prime example! LOVE LOVE LOVE him! And hoping he’s still there when I move to the Orlando area in 5.5 years.
PS … I left you a little something over on my blog. 😉
.-= Shelli´s last blog…Something for me =-.
Thank! 🙂
Yeah but when men blab on about nothing it’s seen as inspired collaboration, when women do it it’s seen as talking too much.
.-= honeypiehorse´s last blog…Take Another Little Piece of My Heart Now, Baby =-.
Right on, sista! High Five right here! I could write a post on that topic. It would be a great WTF Wednesday subject. WTF indeed. LOL.
I love that saying. I have to say I am living that motto, especially in this house, where sometimes playing dumb is your best bet because being too SMART is a bad move. Sometimes. In a house full of males. Where I am the only who speaks in complete sentences. Mostly.
.-= laura´s last blog…On a Tear =-.
I live with ONLY three and I feel like crying every day. Of course, they often band together to make fun of me. Add that to my work environment… sigh. That’s why I love the quote so much. 😉
p.s. Thanks for RT!