Stupid Rules

I have this instructor that I just can't stand. He's a total jerk & on a power trip. He has made this semester hell & I think that makes him happy.

He told us we have to write a speech for next week, about the song we relate to the most. The sound track to our life, as I put it. He wants it to be personal & give the reasons why this song is about us.

Then said, "No country music."

I told him he owed us an explanation why the only restriction he put on our music choice had to be that. He said he doesn't like country music. I told him that's a crappy reason (I totally said that). He told me I could do one of two things: "get angry & pissy or be a grown-up & accept it for what it is. After all, if you ever get a job, you'll have to do things for your boss that have restrictions."

Okay, did ya all catch that? He actually told me 1) to be a grown up 2) "if" I ever get a job 3) to accept something that I don't agree with, without a real reason.

Bwahahaha...is he new here? This man has been my instructor for the past 3 months. Has he learned nothing? My Daddy did not raise a girl that just "accepts" things. Give me a good reason, dammit.

And while we're at it, don't talk to me like I'm 4 & tell me to grow up & assume I've never had a job before. Thank you.

I looked at the other students, who were all looking to me to be their spokes person, because no one was happy with the restriction on our music choice. And because they couldn't believe he had just told me to act like a grown up. I looked back at Mr. Instructor and said, "If my boss ever told me to pick something that is personal to me, he wouldn't put restrictions on it because then it's no longer personal. Now it's for the other person. So which is it? Personal to me or for you?"

He told me to pick a different genre & get over it.

This guy must have a death wish to say that to me. You know that old belief that redheads have a temper to match their hair? Yeah...there's a reason people believe that. The person who first said that was the first witness to a redhead's anger. Witness, not cause, because the cause of a redhead's anger rarely lives through it.

I told him, "Then I pick Cop Killer." He said that was fine. Really? A song about killing cops is okay to play in school but not a country song? I'm not understanding this. I highly doubt the dean, who happens to be in the office right next to our class room, would prefer to hear me blast Cop Killer, when I could have played a peaceful Kenny Chesney song.

Hmmm...let's think this through, Mr. Idiot Instructor...your boss is right next to our class room. Do you really want to push me? 'Cause I will play a lovely little Peaches song that has the f-bomb in every line. You'll wish I'd brought in a Shania Twain song. Or that I wasn't your student. Either way you'll be wishin'.

A restriction about the type of lyrics, or making sure it's classroom appropriate, or maybe something like "don't pick a song that could incriminate you" would make sense. But no. We can't use a type of music because he doesn't like it.

It just so happens that the song that I have referred to as my soundtrack my entire adult life is a country song. Not that I'm a hard-core country music fan...it's just one of the types of music I listen to. This song means a lot to me though. And he's telling me I can't use it because he doesn't like country music? Then, Mr. Stupid Instructor, change what the speech is to be on. 'Cause sometimes your students are going to talk about things you don't like...see what I did there with putting it back on him about doing things at work that we don't like? Yeah, I did that.

I emailed Mr. Party Pooper & explained how wrong he is to put restrictions on something that is supposed to be personal. If he still tells me no, I'm going to get my computer geek husband to put the lyrics of my song to Nutcracker Suite. It's not country then. It's a classical music with some random lyrics played over it.

And I'll give my speech in a plaid shirt, cowboy boots, cowboy hat, and a piece of straw in my mouth.