Advice to Young Men from an Old Man (Excerpted from a former Marine’s post in Best of Craigslist)

See the original article in http://www.craigslist.org/about/best/sfo/279126743.html
1. Don’t pick on the weak. It’s immoral. Don’t antagonize the strong without cause, its stupid.
2. Don’t hate women. It’s a waste of time
3. Invest in yourself. Material things come to those that have self actualized.
4. Get in a fistfight, even if you are going to lose.
5. As a former Marine, take it from me. Don’t join the military, unless you want to risk getting your balls blown off to secure other people’s economic or political interests.
6. If something has a direct benefit to an individual or a class of people, and a theoretical, abstract, or amorphous benefit to everybody else, realize that the proponent’s intentions are to benefit the former, not the latter, no matter what bullshit they try to feed you.
7. Don’t take proffered advice without a critical analysis. 90% of all advice is intended to benefit the proponent, not the recipient. Actually, the number is probably closer to 97%, but I don’t want to come off as cynical.
8. You’ll spend your entire life listening to people tell you how much you owe them. You don’t owe the vast majority of people shit.
9. Don’t undermine your fellow young men. Mentor the young men that come after you. Society recognizes that you have the potential to be the most power force in society. It scares them. Society does not find young men sympathetic. They are afraid of you, both individually and collectively. Law enforcement’s primary purpose is to suppress you.
10. Young men provide the genius and muscle by which our society thrives. Look at the Silicon Valley. By and large, it was not old men that created the revolution we live. Realize that society steals your contributions, secures it with our intellectual property laws, and then takes credit and the rewards where none is due.
11. Know that few people have your best interests at heart. Your mother does. Your father probably does (if he stuck around). Your siblings are on your side. Everybody else worries about themselves.
12. Don’t be afraid to tell people to “Fuck off” when need be. It is an important skill to acquire. As they say, speak your piece, even if your voice shakes.
13. Acquire empathy, good interpersonal skills, and confidence. Learn to read body language and non-verbal communication. Don’t just concentrate on your vocational or technical skills, or you’ll find your wife fucking somebody else.
14. Keep fit.
15. Don’t speak ill of your wife/girlfriend. Back her up against the world, even if she’s wrong. She should know that you have her back. When she needs your help, give it. She should know that you’ll take her part.
16. Don’t cheat on your wife/girlfriend. If you must cheat, don’t humiliate her. Don’t risk having your transgressions come back to her or her friends. Don’t do it where you live. Don’t do it with people in your social circle. Don’t shit in your own back yard.
17. If your girlfriend doesn’t make you feel good about yourself and bring joy to your life, fire her. That’s what girlfriends are for.
18. Don’t bother with “emotional affairs.” They are just a vehicle for women to flirt and have someone make them feel good about themselves. That’s the part of a relationship they want. For you it is a lot of work and investment in time. If they are having an emotional affair with you, they’re probably fucking someone else.
19. Becoming a woman’s friend and confidant is not going to get you into an intimate relationship. If you haven’t gotten the girl within a reasonably short period of time, chances are you won’t ever get her. She’ll end up confiding to you about the sexual adventures she’s having with someone else.
20. Have and nurture friendships with women.
21. Realize that love is a numbers game. Guys fall in love easily. You’re going to see some girl and feel like you’ll die if you don’t get her. If she rejects you, move on to the next one. It’s her loss.
22. Don’t be an internet troll. Got out and live life. There is not a cadre of beautiful women advertising on Craigslist to have NSA sex with you. Beautiful women don’t need to advertise. The websites that advertise with attractive women’s photos and claims of loneliness are baloney. All they want is your money and your personal information so that they can market to you. The posts on Craigslist by young “women” seeking NSA sex, and asking for a picture are just a bunch of gay troll pic collectors. This is especially true if the post uses common gay lexicon like “hole” as in “fuck my hole” or seeks “masculine” men, or uses the word cock (except in the context of “Don’t send a cock shot.”) There are women on Craigslist. They are easily recognizable by their 2-5 paragraph postings. Most are in their 30's or older.
23. Don’t gay bash. Don’t mentally or physically abuse people because of who they are, or how they present themselves. It’s none of your business to try to intimidate people into conformity.
24. If you’re gay, admit it to yourself, your parents, your friends and society at large. Be prepared to get harassed. If someone threatens you or assaults you, call the cops. Have them arrested. You have no obligation to self sacrifice because of who you are. As a gay person, you’ll have more social freedom than straight men. Use it to protect yourself. Be prepared to get out of Dodge if your orientation makes your life unbearable. Move to San Francisco, New York, Atlanta, or New Orleans. You’ll find a welcoming community there.
25. Don’t be a poser. Avoid being one of those dudes who puts a surfboard on top of their car, but never surfs, or a dude with a powder coated fixed gear bike and a messenger bag, but was never a messenger. Live the life. Earn your bona fides.
26. Remember, 97% of all advice is worthless. Take what you can use, and trash the rest.

the wife and the parents - aggregate at your own risk

This June, my parents were visiting the US for the first time. As any son should be, I was happy, and full of plans for them to see this great city, and this great country. As any daughter-in-law should be, my wife was screwed.
But before I begin to explain why, let me tell you something about my family.
Consider this, Friday morning in Manhattan, my mother is planning on what to eat for the day, as both my parents fast that day, and eat strictly vegetarian food. My father is using Google Maps to figure out the best way to go to the Flushing Ganesha temple.
My wife, on the other hand, is getting ready to go to school, and afterwards, she'll come back, sleep for a bit, and get up at 10 pm, and we'll go out to the East Village, where a good time will be had by all. If u see a slim, 5'4'' girl dancing on top of a table in a pub at 3 am, that's my wife.

Now I hope u guys realize that these are two kinds of people that rarely ever mix, and if they do, in the immortal words of Russell Peters - Somebody gonna get hurt (in this case, me). What with the incessant grumbling of my wife over curious non-vegetarian smells coming from the kitchen (my parents eat non-veg except on the 'fasting' days), the subtle comments of my dad about the disorder and immaturity of my life, and my mother's solemn resignation of her fate and the fact that her son suddenly is refusing to eat her rice and sambar (i'm trying not to eat carbs, u see), LIFE, as I knew it, sucked.

However, now that I reflect, there were some good times that we had, when we went out as a family, when we went out to dinner or to a movie, and when my parents managed to strike a conversation with my wife. And ultimately, I guess, a little tension is the price you pay for having 2 generations under one roof.
Also, if any of you have parents, or relatives visiting from your motherland, I can now give you tips on how to handle them, and your spouse...