If you watch the TV comedy Seinfeld, you will probably know who Kramer is.
If you aren’t a Seinfeld tragic like me, Kramer is a weird-looking dude who says exactly what he thinks with zero regard to offending anyone.
You know, like when someone asks you: “Does my bum look too big in this skirt?” Most folks will worm their way out of the question without upsetting the owner of the bottom.
Not Kramer. His character works on the fact that if you are silly enough to ask, you will get a brutally honest answer with feelings put to one side.
Why do I bring this up? Well, yours truly is a bit the same. I have mellowed but will usually give an honest answer, which sometimes offends people.
I used to be way more straightforward back in the day, but having worked the past decade with gen Z, I have had to water my response down a tad.
On top of that, I had an experience a few years ago while playing golf in Canberra. We were playing in two pairs for some cash.
Do you have an opinion to share? Submit a Letter to the Editor at Sunshine Coast News via news@sunshinecoastnews.com.au. You must include your name and suburb.
I only met one of the opposition players on the day and he was a big bloke. There was some sledging heading towards the last hole, but he never engaged.
We got to the last green. He had a long putt to win and missed, while I had a 60cm putt to win.
When he went to pick his ball up, I said, “Do you want a hand to get that as it looks like a bit of an effort to bend over?”
He just looked at me, threw his hands in the air and said, “You win. Anybody that looks like you and has a crack at someone about being fat, you are the best!”
As I stood over the putt, I started thinking that he was probably right, and of course I missed the putt. Lesson learnt … and an expensive one.
So, when I offend people by giving the wrong answer, I usually hit them with that line.
If I have told you your bum is too big, you have a bad haircut, you have man boobs in that shirt or any pearls of wisdom about the way you look, take into account where that opinion is coming from and what the Muppet looks like.
We all should live by this quote: “Beautiful has nothing to do with looks. It’s how you are as a person and how you make others feel about themselves”.
Let’s go with that. And if I had adopted that outlook years ago, I would have won golf.
Ashley Robinson is chairman of the Sunshine Coast Falcons and Sunshine Coast Thunder Netball, and a lifetime Sunshine Coast resident.
