Can anyone tell me why so many male patients go around in their house shirtless? I should probably add that these are not good looking people. I don’t go around my house without a shirt on. And for those in between times (read: when I am taking one shirt off and putting the other one on) I think that if a medical emergency happened in my house I would find a couple of seconds to cover at least the majority of my body. But a surprising number of people I encounter do not.
Does the time of year have anything to do with this? No. Oddly enough I will encounter extremely poor people living in a single wide trailer wearing nothing but underwear in the middle of winter with the heat cranked up as high as it will go. You know…so they don’t get cold while wearing nothing but underwear in the middle of the day. I don’t know about you, but I am not made of money. Which is a nice way to say that I am pretty poor myself. So during the winter I have fallen into the habit of wearing a sweater and keeping the thermostat around 66 or 68.
But whenever I make a run to someone’s house who has a bit of organization and money, they are always fully clothed. I have yet to make a run on an accountant to find him shirtless. Yet I often see the trashier bits of humanity who frequent my local grocery store emerge from their car shirtless. They often dig around in the furthest reaches of their vehicle to find a shirt to put on just before going inside to shop. This seems to annoy them to no end. I know this because this exercise is usually accompanied by them screaming profanity at their children. Classy.
So the question is: is there some sort of measurable tie between the education level of an individual and his proclivity for wearing clothing? Are more primitive people actually shunning all the vestiges of society including clothing? Are more educated people who are more apt to adhere to the conventions of the social contract somehow compelled to cover their man boobs? My six year old daughter for unknown reasons loves to run around the house naked after a shower. Should I be concerned?
I have a belief it is tied to a sense of self-worth, but it is a belief only, no hard proof in any way.
Is it self worth? Really? I always tie things to education or mental ability. But that is a failing of mine. My wife is quick to point out that not everything boils down to being stupid. So in deference to her I am willing to explore this avenue. However, even though I do respect myself, I do tend to feel like an insignificant cog in the machinery of life on earth. That may be tied to self worth. And yet I continue to cover up my man titties. Very peculiar.
Accountants?
They have to wear a shirt at all times. They are only allowed to undo 2 buttons while taking a shower or swimming in a pool. They may not enter the water at the beach. Their children are born wearing Brooks Brothers. They do not live in trailers, regardless of width.
The more aggressive ones make excellent armadillo tamers.
I’ve noticed that trend myself. quite scary… I think those folks are beyond the point of caring.
[...] No shirt, no education? Such a philosophical question… (Gomerville) [...]