The Evolution of Jerk

The word jerk has evolved over the years. I first noticed it when I was watching some of my favorite movies from the 80's.  Have you seen "Goonies?" Near the beginning of the film we are introduced to Chunk. When he first comes on the screen Mouth says, "jerk alert." When I heard that I thought, Chunk isn't a jerk.  That thought led me to think about other 80's references to the word jerk. In Back to the Future they call Marty Mcfly a jerk. In the 80's Steve Martin made a movie called "The Jerk." None of those characters fit what I think of when I think of a jerk.

When I think of a jerk I think of someone who does something mean on purpose. The driver who cuts you off without using a blinker...that's a jerk.  The person who makes a mess and then leaves it for someone else to clean up...that's a jerk. The person who picks their nose and flicks a booger on the wall in the public bathroom...that person is a disgusting jerk. 

In September the Waters Edge staff took some underprivileged kids back to school shopping. While hanging out with my shopper I asked him what he was into. He said, and I quote, "I like to Jerk." I thought "Wow, that's interesting. Is this kid about to slap me?" I didn't have a fat clue what he was talking about.  So I put my guard up and then asked him what it means to jerk. He then displayed an onslaught of dance moves that are called "Jerkin'."

No matter how you define a jerk this post is not for them. This post is for everyone else.  Most people don't mean to be jerks. Every once in a while you have someone who is just absent minded...aka "The Jerk." They may be frustrating, but they don't mean to be.

I once heard that you should always give people the benefit of the doubt. When someone does something that hurts you, give them the benefit of the doubt and assume that they didn't mean to.  Little kids often don't do this. I've heard sentences like, "he fell on me on purpose." No he didn't. He didn't see you and he fell. He wasn't intentionally trying to hurt you.  It's the same thing with most people. Most people don't try to intentionally hurt you. If you have someone in your life, who isn't a jerk, give them the benefit of the doubt before you get angry at them. 

If someone forgets to call...maybe they are a jerk or maybe their cell phone died.  When someone says something that hurt your feelings...maybe they are a jerk or maybe they didn't know you were sensitive about that subject. If someone forgets to post "Happy Birthday" on your Facebook page...maybe they are a jerk or maybe their computer crashed.  The point is that if the person loves you most likely they are not intentionally trying to be a jerk. Give them the benefit of the doubt and you will save yourself a lot of worry an unneeded frustration.  With all that free time you can learn to dance the Jerk.