Flame On

Notice how 'my taxes' is the snarl of anyone who wants to express disapproval of any particular thing? 'My taxes' is usually accompanied by a complaint that 'they' don't have a job, don't have a moral compass, or are generally too stupid to live, let alone vote. I know one person who complains about his taxes being used in so many ways that he disapproves of, that I wonder just how much taxes he really pays.
His taxes apparently support a legion of lazy, whiny, parasites in addition to supporting all the crooked apparatus of big government and felonious aliens. I just can't believe he is that rich because he is a retired salesman. I'm not rude enough to ask him if he collects social security, but I know that he drives on roads that are paid for with my taxes.
Usually I just shrug this stuff off, but he started acting really strange lately. You know those forwarded e-mails that have no purpose other than sharing jokes, household tips and odd videos? (I suppose my taxes support the internet, and therefore the forwarded e-mails.) So somehow I got on a group list that this guy is on, received an e-mail with a link to a video that shows an elaborate automatic system of things knocking other things down- starting with dominoes and ending with paint splashes. Not my idea of entertainment, but I can see how other people find it interesting.
So here comes the strange part. The individual I'm using as an example replied to 'all' who had received the e-mail with a rant about how his tax money had been spent (somehow) on the people who made the video who should have been working at real jobs instead of lining things up to be knocked down. The response was out of proportion, so of course other people who received the video, and then received his next response, naturally tried to tease him out of it. That just made him madder. (And I do mean mad as opposed to angry.)
Nothing special about this. Often in life people saying foolish things, then are surprised when others laugh. What I did wonder about was why his fury was based on 'my taxes.' I recognise some of the people on the forward list as being his friends so perhaps they will take him aside and apologize to him for his inappropriate reaction. That's what friends do.
Regardless of how that ends, I think there is a subtext to 'my taxes' that I haven't decoded yet. Somehow it seems to be tied up with feeling powerless.
Nancy Sherer