Dumb things people say

[Scarlett]

Dh was helping our oldest son move some things this weekend……we were in our truck but I guess the topic of our Prius came up…..? One of ds’s BIL said he ‘did not know if he would be able to drive a Prius’. 
 

What does that mean?  I mean I think it has something to do with gun loving/toting,  red neck,  ‘Merica’ thinking but…..how exactly?

Edited May 2, 2023 by Scarlett

[Ting Tang]

There are a lot of Prius, Teslas, etc. in my redneck part of the state.  lol  I'm not really sure what that means!

But people do say stupid things all the time, especially in-laws.  ha ha!

[marbel]

Maybe he thought there is something different about driving a hybrid.  Or maybe he thought that just like real men don't eat quiche, real men don't drive a prius. 

Didn't anyone ask him what he meant? 

[Scarlett]

4 minutes ago, marbel said:

Maybe he thought there is something different about driving a hybrid.  Or maybe he thought that just like real men don't eat quiche, real men don't drive a prius. 

Didn't anyone ask him what he meant? 

No I did not hear the exchange but Dh said to him , ‘ if I can hold my wife’s purse I can drive a Prius’. 

[prairiewindmomma]

According to the idiot in my family, “Real men drive trucks…jacked up F-350 extended cabs with shiny rims, flags flying, and honky tonk playing…not some wimpy little aluminum can of a car….”

🤦

There’s a side of shade about any sort of non-gas driven engine in there as well…because we need to support American oil workers. 

[prairiewindmomma]

Fwiw, same dude gets angry that I can line up a truck with a hitch better than he can, so 🤷‍♀️.

[wintermom]

For the OP, all I can say is that it's best not to assume anything dumb nasty was intended, especially since you weren't there to witness the exchange and the context of the comment. If I had very long commutes, I don't think I could drive an electric vehicle without spending hours charging it. With this in mind, I might say, "I don't think I'd be able to drive a Prius." 

There may be a host of other meanings to the statment - some may be ignorant and some may be well thought out. 

I'm curious about what "holding a wife's purse" means. What hidden or non-hidden meaning is this in your neck of the woods? That could sound kind of weird, too. 

[prairiewindmomma]

Hold a woman’s purse= masculine enough to take it. Holding a purse is feminizing. Her Dh declared he’s not emasculated by such behavior. He implies that he’s not emasculated by driving a Prius either. It contextually points towards the ‘Murica interpretation that OP gave to the initial comment. 

[Scarlett]

2 minutes ago, wintermom said:

For the OP, all I can say is that it's best not to assume anything dumb nasty was intended, especially since you weren't there to witness the exchange and the context of the comment. If I had very long commutes, I don't think I could drive an electric vehicle without spending hours charging it. With this in mind, I might say, "I don't think I'd be able to drive a Prius." 

There may be a host of other meanings to the statment - some may be ignorant and some may be well thought out. 

I'm curious about what "holding a wife's purse" means. What hidden or non-hidden meaning is this in your neck of the woods? That could sound kind of weird, too. 

Our Prius is a hybrid.  
 

Dh’s reference to holding his wife’s purse is along the lines of ‘real men wear pink….or hold their wife’s purse’.   So clearly Dh thought the comment was a slight to dh’s  manhood. 

[wintermom]

Just now, Scarlett said:

Our Prius is a hybrid.  
 

Dh’s reference to holding his wife’s purse is along the lines of ‘real men wear pink….or hold their wife’s purse’.   So clearly Dh thought the comment was a slight to dh’s  manhood. 

"Real men" hold their wife's purse? Why? How weird is that statement. It sounds like both men were trying too hard to show they were real men. 🤣

[Danae]

6 minutes ago, wintermom said:

. If I had very long commutes, I don't think I could drive an electric vehicle without spending hours charging it. With this in mind, I might say, "I don't think I'd be able to drive a Prius." 

 

The Prius is a hybrid, the gasoline engine charges the battery.  No external charging required.

[wintermom]

Just now, Danae said:

The Prius is a hybrid, the gasoline engine charges the battery.  No external charging required.

Ok, I get it. The guy was a bastard for dissing the car. So let's start a little party to share all the other ways people are unkind. 

Or, we could ignore it. 

[Melissa in Australia]

I don't know what type of car the op has, could it be a size thing? My oldest son in 6 foot 4 inches, he can't drive the Toyota  Carrola my daughter has  because his head hit the ceiling and he had to hold his head on an angle and get a stiff neck. 

[Scarlett]

23 minutes ago, wintermom said:

"Real men" hold their wife's purse? Why? How weird is that statement. It sounds like both men were trying too hard to show they were real men. 🤣

If you don’t know why it was said, you could just scroll instead of chastising me.  
 

Dh thinks it is a dig at manhood.  Thus his reply.  Which I don’t see as him saying he is a ‘ real man’, but rather shrugging off the stereotype.  
 

I am wondering if other people read the young man’s comment like Dh did. 

[Scarlett]

26 minutes ago, Melissa in Australia said:

I don't know what type of car the op has, could it be a size thing? My oldest son in 6 foot 4 inches, he can't drive the Toyota  Carrola my daughter has  because his head hit the ceiling and he had to hold his head on an angle and get a stiff neck. 

Dh is a big man…6’3” and 240 pounds.  He drives the Prius fine size wise.  His knee replacement and bad back make it a little difficult to get in and out.  A Prius has a surprising amount of head room.  My son is 6’4 and had no problem.  

Edited May 2, 2023 by Scarlett

[elegantlion]

1 hour ago, Scarlett said:

Dh was helping our oldest son move some things this weekend……we were in our truck but I guess the topic of our Prius came up…..? One of ds’s BIL said he ‘did not know if he would be able to drive a Prius’. 
 

What does that mean?  I mean I think it has something to do with gun loving/toting,  red neck,  ‘Merica’ thinking but…..how exactly?

Well, if they were in my town, I'd have to reply. "No matter, you can't drive the car you already own either." 

It would depend upon tone and what they actually drive as to how I'd take their comment. Also, their age. Prius' used to be seen as the crunchy commuter car, maybe they've never thought about updating their view on the Prius since it came out. 

[Scarlett]

Just now, elegantlion said:

Well, if they were in my town, I'd have to reply. "No matter, you can't drive the car you already own either." 

It would depend upon tone and what they actually drive as to how I'd take their comment. Also, their age. Prius' used to be seen as the crunchy commuter car, maybe they've never thought about updating their view on the Prius since it came out. 

I would guess age 26….he wasn’t ugly…but I just don’t get it.  

[happi duck]

24 minutes ago, Melissa in Australia said:

I don't know what type of car the op has, could it be a size thing? My oldest son in 6 foot 4 inches, he can't drive the Toyota  Carrola my daughter has  because his head hit the ceiling and he had to hold his head on an angle and get a stiff neck. 

Our older Prius is tight.  If that was someone's only vision of a Prius I could imagine size being the thought.

Our younger Prius is plenty roomy though!

[Scarlett]

When ds26 was staying with us last year he rode to WM with me and made a comment to me about being embarrassed to be driving around in a Prius. 

[Terabith]

I really wanted to buy a Prius, but when I test drove one, I realized that the lines on it meant that I really couldn't see very well, even with mirrors adjusted optimally.  It took it from a top contender to completely off the table.  My husband is the same height, and he had the same issue.  It was weird.  

I'm sure that was a "that year" problem, but I hadn't realized how big of a difference in visibility different cars could have till then.

Probably that's not what he meant tho.

[SKL]

What kind of vehicle does the person normally drive?  That might shed some light on the back story ....

[SKL]

We've had 2 Priuses here (not mine, but I've driven them).  I don't enjoy driving them because of the poor visibility they offer at various angles.  I also don't find them cool to look at.  😛  Something that most men and women will naturally care less about as they age.  😛

But he probably meant he wants driving to be more like bull riding or something.  😛  He'll grow out of it.

[Scarlett]

1 minute ago, Terabith said:

I really wanted to buy a Prius, but when I test drove one, I realized that the lines on it meant that I really couldn't see very well, even with mirrors adjusted optimally.  It took it from a top contender to completely off the table.  My husband is the same height, and he had the same issue.  It was weird.  

I'm sure that was a "that year" problem, but I hadn't realized how big of a difference in visibility different cars could have till then.

Probably that's not what he meant tho.

I am thinking that is not what he meant but really I am just not positive.  
 

I am 5’6” and have no trouble with visibility in our 2015 Prius.  My parents had a car that they sold to us (xh got it) and I had a terrible time with visibility. It is a big consideration IMO.

[prairiewindmomma]

I usually use comments like that as an education tool, “It gets 53 miles to the gallon, and it hardly needs maintenance. I laugh all the way to the bank.”

[Ann.without.an.e]

I can’t tell you what your DS’s BIL meant but I can tell you what the person in my family means when he cracks jokes about it 

“I wouldn’t be caught in that tuna can made for tree hugging woke people”. 
 

Not my words, his 😂

[Ann.without.an.e]

23 minutes ago, prairiewindmomma said:

I usually use comments like that as an education tool, “It gets 53 miles to the gallon, and it hardly needs maintenance. I laugh all the way to the bank.”

This is all true but my family member would say “you’ll regret it when you need a new battery”. 
 

I’m not anti-Prius but this person is so I’ve heard all the angles. 

[Scarlett]

5 minutes ago, Ann.without.an.e said:

I can’t tell you what your DS’s BIL meant but I can tell you what the person in my family means when he cracks jokes about it 

“I wouldn’t be caught in that tuna can made for tree hugging woke people”. 
 

Not my words, his 😂

I am thinking this is the thinking of these people.

[Scarlett]

6 minutes ago, Ann.without.an.e said:

This is all true but my family member would say “you’ll regret it when you need a new battery”. 
 

I’m not anti-Prius but this person is so I’ve heard all the angles. 

And I guess I am just scratching my head wonder WHY a person is anti Prius?  The whole tree hugging comment gives me a good idea though. And it fits with these people world view I think.

[Indigo Blue]

I can’t be sure what the person’s intentions were with that comment, but around here people have silly attitudes about a Prius. They consider it a prissy car. 🤷‍♀️

Don’t feel bad. My BIL does body work. We had to have him do some work to our car after someone merged into us and pushed us against the wall while driving through the mountains. Weirdly, he kept making derogatory comments about my driving a 2005 model. (His own wife’s car is older). 
When our car was ready, he told Dh to “come pick up your crappy car”. 😂 It’s a paid for CRV with 100,000 miles on it. 😂He tends to have a chip on his shoulder, so it’s possible he was being a bit passive aggressive. People can be so weird. 
 

I wanted to walk in and loudly announce, “I’m here to pick up my crappy car!” 🤣😂

 

I didn’t, though. 🙂
 

 

 

[sweet2ndchance]

Both of my first and current husbands have been anti-minivan. No idea what first husband's hang up was but current husband just has a bad taste in his mouth for them because it's what his parents always had. And he has a bad taste in his mouth for them too.

Personally, if it has 4 wheels and an engine, is mostly reliable and reasonably well taken care of before I get a hold of it, I don't care what it is.

Where I live, a Prius isn't seen as a practical choice. But neither are most small cars. Rough, unpaved, mountain roads = smaller cars get stuck a lot. SUVs and trucks are more common around here because of it. Bonus points for 4x4.

Currently, I have a paid for 2007 Ford SportTrac. Dh has a paid for 2002 Toyota Tundra. Both can handle the rough roads around here but for long distance travel and city driving, we both prefer to drive the SportTrac. It's a more comfortable ride overall.

The exchange between your dh and the BIL definitely sounds like a pissing contest to me. Young BIL tried to put in a dig at your dh for driving a "sissy car"  in his opinion and your dh told him that real men don't give a damn if it's a sissy car in some people's opinion. Shrug. I think it's a rather amusing and that your dh is a keeper. 😉 

[Carrie12345]

I don’t know what goes through people’s heads, and I don’t get Prius hate.

That said, I hated driving dh’s Prius, lol.  (Like, physically. My minivans have been much more comfy with better visibility.) Glad we had it through the recession though, and that it went well over 300k miles!

[saraha]

Someone said something to dh about driving a van (we have 6 kids) and his reply was “better than driving my daddy’s truck” which flew straight up the nose of the other guy and dh just smiled and walked away. Implication being that first person couldn’t afford a “cool vehicle” so drove around in their daddy’s. Like so much so a thing that my fil always made sure his liscence plates are personalized and his vehicle never got borrowed, while mil’s did!

[Navymom]

I haven't read all of the replies, but my first thought was that he thought it was too small.

I am tall and have 2 car seats in the second row and an XL dog crate in the back and drive a Pilot.

I couldn't/wouldn't drive a Prius.

[saraha]

Quick comment drop that I want to come back to later but dh’s opinion is that it definitely was a swipe from a young pup. And that it is a super common means of conversation, usually when women are not a part of the conversation 

Edited May 2, 2023 by saraha

[Scarlett]

3 hours ago, Carrie12345 said:

I don’t know what goes through people’s heads, and I don’t get Prius hate.

That said, I hated driving dh’s Prius, lol.  (Like, physically. My minivans have been much more comfy with better visibility.) Glad we had it through the recession though, and that it went well over 300k miles!

Did it die at 300K?

[Ann.without.an.e]

11 hours ago, Scarlett said:

I mean I think it has something to do with gun loving/toting,  red neck,  ‘Merica’ thinking but…..how exactly?

My oldest DS is this way (and he’s the one I quoted). I have an arsenal of stupid quotes if you need more 🤣

He’s gotten better the last year or two but the kid used to come up with the craziest stuff that left us like ????
It has to be a Ford truck for sure and Honda Ridgelines are just an insult to humanity. 

Maybe he’ll keep growing out of it 😅

[Ann.without.an.e]

1 hour ago, saraha said:

Someone said something to dh about driving a van (we have 6 kids) and his reply was “better than driving my daddy’s truck” which flew straight up the nose of the other guy and dh just smiled and walked away.

This is awesome 🤣

[73349]

10 hours ago, Ann.without.an.e said:

I can’t tell you what your DS’s BIL meant but I can tell you what the person in my family means when he cracks jokes about it 

“I wouldn’t be caught in that tuna can made for tree hugging woke people”.

Tuna?!? Organic black beans with no added salt, please.

- Tree-Hugging Woke People

(like yours truly)

 

😁

[stephanier.1765]

I say stupid things all.the.time! More accurately, they aren't stupid in my head. I know what I mean, but as soon as I hear them come out of my mouth, I realize that what I mean isn't what's being understood. I have Permanent Foot in Mouth Disease.

[DawnM]

6 minutes ago, stephanier.1765 said:

I say stupid things all.the.time! More accurately, they aren't stupid in my head. I know what I mean, but as soon as I hear them come out of my mouth, I realize that what I mean isn't what's being understood. I have Permanent Foot in Mouth Disease.

Oh me too!

I am quite positive it was a slight politically and manly wise.   I used to hear people equate a Prius with Hillary Clinton.   Now I hear people equate Biden with Teslas.   

People are weird.

[Carrie12345]

1 hour ago, Scarlett said:

Did it die at 300K?

“Well over 300k.”  
DIE-die? No. But it did need a new battery and some other work at a rate we didn’t want to pay. 

[fairfarmhand]

12 hours ago, prairiewindmomma said:

I usually use comments like that as an education tool, “It gets 53 miles to the gallon, and it hardly needs maintenance. I laugh all the way to the bank.”

Some people can be so silly in their “what makes a man a real man” assumptions. My dh has a brand new truck, the Chevy 2022 diesel Silverado. If you’re into such things it’s what many would say is a “manly” vehicle. 
 

It costs us well over 100 to fill it up. On a good day, we get 15-20 mpg. 
 

my dh seldom drives it. It’s for farming. He drives it to haul things. For his day job, 40 minutes away he drives the impala he inherited from his mother. We both wish his mother had driven a Prius. That would’ve been Fantastic!

Once we get it fixed, he’ll start driving our 2005 Nissan Sentra. Its old and beat up but the gas mileage is really the best out of all the vehicles we drive.
 

[Ann.without.an.e]

1 hour ago, 73349 said:

Tuna?!? Organic black beans with no added salt, please.

- Tree-Hugging Woke People

(like yours truly)

 

😁

Are you offended and correcting him? Geez what a snowflake, tree hugging, woke thing to do 🤣🤣🤣

 

[SKL]

This reminds me, when the gas prices went way up not long ago, I made a comment like "who's laughing at my hybrid now?"  I think there are some people who haven't spoken to me since.  😛

It's time for me to think about buying a new car, and I'm wondering if it should be a Tesla.  My thought process:  fuel economy and safety; small to medium size; I think there will be enough charging stations; prices are coming down ... I also think Elon Musk is kinda cool ... but will people think I'm making a statement?  Will some people think I've lost my mind?  Do I care?  Of course I don't care ....

[Ann.without.an.e]

1 minute ago, SKL said:

This reminds me, when the gas prices went way up not long ago, I made a comment like "who's laughing at my hybrid now?"  I think there are some people who haven't spoken to me since.  😛

It's time for me to think about buying a new car, and I'm wondering if it should be a Tesla.  My thought process:  fuel economy and safety; small to medium size; I think there will be enough charging stations; prices are coming down ... I also think Elon Musk is kinda cool ... but will people think I'm making a statement?  Will some people think I've lost my mind?  Do I care?  Of course I don't care ....

Please buy a Tesla and lmk if you like it. Be my Guinea pig 😂

[prairiewindmomma]

My neighbors all have them…and honestly, I wouldn’t go Tesla. Look at the Hyundai Ioniq. Better reliability. Better internal controls. Good range per charge. Comfy interior.

[Pawz4me]

1 minute ago, prairiewindmomma said:

My neighbors all have them…and honestly, I wouldn’t go Tesla. Look at the Hyundai Ioniq. Better reliability. Better internal controls. Good range per charge. Comfy interior.

If I were in the market for a new vehicle the Ioniq would be one I’d want to look at. 

[SKL]

7 minutes ago, prairiewindmomma said:

My neighbors all have them…and honestly, I wouldn’t go Tesla. Look at the Hyundai Ioniq. Better reliability. Better internal controls. Good range per charge. Comfy interior.

Good to know.  When it's time for me to take the plunge, I'll probably start a thread here to ask for ideas.  I'm not ready yet.  🙂

[Lecka]

My husband felt embarrassed to drive our mini-van.  He did it, but he never really got used to it.  He finally got a pick-up and had comments from people about it being a smaller pick-up.  Someone said to him it looked like that person’s truck had a baby and the baby was my husband’s truck.  
 

So, yeah….. I guess your in-law could get new friends or co-workers but this is a real thing.  My husband didn’t care about his co-workers comments because they were friends and just joking, but some people do mind.  He likes his pick-up.  He did mind about the mini-van.  

[SKL]

I'm finding this conversation oddly amusing.  I wonder what it is about cars and boys / young men (or some of them).

FTR I have 3 brothers and a dad, who have mostly driven dorky cars, but at least some of whom still like the idea of a pickup truck.

As for me ... I have an irrational bias against SUVs and APVs.  I'm determined to go my whole life without ever owning one.  😛