Top Five Fears

I was just scanning through some stuff online this AM when I found this blog post.  Nice idea.  So I will co-opt it, formatting and all.        :)

 

What are your top five fears?

Mine are:

Suffocation

Suffocation includes drowning, since it's what actually kills you when you're under water for too long. Reading the comments to Zara's post, drowning seems to be shared by a lot of people. However, I'm not afraid of water, and I'm not afraid of a large bodies of water.

I'm afraid of not being able to breathe. If the air in a sauna starts to get too stifling, I become deeply concerned. I get uncomfortable in very warm cars.  But it's not just that. I need to breathe through my nose. Yes, I will breathe through my mouth when necessary, but I don't like it. I sometimes have issues with nasal congestion at night and need to take decongestants just to be able to sleep. When Brandy and I went scuba diving (as illustrated here), I started hyperventilating at the very end of the dive and was on the verge of passing out when I broke the surface. Which sucks, because I always liked the idea of being Jacques Cousteau. I think if I were in a diving bell or even had a suit with a full helmet instead of a mouth-only rebreather, I would have enjoyed it more.

The fear of suffocation, unfortunately, also leads to an occasional fear of...

Small, enclosed spaces

Yes, the actual name for this would be claustrophobia. However, I don't have a bad case as it only rears its ugly head when there's no ventilation and I can't breathe. I don't mind crowds. I like airplanes. I think I would be OK in an MRI machine, since there are openings for air flow.  But being trapped in a coffin would be bad. Native American sweat lodges (aside from giving me nose bleeds) aren't so hot, either.

Paralysis

I can't imagine having full use of my mental capacities and not having enough control over my body to do anything. And that's why Stephen Hawking is The Man.

The Dark

Not really the dark, per se, but things obscured by the dark. Like serial killers. Or dog shit on the sidewalk in front of my apartment. 

Elected Republicans

Actually, any type of evangelical, fundamentalist, intolerant person with some sort of power over my life. I have no problem with normal people possessing conservative social mores. I have problems with people who force their conservative social mores on me. You do what you want to do; I'll do what I want to do. As long as it doesn't hurt anyone, I think we're all good.

George W. Bush believes that "activist judges" are undermining the fabric of the nation by inflicting their "liberal" beliefs on us.

Look, jackass (or should I say Dumbo?). I don't care what you believe. You obviously don't care what I believe. But I don't try to legislate my beliefs on you -- unless you count Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Religion, and yes, the Right to Bear Arms. Go fucking harrass someone who gives a shit about your Bible-beating, right-wing, backward-thinking, neo-fascist, theocratic oligarchy. I hear they like that sort of shit in Saudi Arabia, too.

I live in America, the Land of the Free. While here, you're free to go fuck yourself.

 

Wow, that little diatribe got loose in a hurry. Anger borne of fear? Nah, probably just anger.        :)