I enjoy Randy Cohen, the NY Times Ethicist, by podcast. His column is available online too. He can be very funny. My family is still chuckling at this week’s gem:
Trace any chain of events back far enough, and it’s all somebody else’s fault. Why not [… blame your] friend’s parents [for your misfortune]? If they had never met, fallen in love and wed, he wouldn’t have been born. […] Or his grandparents, or . . . well, I think you see where this is going: someplace where sarcasm reigns and every misfortune can be blamed on that darn fish who left the sea to walk on dry land and evolve into the woman who broke my heart. I curse that fish. [Bold mine.]
And so, a useful phrase is born. Had a bad week? Feeling blue? Unappreciated? Misunderstood? Toss the blame as far as you can. Launch it like a javelin. Shed it like rain off Gor-Tex. It’s not your fault. Say it with me, “I curse that fish.”
