So, anyone who doesn't agree with you is a jerk... My, but you are quite the sensitive one, aren't you! I suggest you grow a spine and quit being so easily offended and attributing your perceived insult to something it isn't. Perhaps someone being rude to you doesn't have anything to do with your age, or theirs, but rather your attitude and hostile nature. Maybe they are just jerks, or maybe you are acting like one. You don't deserve a participation trophy because you like cars.
This ageism nonsense in your comments and in the article is all BS. I am an old guy, and I am here to tell you that people acting like jerks has nothing to do with age. I have watched, and endured jerk-ish behavior from old and young alike. Sometimes it is based on economic status, sometimes it is based on personal preferences. And sometimes it is simply because the offender is just a jerk, and there is no reason or trigger whatsoever. The question is, why do you take such crap personally, and let it color your own behavior?
Personally, I don't go to car shows, join clubs, don't do cars & coffee, or participate in any organized activity whatsoever. True, you will encounter jerks wherever you go, but my reason is that I don't have any need to feel validated by socializing with other car people.
I build cars because I love cars, and would do it even if I was the only car owner in the world. I don't care what other people think or do. I live by the motto of "my car, my money, my work". If you like what I do, fine, and if you think it is hideous, that is fine too. I simply do not care, either way.
I am currently building an old Corvette. I am modding it heavily. There are Corvette snobs out there who scoff and think what I am doing is a crime of nature. There are also people who think what I am doing is awesome. Neither negative or positive reactions of other people effect what I do whatsoever. It is what "I like", that drives me. And that is all that matters. It has been that way since I first picked up a wrench as a kid.
I don't attack other people for their choice of car, color, brand, style or preference. If you like it, that is all that matters. I may think that something is silly, but I mostly keep my opinions to myself, unless you ask my opinion. Then I will give you an honest answer. By the same token, I don't ask others for their opinion. If someone tries to force their opinion on me, I meet it with the reaction it deserves. I don't waste time trying to analyze why that person is a jerk, or let it offend me other than a momentary reaction. I am too busy doing my thing to worry about others. If you are going to work on cars, you need to grow thicker skin, literally and figuratively.
The only people who bother me are economic snobs. The guys who never work on their own cars, and pay someone else to do their dirty work, and whose biggest dilemma is what car polish to buy. And they don't really bother me, but rather make me laugh at them.
In summary, you need a spine, you need a thick skin, and you need a sense of humor. And just focus on what floats your boat. You, or nobody else is going to change the world!
