The GAF Factor

 

By Jim Culp

 

It has become increasingly apparent to me these days that the quality of people in general has gone way down in the past decade. Of course, I do not speak for everyone. There are always positives and negatives, good and evil, honest people and downright lying mother fuckers.

So if this blog topic offends you, you might be someone I am talking about.

I’ve noticed in my day to day life that people in general nowadays are simply in one big fucking hurry to do everything for themselves; and could care less about their fellow man, even though they certainly pretend to do so.

Way back in my military years, I started utilizing an acronym called GAF. That stands for Give a Fuck. The GAF factor goes from zero (you don’t care one damn bit) to ten (it matters very much to you). If your GAF factor is on the low side, especially zero, you aren’t going to put any effort at all into fixing something that is broken, picking up a piece of trash that has been laying in your yard for two weeks, or tell your lady that she is the most beautiful woman on the planet. You’re going to ignore the broken item, walk past that piece of trash, and let your lady wonder if you care the least bit about her.

I have been guilty of having a very low GAF factor. When I returned home from the invasion of Iraq in 2004, my GAF factor was at zero. I just didn’t give a flying fuck about anything that happened anywhere for at least two months. But I can give you a hundred reasons why my GAF factor was that low, and some of them would make you wonder how I am still sane, if in fact I am. Good friends and good family dug me out of that hole, and I was back to seven or eight pretty fast.

However, I notice that some people don’t give a fuck about anything or anyone but themselves most of their lives. I observe people on a daily basis, and notice that about half of them could care less about anyone or anything except what they can gain from the situation. They don’t hold the door for you, pick that piece of trash up, and never, ever, have one kind thing to say about something you did. The big problem is that some of these assholes are in charge of hundreds of people. Their decisions affect people’s lives on a daily basis. Some of these stupid fucks are in charge of states, governments, and even entire countries.  Some of these “people” look at one thing: the bottom dollar line, and could give twenty fucks less about the human factor of an employee, a city, or the invasion and occupation of a country.

So I’ve said all that to say this. Please GAF. Give a fuck about things and people around you. Tell your friends how important they are to you. Tell your lady how beautiful she is, and how much you worship her. Tell people who DO NOT GAF to stay out of your life. Tell them you do not need their bullshit or their drama. You’ll notice that after doing these things, your GAF factor will increase significantly.