DAVE ROSS

Ross: Everybody thinks they have to be a commentator 24/7

Jan 26, 2022, 5:55 AM | Updated: 9:38 am

commentator...

A mom helps her daughter with schoolwork at home. (File photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

(File photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

I was listening to the “Scenarios” segment of the Gee Scott and Ursula Reutin Show yesterday, and Gee read a message from a new mom whose mother-in-law was on a Christmas visit that lasted way too long.

She got a little too comfortable, and started commenting on the daughter-in-law’s lifestyle:

“She kept commenting about how much money we waste. She criticized us for not doing more with our leftovers. Then she tried to show me how to reuse coffee filters instead of starting with a new one each day.”

Apparently, the mother-in-law is an environmentalist:

“She thinks we’re wrong for using disposal diapers. But the last straw was when she told us we don’t watch enough television to justify so many streaming services, and we should cut out what we don’t need and start saving for college.”

Yikes. Now – mother-in-law relationships have been awkward from the beginning. I’m pretty sure that at the Big Bang there was a mother-in- law saying, “Does it have to be so loud?”

But what we have here is a symptom of a much wider societal problem, which is that everybody now thinks they have to be a commentator 24/7.

And as a professional commentator, I’m here to say: “No, you don’t!”

Especially if you’re doing it in person.

I’ve been doing commentary since I was 15. But the one thing I have never done is deliver a commentary in person to a relative as others are watching.

The problem with in-person commentary is that when it’s over, you’re still physically standing there. You don’t have a spot break to go to, you don’t have Colleen standing by with a Daily Dose of Kindness – you’re like an actor at the end of a show wondering why the curtain hasn’t come down.

Fortunately, there’s an easy solution, and it’s to censor yourself.

And even if someone does solicit your advice, always double-check: “Do you REALLY want my advice?” If the answer is “yes,” you say – “I’ll call you later and we’ll talk privately.”

Because as a general rule, it’s not just your in-laws who don’t want your advice – nobody wants your advice. Unless you have a medical degree, or you bought Amazon in 1997.

They may want your help – to re-boot the computer, oil a squeaky hinge, properly fold socks, do the Heimlich maneuver in a pinch …

But unless your daughter-in-law is the CEO of a company that’s been discharging PCBs into the water supply, don’t be judging her environmental habits, even if it’s your passion. Because if you’re worried about climate change, that’ll do it.

Which is very bad for the earth.

Listen to Seattle’s Morning News with Dave Ross and Colleen O’Brien weekday mornings from 5 – 9 a.m. on KIRO Newsradio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.

Dave's Commentary

Dave Ross on KIRO Newsradio 97.3 FM
  • listen to dave rossTune in to KIRO Newsradio weekdays at 5am for Dave Ross on Seattle's Morning News.

Dave Ross

car culture...

Dave Ross

Ross: Are we killing car culture? Or is car culture killing the US?

I don’t think the question is whether we're going to "kill" our car culture. The real question is can we stop our car culture from killing the U.S.?

3 days ago

drivers data insurance...

Dave Ross

Ross: As cars release driving data to insurance, is your driving my business?

Every move you make, every swerve you take, every lane change you fake – someone’s watching you. Do drivers have a right to keep driving data private?

11 days ago

rent control...

Dave Ross

Ross: Rent control was never the answer in Wash.

The rent control bill died in the Washington State Legislature this week, even though Democrats control both houses.

1 month ago

end of democracy...

Dave Ross

Ross: Conservative activist earns applause for pledging an ‘end of Democracy’

The theme from Jack Posobiec's speech is that Jan. 6 was a righteous attack not on democracy, but on those who threaten democracy.

1 month ago

Image: Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colorado, is seen on Capitol Hill on Jan. 6, 2023. (Photo: Alex Brand...

Dave Ross

Ross: Voters can help cull bad politicians from the herd early

Let's remember that just about every occupant of a higher office once occupied a lower office, and was put there by us, Dave Ross says.

1 month ago

Super Bowl celebration...

Dave Ross

Ross: The NFL does it again

The NFL once again put on a show that was able to keep me tuned in for four hours even though I had no stake in either team.

2 months ago

Ross: Everybody thinks they have to be a commentator 24/7