Today's Etiquette Tip:

Here's an etiquette tip: if I tell you my dad died of lung cancer, please don't let your first question be, "Did he smoke?". That's like, if your mom died of heart disease, asking if she was a lard ass. I get it. Small talk is bullshit and people are cowards. No one wants to really connect at an intimate, emotional level when they talk to another person, so they make small talk. It's called small talk because it's shallow. It's petty. It's meager. People are so terrified of the silence in a conversation that they'll blurt out anything to fill it up. What do you say when someone tells you their loved one has cancer? You don't. Give them a hug.