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I know what it is like to be despised by people who don't even know me. Talk shows dedicate hours to viciously bashing people like me. I am the subject of ridicule from conservative and liberal hosts alike. Women are advised to avoid men like me at all costs. People in my situation are accused of not really being adults, regardless of how we conduct ourselves as human beings. Who am I? I am a 34-year-old man who lives at home.

What I find fascinating is that there doesn't even seem to be two sides to the issue when it comes to people like me. Closed-minded and judgmental people spread the hatred, lies and stereotypes as their brainwashed minions mindlessly nod in agreement. It seems like this is seen by many as an acceptable form of prejudice, and thus nobody takes an aggressive stance against it. One thing that I believe to be true about all types of prejudiced people is that they are mentally lazy. For example, if racist people judge others based solely on their ethnicity, they don't have to take the time to learn about people individually. In other words, they don't have to do any critical thinking. It would be dishonest and unfair of me to try to compare bigotry against people who live at home to racism, and that is not my intention. However, I do think that those who ridicule people in my situation have the same mental laziness and closed-mindedness that racist people suffer from. An open mind is the natural enemy of all prejudice.

I can see why the far right would not be fond of people like me. I live at home for mainly economic reasons. Despite being a college graduate and a very hard worker, I am still unable to afford to live on my own. If you listen to right wing talk radio, you will notice that the homeless, people on welfare, and people who live at home are some of the far right's favorite targets. In order to further the ideology that the free market is the answer to every problem, they put all the blame on those of us who haven't made it in the marketplace as of yet. The better we look as people, the more flawed the free market appears.

Every time I hear somebody unleash yet another verbal attack on those of us who live at home, I feel a special kind of hatred burning inside of me. It makes me feel like society is taking joy in kicking me while I'm down and causing me pain. Women I have dated have initially claimed not to have a problem with my living arrangement and then proceeded to use it as a hurtful weapon during fights and breakups. Sometimes I will be out in public and attractive women will smile at me and appear to be interested in me. I actually feel very sad when this happens, because deep down I have a feeling that they would no longer be interested if they knew I lived at home. I never planned to be in this situation as long as I have, and I am always trying to improve myself. There is nothing I want more than to be successful and to be able to live on my own. I think I deserve to be able to live on my own, but the marketplace doesn't always give people what they deserve. One thing I think all people deserve is to be judged on their character rather than their economic status or who they happen to live with.

Learn more about this author, Carl Weibel.
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