Warning: selfish rant

The next person to say "I know it's hard, but..." will get smacked in the face. Hard.

No, you don't know it's hard. If you really knew it was hard, you wouldn't be saying "but." And you sure as hell wouldn't be following it up with "you know, other people really have it worse than you."

Thank you, Captain Obvious! Obviously I'm well aware that I don't have it as bad as some people, but guess what? That does not make it hurt less. And when you say that--"I know it's hard, but other people have it worse than you"--what you are saying is, "Your feelings are unimportant. Stop whining. There are military wives who would kill to be in your long-distance relationship right now." Well, you know what, I am not a military wife, and I don't really care how hard they have it vs. how hard I have it. That is not the heart of the matter.

The heart of the matter for me is that I love someone who I have not seen, touched, or held in seven weeks, and the way things are going now, it will be another eight before I see them again. But hey, who cares, right? There are other people worse off, so I should just shut up and be grateful I even have a fiancee, right? Hey, there are starving Armenians who would love that piece of burned toast, stop whining and eat it.

This needs to stop right freaking now because I don't care how politically incorrect it is, it is not okay to ever tell someone that their pain doesn't matter because some hypothetical faceless person they have never met is hurting worse than they are.

And if one of my friends were to come crying to me about how their significant other enlisted in the military and wouldn't come home for two years, I would not go to them for comfort about my long-distance hell. Okay? Let's just get that straight right now. But I also sure as all fucking hell would not say to them, "Oh, stop crying. There are women who will never see their husband again. You just need to be patient. It'll all be worth it in the end."

Do you see what I am trying to say here?

Do the world a favor. Don't ever, ever, ever pull the "someone else has it worse" card. Because if someone comes to you desperate for comfort, if someone comes to you badly in need of a shoulder to cry on, if someone comes to you feeling like the entire world is against them, you know what? It doesn't help. It hurts even worse.

SO DON'T. FUCKING. DO IT. EVER. PERIOD. END OF STORY. GOODBYE.