Hey everyone, long time reader, first time contributor. I've got to say, that despite having never met him, Bob Chipman is the most insufferable human I've ever stumbled across, but sadly, thanks to my former brother-in-law in England, I was introduced to this land manatee in 2017.
While I wish it had never happened, that my contempt was reserved solely for the Krassenstein brothers, Bob has a special place in my mind. Perhaps that's because even the Krassenstein brothers probably got laid, even if 90% of their sexual encounters involved jerking each other off while staring into their sibling's eyes.
Anyways, I digress. As I've been a lurker for some time, I felt the need to say that Bob's alcoholic father is the most obvious nexus of his misery. Bob sees "MAGA'ts" as a facsimile of his own paternal guardian. I can guarantee you that papa Chipman, being a drunk, likely had a blue collar job during the heyday of the 70s and 80s when the getting was still ok, and then, it likely went downhill. Chipman Sr. probably invested more time in lesser brother, and drank himself to death, as an uncontrolled descent from his personal peak. Bob, for his part, clearly holds the man in contempt, whether it was for failing to take an interest in Bob's puerile hobbies, demanding Bob make more of himself, or both, his MAGA hatred is pure projection.
Bob going to therapy at such a young age means his mother and father clearly knew something was likely profoundly wrong, but like most parents of that era it was likely short-lived and the advice offered went unheeded.
Perhaps Bob both loves and hates his father. My own dad walked out on my family at 13, and even then I still hold certain memories in high regard as they were from a time of innocence. This may explain why Bob is so invested in Marvel, because it was a shared activity to read comics or play certain games before his father's downward spiral. Only Bob knows, and even then I don't think he's intelligent enough to properly come to terms with what that all means.
In any case, the reason Bob tries so hard to come across as an expert, to seem like an intellectual, is because it's probably everything Bob's dad never was, but also something Bob can never be. So he Cosplays as a member of the cultural elite, and pretends to be someone he believes to be of worth, because deep down, he's running from reality, because reality is frightening. There's no superheroes to save the day, no beautiful maiden just ready to fall into your arms; rather there's work, dedication, struggle, and hardship. This is accompanied by joy and fulfillment, but the circuit breaker for Bob begins where his father does in his eyes. So he sits, seethes, and races towards the grave, just like his dad, but without a legacy to leave behind.
And ultimately, his own failures will be due to one man, and those like him.