Well, my dad was raised on the parenting philosophy that if you were to poke fun of the flaws a person had, they would then be motivated to strengthen said flaws to prevent further teasing. I was raised by him much the same way, as it was his normal and he felt there was nothing wrong with it. His whole side of the family is much the same way.

I guess it's a farmer's attitude on life, as he was raised on a farm in the Midwest and there was little time to sit around and feel sorry for yourself when chores were needed to be done. As my grandfather, his father, always said, "There's always something that needs to be done on a farm."