Treatment of George

I thought it was very funny that when George would talk good about Lennie he would also talk bad about him. Such as when he said " He ain't no cuckoo, he might be dumb as h**l but not a cuckoo". I thought it was sweet in a way that he was protecting him but I thought it was mean an unnecessary to state that he was mentally challenged. Then he George states " Course Lennie's a goddamn nuisance but you get used to goin around with a guy you can't get rid of". I think that was a mean way of him expressing his feelings saying that he truly did love Lennie yet he did not want to admit it so he held it under insults.