I thought I would share this story just in case any of you have ever been embarrassed by your parents as a child. DB and I were saying we were glad our grandkids liked school because neither of us ever looked forward to the start of school. He said one reason he disliked school was he was often humiliated by some of his teachers. He was a poor kid who just happened to fall into a school district full of children from well-to-do families. And some of his teachers seemed to enjoy embarrassing him. I don't know why I disliked school. Most of my teachers, with a few exceptions, were fine. Anyway, we eventually got around to most embarrassing moments in grade school. Here is mine:
My mother was always a very practical person. She was a product of the Great Depression. At Christmas, while we usually received a toy, and always received oranges, nuts and candy canes in our stockings plus a box of chocolate covered cherries and some hard candies, mostly we got pajamas, underwear and things we needed rather than anything we necessarily wanted. (The one exception to this being my microscope kit.) And she also was the world's worst secret keeper so she always managed to blab what our gifts were, taking the fun of surprise out of receiving gifts. She was loving and kind hearted but just terrible when it came to understanding certain things about kids and gifts. So one year, when I was in about the fourth or fifth grade, our class had a gift exchange and everyone had to buy a gift for someone else of the same sex. The price limit was a fifty cents or a dollar, I cannot remember exactly.
Well, my mother bought a gift for me to take. I must have known what it was ahead of time because I am sure I probably wrapped it. I always wrapped my own gifts, so it is doubtful my mother wrapped this one. It was in a flat white box like women's handkerchiefs used to come in. The significance of the gift apparently did not dawn on me ahead of time because I do not remember worrying about it until the time of the gift exchange.
The exchange took place and everyone opened their gift. I do not remember what I received but will never forget what I gave. I gave two pairs of nylon panties! I have no clue as to how the recipient reacted, because I was too busy trying to survive my own embarrassment over this gift which my mother, no doubt, thought was a pretty and practical present. She would have had no clue as to the embarrassment such a gift would cause.
This is the same lady who hung her own just laundered underwear in the basement to dry rather than have everyone in the neighborhood see them on the clothes line. Our backyard abutted a woods, so I am not sure who she thought would see them. I suppose only adults were allowed to be embarrassed over someone seeing their undies.
Yes, some things your parents do you remember for a long time. In retrospect, I know at least my parents were good people; did not abuse us; did not drink or act in inappropriate ways, so this was not such an awful thing. But you would never have convinced me of that during the gift exchange or for quite a few years while the gift exchange was part of a recurring dream.
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Oh,No! Not Another Rant!
Originally posted on my Facebook page:
Okay, here I go ticking off people again. But I am going to rant anyway and this time I am not full of meds and it is not the middle of the night. I am not angry, I am just stating how I feel. This rant is the result of a couple recent posts and emails (emails from people I know but do not care for, by the way. People, in I my opinion, who live in a narrow little world even if they do get around a lot.
I hate messages that imply or outright state that if I do not repost them, somehow I either am heartless, ignorant, agree with the opposition or am guilty of a myriad of other things. I do not repost. I do not repost. I do not repost. If you want to do so, fine. That is your prerogative. But the quickest way to turn me off is to not only ask me to repost but to act like I must disagree with your message or assign some other negative, nefarious motivation to my not reposting.
If I want to use my feed as a sounding board for any cause, I will do so. I do not need anyone's help. I do not want to promote or support any organization or group on my newsfeed. (I am speaking of political, religious, business or social organizations. I do and always will openly support our military members. I do not think of them as a "group" for the purposes of this post.) I have been around the block a few times and know that not all groups are what they seem and supporting them publicly may come back and bite me on the ass. So I will do my own promoting of causes or not. Now if these are on your feed and I visit your page, I see what I see. But I really hate having these things sent to me. Email is the same. And by the way, I hate Obama and everything he stands for but when conservatives post stupid, inaccurate things about the man, they do all conservatives a disservice. There are plenty of reasons to find him the worst thing to happen to this country since the Civil War. Please do not make up crap. It just lessens your credibility. Leave that to the liberals. Check out your facts before passing stuff along.
I apologize to my liberal friends and relatives for this showing up on your newsfeed. Go ahead and delete this post. I probably would delete yours if you were praising Obama. Also, to my liberal friends and relatives, you can be just as guilty of ignorant actions as the rest of us. Stop saying "Tea Party" as if it is a political party. It is not. It is not a monolithic, racist, reactionary group. Conservatives are just as intelligent and as ignorant as liberals. We just approach things from opposite viewpoints. There are plenty of idiots on both sides. No one side has the monopoly on ignorance and bigotry.
This certainly holds for religion. If you are an atheist, you may be just as guilty of pushing your ideas and being blind to anyone else's views as a religious person. I get fed up with both the religious right and those who act like anyone who is religious has to be stupid. You can both be bigots. I am not a Christian and do not wish to be converted. But that does not mean I totally dismiss Christianity or any other religious views out of hand. If religion does not explain all the mysteries of the universe, neither does science. I do not pretend to know the answers to the creation and no one else does, either. Or if anyone does, he isn't talking, at least in this dimension. But I think there is room for both believers and non believers. I don't want either side pushing their beliefs on me. And quite honestly, if all you do is talk about your religion or lack thereof, I have to wonder who you are really trying to convince. The most truly religious people I have known in my 66 years really do not talk about it much, but do live it. And the most truly intelligent atheists I have known admit they do not know all the answers anymore than the religious zealots think they do. I don't like receiving emails that make out non believers as evil or religious people as ignorant. Keep these to yourself or whatever, but do not send them to me.
Now for my final rant---for those of you still reading, which I imagine is an exclusive group consisting of ---ME! Although most people I personally know are not guilty of this, sometimes I see stuff that is downright racist. Sometimes it is racist in general, and sometimes about Obama. Fortunately most people I know are not concerned about skin color. That is good because there are plenty of racists, of all colors, to go around. Everyone wants someone to look down upon, it seems. Blacks, browns, reds, yellows, whites, greens, blues, polka dotted, it does not matter. All groups are guilty. Sometimes I think people do not even understand what they post or email is racist. If it promotes hatred or denigration based on skin color it is racist. Same with ethnicity. Simple. So, think before you forward it in email or repost it. No one needs that crap. I don't want it. I delete it immediately if I see it and then think you are a dumbass. If you want to dislike a group, come up with a better reason for it than skin color. It makes you seem like an idiot. And yes, there are groups I detest. I dislike a lot of people and groups as a matter of fact. I am not bias free by any means. But I like to think I detest them for more important reasons than their skin color, who they are screwing, or what language they speak. If I speak against them it is because of their actions and beliefs. We all do that. It is called using judgment, not prejudice. We are supposed to use judgment. We do it all day long in many different ways. And no, this is not just me trying to excuse my own actions and beliefs as non-racist. I admit that occasionally I have racist thoughts, and then I try to take a look at what I am thinking and analyze it and if it is racist, I try to change it. If I can justify my thoughts based on facts and experience, I feel okay. Okay. End of rant. Again, you may feel free to disagree but that does not mean I want to hear about it. I probably should save my rants for my blog from now on. And will. Or will try to.
Okay, here I go ticking off people again. But I am going to rant anyway and this time I am not full of meds and it is not the middle of the night. I am not angry, I am just stating how I feel. This rant is the result of a couple recent posts and emails (emails from people I know but do not care for, by the way. People, in I my opinion, who live in a narrow little world even if they do get around a lot.
I hate messages that imply or outright state that if I do not repost them, somehow I either am heartless, ignorant, agree with the opposition or am guilty of a myriad of other things. I do not repost. I do not repost. I do not repost. If you want to do so, fine. That is your prerogative. But the quickest way to turn me off is to not only ask me to repost but to act like I must disagree with your message or assign some other negative, nefarious motivation to my not reposting.
If I want to use my feed as a sounding board for any cause, I will do so. I do not need anyone's help. I do not want to promote or support any organization or group on my newsfeed. (I am speaking of political, religious, business or social organizations. I do and always will openly support our military members. I do not think of them as a "group" for the purposes of this post.) I have been around the block a few times and know that not all groups are what they seem and supporting them publicly may come back and bite me on the ass. So I will do my own promoting of causes or not. Now if these are on your feed and I visit your page, I see what I see. But I really hate having these things sent to me. Email is the same. And by the way, I hate Obama and everything he stands for but when conservatives post stupid, inaccurate things about the man, they do all conservatives a disservice. There are plenty of reasons to find him the worst thing to happen to this country since the Civil War. Please do not make up crap. It just lessens your credibility. Leave that to the liberals. Check out your facts before passing stuff along.
I apologize to my liberal friends and relatives for this showing up on your newsfeed. Go ahead and delete this post. I probably would delete yours if you were praising Obama. Also, to my liberal friends and relatives, you can be just as guilty of ignorant actions as the rest of us. Stop saying "Tea Party" as if it is a political party. It is not. It is not a monolithic, racist, reactionary group. Conservatives are just as intelligent and as ignorant as liberals. We just approach things from opposite viewpoints. There are plenty of idiots on both sides. No one side has the monopoly on ignorance and bigotry.
This certainly holds for religion. If you are an atheist, you may be just as guilty of pushing your ideas and being blind to anyone else's views as a religious person. I get fed up with both the religious right and those who act like anyone who is religious has to be stupid. You can both be bigots. I am not a Christian and do not wish to be converted. But that does not mean I totally dismiss Christianity or any other religious views out of hand. If religion does not explain all the mysteries of the universe, neither does science. I do not pretend to know the answers to the creation and no one else does, either. Or if anyone does, he isn't talking, at least in this dimension. But I think there is room for both believers and non believers. I don't want either side pushing their beliefs on me. And quite honestly, if all you do is talk about your religion or lack thereof, I have to wonder who you are really trying to convince. The most truly religious people I have known in my 66 years really do not talk about it much, but do live it. And the most truly intelligent atheists I have known admit they do not know all the answers anymore than the religious zealots think they do. I don't like receiving emails that make out non believers as evil or religious people as ignorant. Keep these to yourself or whatever, but do not send them to me.
Now for my final rant---for those of you still reading, which I imagine is an exclusive group consisting of ---ME! Although most people I personally know are not guilty of this, sometimes I see stuff that is downright racist. Sometimes it is racist in general, and sometimes about Obama. Fortunately most people I know are not concerned about skin color. That is good because there are plenty of racists, of all colors, to go around. Everyone wants someone to look down upon, it seems. Blacks, browns, reds, yellows, whites, greens, blues, polka dotted, it does not matter. All groups are guilty. Sometimes I think people do not even understand what they post or email is racist. If it promotes hatred or denigration based on skin color it is racist. Same with ethnicity. Simple. So, think before you forward it in email or repost it. No one needs that crap. I don't want it. I delete it immediately if I see it and then think you are a dumbass. If you want to dislike a group, come up with a better reason for it than skin color. It makes you seem like an idiot. And yes, there are groups I detest. I dislike a lot of people and groups as a matter of fact. I am not bias free by any means. But I like to think I detest them for more important reasons than their skin color, who they are screwing, or what language they speak. If I speak against them it is because of their actions and beliefs. We all do that. It is called using judgment, not prejudice. We are supposed to use judgment. We do it all day long in many different ways. And no, this is not just me trying to excuse my own actions and beliefs as non-racist. I admit that occasionally I have racist thoughts, and then I try to take a look at what I am thinking and analyze it and if it is racist, I try to change it. If I can justify my thoughts based on facts and experience, I feel okay. Okay. End of rant. Again, you may feel free to disagree but that does not mean I want to hear about it. I probably should save my rants for my blog from now on. And will. Or will try to.
Saturday, August 4, 2012
WARNING: This is an Over-tired-woman-who-is-full-of- migraine-medication-so-is-wired- with-caffeine's very long rant:
It is beyond me why people get so hung up about homosexuality. (Here I used the term "homosexuality" to include both gays and lesbians. Sort of like we used to be able to say "man" or "mankind" meaning humans of both genders, without being considered sexists. I actually remember when the word "homosexual" usually included both men and women. Damn, I am old.) Like most heterosexuals, I find homosexuality a curiosity. Perhaps homosexuals feel that way about heterosexuality. But I do believe that it is a biologically based preference, just as is heterosexuality. (Of course there are those who would have sex with anyone regardless of gender, personal hygiene, respiration, etc. They are not the subject of this rant. Right or wrong, I just think of them as mindless horny bastards and not necessarily as hetero, bi or homosexual although some certainly may be.) If homosexuality is a biologically based preference, then one has to question if reproduction really is the main reason for our sex drives. I know it is not in my case or in the case of most people I know, but I am thinking more regarding evolution. You know, as old Charley Darwin would view it. But to me, as long as you have two (or more :-)) consenting and responsible adults, what they do in the bedroom is nobody's business but theirs.
I cannot understand why religious people who oppose homosexuality citing a biblical basis do not then take the rest of the Bible so literally. Personally, I think back when there were inheritance issues and extended families living under one roof, there probably was a need for really strict rules about homosexuality, adultery, incest, etc. I think that is probably the real reason women had to stay so covered up. The men in the household needed this to keep themselves from having adulterous and incestuous sex. Apparently they were incapable of practicing self-control. And there was the worry about who was having who's child because of inheritance. I imagine rules against homosexuality probably evolved around these sort of issues. Surely there were homosexuals back then, also. Reproduction meant survival of the group. No wasting of sperm that could be used to make more kids. But even more likely the tabu was to maintain order within families and more or less closed communities. I imagine incest, rape and all sorts of sexual issues arose considering the living arrangements. This is just my opinion and I don't know if it is credible or not. These issues generally are not valid anymore except perhaps in the Middle East or some other cultures where there are lots of extended families and property issues are so important. Of course, we know homosexuality does not exist in Iran, at least according to President Ahmadinejad!
I also suspect some people despise homosexuals because they have at one time harbored some of the same feelings as homosexuals even if they did not act upon them, nor want to admit them, and feel guilty or uncomfortable about having done so. I figure this may be natural. No one should feel threatened by homosexuals because of this.
On the other hand, I think it ridiculous to talk about amending the Constitution to protect homosexuals. They are citizens of the US so should already be granted equal rights and protections on both a federal and state level. Same with women. Same with any other minority. If the Constitution and laws are upheld, there is no need for special citations. If they are not, prosecute those who are violating anyone else's civil rights. We do not need to amend the Constitution or pass hate laws. We just need to apply the current law equitably.
All this being said, I also think Gay Rights Parades and other public celebrations for gays and lesbians stupid. To me it is as dumb as whores having a parade to flaunt the fact they are whores, or heterosexuals to flaunt their heterosexuality, or people who prefer S and M to promote that. I just think it stupid to celebrate your sexuality that publicly no matter how discriminated against you may feel you have been. I am just old fashioned enough to think sex is a private matter. Not that it shocks me or I am prudish. I just think, like going to the bathroom, picking your toenails or nose, or a myriad of other pleasant and unpleasant things, some things I just do not care to see publicly displayed.
Anyway, I think there are lots of valid reasons to hate people but sexual preference is not one of them. I do not understand how it hurts me if two people of the same gender want to have sex or enter into a legal relationship. With all the other crap there is to worry about, this just seems like a stupid waste of time. And it certainly should not be an issue in a Presidential campaign. And another thing is, I am sick to death of liberals who label all conservatives as homophobic. Most of the ones I know are not. Sometimes I think a lot of liberals are the real bigots. And so many just want to be PC. They rank right up there with the ultra right wingers who are bigots. I like to think most of us who fit in between these two groups are not.
I am a reasonably bright, educated conservative woman who has strong opinions about a lot of things and I do not give a damn about being politically correct. It is about four in the morning, and I have to "get up" in an hour; I have had a migraine since February; every other minute my keyboard freezes up so I am not about to proofread this; and I feel like ranting. Don't even get me going on illegal immigration, social welfare, Obamacare, Obama, the liberal agenda or a zillion other topics.
Oh, and I do not give a rat's ass if you agree or disagree with me. I just got ticked off about a few remarks I saw posted on FB on both sides of the issue and decided to state my own opinion. Feel free to keep your opinions to yourself. This is my blog and no one is making you read it. Oh, I forgot. No one reads this blog but me, anyway.
I cannot understand why religious people who oppose homosexuality citing a biblical basis do not then take the rest of the Bible so literally. Personally, I think back when there were inheritance issues and extended families living under one roof, there probably was a need for really strict rules about homosexuality, adultery, incest, etc. I think that is probably the real reason women had to stay so covered up. The men in the household needed this to keep themselves from having adulterous and incestuous sex. Apparently they were incapable of practicing self-control. And there was the worry about who was having who's child because of inheritance. I imagine rules against homosexuality probably evolved around these sort of issues. Surely there were homosexuals back then, also. Reproduction meant survival of the group. No wasting of sperm that could be used to make more kids. But even more likely the tabu was to maintain order within families and more or less closed communities. I imagine incest, rape and all sorts of sexual issues arose considering the living arrangements. This is just my opinion and I don't know if it is credible or not. These issues generally are not valid anymore except perhaps in the Middle East or some other cultures where there are lots of extended families and property issues are so important. Of course, we know homosexuality does not exist in Iran, at least according to President Ahmadinejad!
I also suspect some people despise homosexuals because they have at one time harbored some of the same feelings as homosexuals even if they did not act upon them, nor want to admit them, and feel guilty or uncomfortable about having done so. I figure this may be natural. No one should feel threatened by homosexuals because of this.
On the other hand, I think it ridiculous to talk about amending the Constitution to protect homosexuals. They are citizens of the US so should already be granted equal rights and protections on both a federal and state level. Same with women. Same with any other minority. If the Constitution and laws are upheld, there is no need for special citations. If they are not, prosecute those who are violating anyone else's civil rights. We do not need to amend the Constitution or pass hate laws. We just need to apply the current law equitably.
All this being said, I also think Gay Rights Parades and other public celebrations for gays and lesbians stupid. To me it is as dumb as whores having a parade to flaunt the fact they are whores, or heterosexuals to flaunt their heterosexuality, or people who prefer S and M to promote that. I just think it stupid to celebrate your sexuality that publicly no matter how discriminated against you may feel you have been. I am just old fashioned enough to think sex is a private matter. Not that it shocks me or I am prudish. I just think, like going to the bathroom, picking your toenails or nose, or a myriad of other pleasant and unpleasant things, some things I just do not care to see publicly displayed.
Anyway, I think there are lots of valid reasons to hate people but sexual preference is not one of them. I do not understand how it hurts me if two people of the same gender want to have sex or enter into a legal relationship. With all the other crap there is to worry about, this just seems like a stupid waste of time. And it certainly should not be an issue in a Presidential campaign. And another thing is, I am sick to death of liberals who label all conservatives as homophobic. Most of the ones I know are not. Sometimes I think a lot of liberals are the real bigots. And so many just want to be PC. They rank right up there with the ultra right wingers who are bigots. I like to think most of us who fit in between these two groups are not.
I am a reasonably bright, educated conservative woman who has strong opinions about a lot of things and I do not give a damn about being politically correct. It is about four in the morning, and I have to "get up" in an hour; I have had a migraine since February; every other minute my keyboard freezes up so I am not about to proofread this; and I feel like ranting. Don't even get me going on illegal immigration, social welfare, Obamacare, Obama, the liberal agenda or a zillion other topics.
Oh, and I do not give a rat's ass if you agree or disagree with me. I just got ticked off about a few remarks I saw posted on FB on both sides of the issue and decided to state my own opinion. Feel free to keep your opinions to yourself. This is my blog and no one is making you read it. Oh, I forgot. No one reads this blog but me, anyway.
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