Right, I know, don't post when you're sick.
Today, Greg stayed home for me ... because my head feels like it's going to rupture. Every time it changes elevation, even a little bit.
I went to the park Wednesday night. There was a Muslim mom there, head covered, shirt to her wrists, pants to her ankles. There I am, in a V-neck T shirt, capris. Hussy. Modesty is a good thing; I'd be in favor of going more towards the modest extreme.
Yeah, what Vesper star said, there is a price we have to pay to co-exist in the land of the free - sometimes people want attention and do naughty things and we just have to suck it up and explain to our kids. A long time ago, on the topic of censorship, I read where a guy had taken his family to Disneyland and there was a nice rednecky fellow with a shirt that read something like, "If I wanted to hear your opinion I'd take my ... out of ..." you get the idea. Inappropriate, vulgar. Sure, Disneyland is private property, someone could have asked him to change. Probably plenty of children asked their parents what it meant ... but really, does it hurt? At some point, as a parent, you have to explain to your children what is appropriate and what is not. In fact, most of parenting is that.
And another sick rant - stupid Utah, get off the stupid alcohol laws already. I don't want drunk drivers, I really hate the idea of people driving home from the bar, it seems really stupid that this is part of our society. And not just because President Whatshername from Battlestar's pregnant sister, other sister, and father all died when they were hit by a drunk driver, okay? Fine. Drink. Kill your brain cells. Destroy your liver. But don't drive. That said, does it really matter if children in a restaurant see adults drinking? I think that's the law they are trying to pass, the Zion Curtain, they call it. Like when you go to Apple Bee's and the bar is in the middle? MADD Utahans don't like that. Your children might have to see what? People getting drunk on Daiquiris? Like smoking, those sins must only be done in the privacy of your evil home?
Loosen up. Loosen. Up.
Gays won't make your kids gay, drunks won't make your kids drunks, Sex ed in school won't make your kids nymphos, TV and Internet might get your kids addicted to porn. The thing is, parenting is hard work and you HAVE TO prepare your kid for the world as it is, not as you wish it might maybe could be someday if Jesus came back. You have to sit them down and talk about bodies and hormones and reproduction. You have to tell them about sex and marriage and why, despite what their bodies say, they have to maintain control. You have to explain what drugs and alcohol do, what they take away, how some people resign responsibility for their behavior and how that is wrong (if you feel so inclined, which I do). You have to explain how people are different, how they make choices you think are a million percent wrong and we still treat them with respect, act civil and polite. You have to do the work, supervise, observe, explain and discuss. It is beyond stupid to expect you can legislate yourself in Utopia.
Sticking the vacuum tube to your nose does not make your sinuses open or clear out.
You can't take Musinex when your breastfeeding.
Sudafed makes me crazy worse.
Amoxicillin makes me itchy, a little.
High tree pollen mean the plants are feeling frisky and we all have to breathe it in.
I'm going to take advantage of my husband's personal day and nap for the rest of my life now.
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While I agree with a lot of that, I don't see why people CAN'T just be appropriate in public (re the shirt at Disney). Would it really have hurt him to wear something appropriate to begin with? No. He's trying to offend people. Period.
Yes, there are a lot of crappy things in the world that I'm going to have to explain to my children, but there is a time and place and AGE when that is appropriate to explain to them. The last thing I want is to try to explain horrible vulgar words to my preschooler when she reads off the letters and asks what it spells.
As for the Big Love thing, some things should just be off-limits. Plain and simple. And I'm sick to death of it being okay to pick on Mormons (and Catholics and Jews). There are other minorities that they couldn't get away with treating that way.
Sorry you're so sick. That really sucks. I apparently shouldn't post when I have ornery sick clingy kids, 'cause this is kind of a cranky comment....
I grew up seeing people drink, most of them not getting drunk... just drinking, so presumably I wasn't seeing the negative consequences of drinking.
I'm guessing that's what some people are worried about... the kids will see people drinking but not being falling-down drunk, and so kids will think there is no bad result to drinking!
Well, as an adult, I rarely drink. I've never gotten drunk. I like wine ever now and then, but it is rare that I drink. So somehow I managed to avoid falling into the trap. Others can, too.
Although it is a little apples and oranges, and I think wine is okay but porn is not, I've seen people overstate the case that "porn" (meaning Playboy) turns people into rapists and child molesters. These SAME PEOPLE then relate that, as kids, they found copies of Playboy their father had. And somehow, their father avoided turning into a rapist or child molester.
Again, I don't condone porn, but when we overreact or oversell our case, we lose credibility. Same goes for the dangers of seeing people drinking.
Utah has ridiculous drinking laws. Period. That's it. They are strange and archaic. It's the only place that you basically have to buy a separate license (a "membership" they call it) to drink in a bar. If you ask me, which nobody did (occasionally I speak out for no reason), it sounds like the majority is picking on the minority. The 60% majority members are legislating (due to their being 80% of Utah elected officials) their "views" of alcohol based morality on the minority percentage of the population. And I thought church and state were to be separate? It doesn't make any sense to legislate alcohol laws and enforce penalties based on a religion that doesn't drink. Most of these laws target restaurants that sell liquor by the drink to shield, ie. "zion curtain" (a glass partition to separate drinkers from non drinkers) certain members of the community from seeing alcohol consumed. Do I foresee an ostrich metaphor? The truth is that most bar drinkers don't get "drunk" at bars. It's just too expensive. Occasionally you will see someone drop a few hundred dollars on a weekend, but the majority have a few drinks and move on. REAL alcoholics drink cheap beer at home. But luckily the laws are changing and will be much more lenient towards drinkers, but more harsh towards drunk drivers (which i support - harsher penalties that is, not drunk drivers)Anyway, i just wanted to say hi to MBR and fam and were gonna try to plan a trip down there soon (ill bring my own beer)!
NOT, you hussy. You were over there while I was over here. All feelings are mutual. Especially the ones in the sinuses.
I just got done with the Irish day parade in Chicago and it always makes me wish we had some of those Utah laws around here. The only thing I am truly grateful for is that all our bars and restaurants (in fact all our public buildings) are smoke free.
Anyway, back to my Irish day rant. Something like around 50-60 people were arrested for drunken public acts, just at the South Side Parade in my lovely neighborhood. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29735150/
We were lucky this year to only have a couple of beer cans, a remnant of a jello shot, and an empty cup on our lawn.
At least now my dad finally understands why I just don't take my 2 year old there.
Also, I'm not sure what the shirt said (I'm kinda dense that way), but I really really dislike the vast majority of all clothes with words on them. And the folks at Disney REALLY should not have let the guy in, IMHO. I mean, it is a family park after all.
And this brings me to my question about Mormons and modesty.....I know that you can purchase Muslim swimsuits that offer full body coverage, but I was just wondering, what do Mormon women wear? I mean, I just have never fully understood the concept of the bikini (or for that matter, the thong. or the speedo). I mean, it always seemed rather, um, nude to me to wear anything that did not offer the fullest possible coverage.
So just curious here. In the past you said I could ask, and I would like to do so respectfully,
Catherine
Sorry Britt - Mormons are fun to pick on - and it's easy to rile 'em (us) up - which makes it even funner. The only time it's NOT funny is when Mormons get together and and get stuff done, like passing Prop 8. Poking fun is only entertaining when you get to be the bully; when the weakling stands up (whether they are Mormon, gay, or drunk) and punches you in the face ... things get serious.
Ken gets 10 bonus points for hitting the nail on the head ... on so many issues, the moral arguments are overstating their cases and thus losing credibility.
With gay marriage, saying that we can't have it because it'll be taught in schools and please won't someone think of the children. It's the wrong argument to take on national TV/Radio. With alcohol - don't let children see people drinking. Protect their innocence. Makes you sound hokey and silly and stupid. Sometimes there are better arguments, sometimes, the moral argument isn't constitutional and needs to be let go.
And did you know all the 2nd hand smoking claims are the same issue, overstating the effects to make things harder for smokers? Hopefully that will ease your heart a little next time you see a smoker car full of kiddos, windows up. They're not as likely to die of lung cancer as you think.
JDR - Don't make me defend my state when it's being wrong. I hate HATE that whole separation of church and state, but Utah's a theocracy debate. The only reason Utah is like it is is because Mormons got kicked out of every other state and the natives living here couldn't overpower us. So, yeah, Mormons are the majority and sometimes they overstep the bounds, but if America had protected our 1st Amendment rights back in 18somethingsomething, you could come on down and get smashed anytime anywhere and la de dah. Plus, we're freaking right next door to evil wicked Nevada, so, there HAS to be SOME balance to the UNIVERSE.
Besides, I hate our stupid legislators! IGNORING my constant pleas to end daylight saving time, rather passing laws about children observing imbibination of alcohol.
For shame.
Come visit any old time bring your beer and your Zion curtain (or are we supposed to provide you with one?) and mow the lawn in your wife's bikini. Really, we should all head down to AZ: no daylight saving or Zion curtains, we all win!
Hey baby o - Mormon women where what ever the hell we want when we go swimming. Then the fatties (like me) talk about how immodest the skinnies are to wear their 2 piecers when really we are just freaking jealous as all get out and as soon as I loose 20 more pounds I will be happy to be worthy of disdain as I squeeze my flubber into something skimpy and red.
Okay, well, that is the truth, but I think, now at 30, that I probably don't need to flaunt my body quite so much - saggy boobs, triple C-sections. I usually wear a one piece and some board shorts. Self-conscious, much.
There are some ultra fundamentalist types who wear suits that look more like wet suits, but that would certainly be a tiny minority. Though, when you think about it, it would be a million times more comfortable, modesty/exposure-wise that anything you find off the rack. Except for the pointing and laughing.
Stupid society.
The Disneyland shirt was referencing oral sex (did you want to know? Oh well ... sorry to impurify your mind)
Psst! The Zion Curtain thing did not pass. Instead they loosened the restrictions on alcohol. Apparently enough legislators felt the need to loosen up too so that's one less thing to get worked up over (though I hate to mess up a good rant!)
Ok, I have to admit to a complete lack of understanding about the modesty issue. What is the real problem with immodest clothing? Bad fashion sense is bad fashion sense, but unless something that may be contagious can drip on the general public is it really any of our business? I grew up with people not overly concerned with nudity and yet I don't seem to have a problem with remaining monogamous, sober, or raising moral children (thus far). Does it matter if cleavage is visible? Does it matter if the whole darn upper torso is visible? Does it matter if everyone on the planet walks around naked? Truly, this argument confuses me. I'm not trying to make waves, just looking for clarification.
Yeah, thanks Cynthia. Government does listen, Utah is not so silly, so there.
Now, about DST ...
Janet - the big thing about modesty - I don't wanna see everybody's junk hanging out. I don't want it hanging around in my kids' faces. I don't want my husband to look at sleezy hussy boobs or to think about them when all he has is my saggy milk sacks to fondle. I want my little boys to respect women, not objectify and lust after their bodies. I want my daughter to be respected for her mind, not her bra size.
I don't want to go to an extreme, where we make our kids think nudity and bodies are bad - heaven knows my kids have observed the true purpose of boobs their whole lives and in the privacy of our home, there is a relaxed dress-code.
People wear clothes, one, because it get awfully cold here in Utah, two, because bugs bite, three, peacock feathers, four, to hide arousal - I don't know, naked people are icky. I have vague childhood memories of a nudist camp, swimming pool thing ... gross. Icky. Cover that up.
I'm someone's mom. My dad was about as nudist as they come and it was uncomfortable and unnecessary.
Clothes are our friends.
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