Hypersensitivity...

[Moonliner]

It's running amok in our society..

The Seattle Airport puts up Christmas trees, and a Rabbi threatens to sue.

Rosie O'Donnell mimics Chinese and it's treated like she spit on Mao's grave.

A high school choir was asked to stop singing Christmas Carols during a performance at a local mall because there was one Jewish person present.

This type of knee jerk hypersensitivity cannot be good for the land of the free and the home of the brave. What's gotten into people?

There is so much real hatred and evil in the world. Why focus on all these innocuous issues? All it's going to do is create a boy who cried wolf mentality in regards to true bigotry and hate. If it keeps up pretty soon no one is going to pay any attention to real issues of hate and racism.

[Ghoulish Delight]

For My Democratic Friends:

"Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, our best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low-stress, non-addictive, gender-neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasion and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all. We also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the of the generally accepted calendar year 2007, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make America great. Not to imply that America is necessarily greater than any other country nor the only America in the Western Hemisphere. And without regard to the race, creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith or sexual preference of the wishes. By accepting these greetings you are accepting these terms. This greeting is subject to clarification or withdrawal. It is freely transferable with no alteration to the original greeting. It implies no promise by the wisher to actually implement any of the wishes for herself or himself or others, and is void where prohibited by law and is revocable at the sole discretion of the wisher. This wish is warranted to perform as expected within the usual application of good tidings for a period of one year or until the issuance of a subsequent holiday greeting, whichever comes first, and warranty is limited to replacement of this wish or issuance of a new wish at the sole discretion of the wisher."

For My Republican (and Libertarian) Friends:

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

[Moonliner]

Wow.

You are one helluva fast typist.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Originally Posted by Moonliner

Wow.

You are one helluva fast typist.

ctrl-c, ctrl-v

[Disneyphile]

I'm sick of the oversensitivity these days. I also think that's why we nowhave school shootings, etc., because people are being bred to be overly sensitive, that once they're called a bad name, they can't handle it without gunning everyone down.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Originally Posted by Disneyphile

I'm sick of the oversensitivity these days. I also think that's why we nowhave school shootings, etc., because people are being bred to be overly sensitive, that once they're called a bad name, they can't handle it without gunning everyone down.

I believe I mentioned a while ago about the game of musical chairs I witnessed at my company picnic where when a child didn't get a chair, they were told they were the "next winner" and sent back to mom and dad with a prize.

CP told this story to coworkers, who thought it was "adorable." They said kids that young just can't understand losing, and they'll figure it out on their own when they're ready. When CP replied that her parents let her win or lose fairly, they told her, I believe quite literally, that she obviously had horrible parents that didn't care for her.

[Moonliner]

Originally Posted by Ghoulish Delight

I believe I mentioned a while ago about the game of musical chairs I witnessed at my company picnic where when a child didn't get a chair, they were told they were the "next winner" and sent back to mom and dad with a prize.

CP told this story to coworkers, who thought it was "adorable." They said kids that young just can't understand losing, and they'll figure it out on their own when they're ready. When CP replied that her parents let her win or lose fairly, they told her, I believe quite literally, that she obviously had horrible parents that didn't care for her.

While the Co-workers in question are definitely outliers on the normal curve of parental behavior for their rudeness alone, it is not uncommon for parents of very young children to feel like they must protect their kids from all evil. Typically they get over it by the time the kids hit 9 or 10 but some persist and they really are horrible parents.

In our kids pre-school the big thing was to "build confidence". My point of view, which of course I stated loudly and often, was that building confidence is a buch of hooey. All you are doing is feeding kids fairy tails about how great they are. My point was (and still is) that the goal should be to build capability and out of capability you naturally get confidence.

For this radical viewpoint I was just about universally shunned by the other pre-school parents.

[Strangler Lewis]

Originally Posted by Moonliner

In our kids pre-school the big thing was to "build confidence". My point of view, which of course I stated loudly and often, was that building confidence is a buch of hooey. All you are doing is feeding kids fairy tails about how great they are. My point was (and still is) that the goal should be to build capability and out of capability you naturally get confidence.

Within the given limitations. Nothing is gained by setting unreasonable goals and making little kids feel like failures.

I coached my daughter's soccer team of five and six year-olds this fall, and we had one boy who just was not ready to listen or comfortable with competing physically with kids he did not know. His parents should have pulled the plug on that early on, but they paid their money and there wasn't much I could say or do. (Soccer does not have a right field.)

Not that it's relevant to this topic, but I did have one dad pull his kid on advice of counsel because his ex and his girlfriend would curse each other out and threaten to kick each other's ass while the kid was on the field.

[tracilicious]

Originally Posted by Strangler Lewis

Within the given limitations. Nothing is gained by setting unreasonable goals and making little kids feel like failures.

I agree, but I'm not sure that that is what Moonliner was saying. I'm anti good jobbing, as well, but because it is just another way thing that grown ups to do get kids to do what they want. I'd much rather a have a preschool that teaches kids, and helps them to find their internal motivation, rather than turning them into praise junkies whose sense of self hangs on stickers and verbal doggie biscuits. Neither punishment nor rewarding is appropriate in a such a setting. It's funny that so many don't realize that teaching can happen absent of those two control techniques.

I'm amused that in threads like these, where so many are so quick to bash parents that annoy them, I find myself disagreeing with both the poster and the person they disagree with. It doesn't need to be either give in to kids and spoil them or teach them the hard ways of the cruel world. There is a whole other train of thought that can be followed should one simply jump on.

[Gemini Cricket]

I'm offended by this thread.