The things that go through my head

The so-called teen trend of sexting has become the latest way to scare the crap out of parents. I see these ridiculous media stories everywhere. This article in the St. Petersburg Times is a perfect example of what passes for media coverage in these sexting-that-leads-to-bullying situations. Let me just give you a re-cap of how these stories go.

Step 1: Teenage girl sends naked picture of herself to a boy she likes. Or she sends it to a boy she doesn’t like so he will stop harassing her.

Step 2: Bullies forward the picture to all of their friends. Bullies call the girl names like slut, whore and porn queen. They may dump food on her in the cafeteria. They generally humiliate the girl and make her life a living hell.

Step 3: The school administration gets involved. Dun dun dun (as the young people would say.)

Step 4: The girl is punished for sending a naked picture of herself. Punishments include groundings, revocation of responsibilities or school suspensions.

Step 5: Parents discuss ways to prevent teenage girls from sending naked pictures of themselves. Ineptitude follows.

In the case of Hope Witsell, she killed herself.

Do you see what is wrong with this picture? No? Then let me break it down for you. Teenage girls are not human garbage that deserve to be bullied, mocked and humiliated by their peers. Teenage boys should not be rewarded for being bullies. Why were the perpetrators not punished? I can tell you right now that if I was the parent of a teenage boy that used a cell phone to harass a classmate, I would run it over with a car while he watched. What the hell is wrong with our society when we perpetually let these bullies off the hook like that? I can’t remember a news story that pissed me off so much.

The worst part is how everybody acts like a naked picture from a teenage girl will lead to the downfall of society. Oh Puh-leeze. It’s a pair of boobs. Grow up. That picture was not intended to be seen by everybody at school. The act of using that picture to harm that girl was a despicable act and should be dealt with. I would raise hell if that were my kid I tell you what.

If you ever question the existence of patriarchy or rank misogyny, just re-read that article and it should come through loud and clear.

Way back in the day when I was young, I spent all of my free time watching the Disney channel. Remember when TV was your only entertainment option? I watched the Disney version of Alice in Wonderland several times and I enjoyed it a lot. I could relate to Alice completely, as I remember having a hard time telling the difference between reality and fantasy from time to time. I had very vivid dreams about flying or falling down holes, although nothing as fantastic as what Alice experiences. I can remember having a hard time telling the difference between reality and my dreams.

As an adult I thought it was a very silly and random story with a bunch of stuff in it that makes no sense. That was what made it so great. It was a story about nothing. Random playing cards running around, a queen and king of hearts, and a white rabbit who is late for a very important date. There just seemed to be no rhyme or reason to any of the happenings in the story. I sure do not remember all the commentary on the bizarre rituals that people engage in. I don’t remember all the stuff about Alice’s struggle with her identity and her difficulty navigating through the adult world. Her childish confusion at all the injustice in the world sure made me think.

That is why I am currently reading the online e-text of Lewis Carroll’s classic book. I have to say I like the book a whole lot more than I liked the movie and I really, really liked the movie. I hope to enjoy the rest of it tonight.

I mean he really, really, really likes George Bush. Put plastic on your keyboard before you read because you might hurl. It’s that bad.

Did you know that the fact that Georgie Porgie is a good public speaker means that he could not possibly be a bad person or be responsible for anything bad ever? OMG it’s true. I mean, it’s not like there has ever been a historical figure that managed to be eloquent and evil at the same time. *cough* Hitler *cough* And no, I am not calling George Bush Hitler. If you think that, then you really need to put down the Bush koolaid.

What is up with these people that think protesting is a waste of time? Protesting is the best thing that you can do to protect democracy. We all have the right to free speech. Attention Internet Trolls and People that have nothing better to do than post hateful spam on Facebook groups devoted to organizing peaceful anti-Bush rallies: Do you not understand the irony of telling protesters that they are wasting their time? Quit spamming the internet with your bullshit and go cure cancer. We know you can do it, if only you would quit wasting your time.

If you are fond of reading nonsense from George Bush fans go ahead and read this nauseating crap ALA Les MacPherson. No wonder Bush’s speech was given to a full house, when we have two influential media people that completely give Bush a pass. Education president my ass. Did you know Bush brought in No Child Left Behind, the worst thing to happen to education ever? Thanks to Bush every child must go through standardized testing and all the funding of the education system is related to the scores that kids get on these tests. Terrible. Even if the 9/11 attacks had never happened George Bush was still a nightmare for the educational system.

There are more reasons why Bush is terrible but I gotta go fix my baseboards.

It seems to me that we spend altogether too much of our time glorifying bullies. We just love nothing better than to glorify some knob who gets his kicks making others look and feel bad about themselves. Take that Chef Ramsay short haircut guy on that horrible Hell’s Kitchen show. He yells at people, throws things and is a classic abuser. I wish I knew why so many people are entertained by that. I can’t watch this show for more than fifteen minutes without cringing in disgust. Terrible terrible stuff.

Yet I am endlessly entertained by Dr. House, while recognizing that he is a mean jerk that constantly manipulates people. The worst part of that for me is that some people think he is sexy. Puke. See what I mean? You can’t throw a shoe at a former US president (or dream about it) without hitting a bully. They are absolutely everywhere.

Do you want to know what scares me the most about all this bully glorification? What if I turn into one of them. What if I start screaming at and abusing people when I don’t get my way? Say my kid doesn’t wash the dishes properly and heaven forbid left one of the cups or plates with a thin film of soapy grease on it. What if I freak out and start screaming like some idiot while tossing plates around the room? The idea of me doing that is absolutely frightening. I rather like living a life free of abuse. It may be hard work being normal but it is totally worth it.

What can we do to live bully-free lives? Toss all media into the fire? Electro-shock therapy? Drugs? I just want people to be nice to each other for a change. This rambling post brought to you courtesy of insomnia.

WHAT THE HELL????

I had no idea that all you had to do to get the Nobel Peace Prize is be slightly less evil than George Bush. Talk about having low standards.

Shame on you Nobel Prize committee! Now Obama can just rest on his laurels and be even more useless. BAH!!!

Did he end any wars? Oh hell now, they are still going full tilt. When I expressed my irritation at work I got the whole, “the Nobel Peace prize is intended to encourage somebody at a critical time” nonsense. What bollocks!

Also, shame on you Obama apologists, for continuing to drink the koolaid, despite the fact that this is turning out to be Bush’s third term.

Oh and Happy Thanksgiving!

Here is a really good rundown of the problem of under-treating pain patients and the persecution of the doctors that treat them. I have to remember to keep tabs of Pete over at Drug War Rant. There is some really good stuff over there.

While it is not a secret that I am a non-believer in any kind of supernatural or religious belief, I am usually inclined to keep my opinions to myself. You won’t find me standing on a street corner holding up the latest edition of the Watchtower and you won’t find me hassling people about being Christiana that are obviously uninterested in talking to me. I don’t hand out pamphlets telling people that belief in religion is a mass delusion. I have better things to do that try to proselytize. I’m lazy. So when I was helping my kid do her paper route today and I saw the two young looking fellows in their neat white shirts and black pants and name-tags coming, I hoped they would keep walking. Mormons on the prowl! I decided to do what I always do when I try to avoid talking to somebody that I find unpleasant: avoid eye-contact or fiddle with my phone and be really rude and hope they take the hint. Childish? Yes, but come on. Pushy people have it coming.

You have to understand that Saskatoon is swarming with Mormons lately. Every year, a new batch comes up from Salt Lake City, eager to impart their Christian values on a gullible populace. I have had many conversations with them over the years and I have to give them credit for persistence. I am stubborn, loud-mouthed and opinionated and they have successfully worn me down many times. If you say “How do you explain the dinosaurs?” they come back with some scripture quotations about testing your faith or something. It’s far too confusing for my puny brain to sort out. They sure do know how to talk in circles without saying anything. It never fails to amaze me.

The two young fellows were sizing me up and giving me compliments for getting my kid to work. Praising your kids is the oldest trick in the book. They probably think I am a single mom. Mormons always go for the single moms because they are all poor, single and desperate for a man and therefore vulnerable to brainwashing. Since I left my home unattended by a man I must be single. They also petted my dog and told me he is cute. I was talking to them and being polite while I was waiting for Katy to get finished dropping off her papers. I was hoping they would go away after she came back and I started walking away but they just kept talking and talking. Oh jeez, they were determined to talk to me, no matter how uninterested I tried to be. They kept up with the fake politeness until they successfully introduced themselves and shook hands with me. Great. Now I have no choice but to engage on religion and I got nothing witty or funny to say. This sucks. Anyway, he pulls his business card out of his pocket and hands it to me. I explain to him that it is no use because I don’t believe in any of it. I know there is no God. There is absolutely no proof of his existence anywhere. He seemed incredulous that I would say such a thing and asked me if I was sure of that. I told him “I have never been more sure of anything in my entire life. Take care!” And we walked away. They finally took the hint.

This is what I should have said:

“I feel sorry for you because you have been successfully brain-washed into propagating a dangerous cult. The only reason you are here right now trying to convince me that you have all the answers was a coincidence of birth. If you had been born in a different part of the world with different parents and a different upbringing, you would be a different kind of Christian or you might be a Buddhist, Muslim or a Jew. There is no God, accept it and move on with your life!”

The thought occurs to me that Mormons use the same tactics as salespeople to win your trust. Compliments and praise, being nice to your kid and your dog. There must be a handbook that these people use.

When we went back to school shopping this year, I saw that “Data traveller” was on the supply list. I thought it was kind of silly to have one, as it is just something to lose. We own about three data travellers and I couldn’t find a single one. I am very cheap and I told my child, who is ten years old, to use her email to send herself files if she needs to do homework. After school had begun, Katy informed me that she was not allowed to use email. This seemed rather absurd to me. Why would the schools prevent kids from having email? I caved and bought a data traveller, which only works on my laptop. What good is it to have a data traveller that won’t work on her computer? So I had a conversation with the teacher about this new rule. It appears that the school division does not want kids using email in class, so their solution to this problem is to not allow kids to use email at all. She will allow my child to use email to send her homework assignments home, so common sense did prevail in this case. But it got me thinking.

I showed my kids how to use email as soon as they asked for it. I think Katy was about four or five when I helped her get her first hotmail account, which she still has. Same with my oldest daughter Hannah. Being the overly permissive parent that I am, I thought that they should have email if they want it. I told them how to use email safely and gave them the typical internet safety mom speech: “Never meet up with someone that you don’t know from the internet” and all that good stuff until they were giving me the mighty eyeroll and the exasperated “Mom! We aren’t idiots!”. I used to think that I should have their passwords and spy on the kids and what they do online. I did do that for a little while but then I realized that I trust my kids. They are smart kids and are not going to do anything stupid. And life is too short to spend all my free time spying on them.

I know some parents that do not allow their children to have email and I know many parents that do. It just makes me wonder what is reasonable. I really feel strongly that kids should be allowed to have email if they want it but maybe there is another angle that I am missing here.

Just when you thought I would never update this dead blog, I come back to bring the internet some of the awesome that it so desperately needs. And to make things even more interesting, I have stopped by to let you all know how completely wrong I am about something that annoys me.

I know! I have never been wrong before and I sure hope to never be wrong again.

It goes like this. I am one of those uptight do-gooders that is often upset about things that I find mean and insulting. Especially things that can be interpreted as racist and sexist. The latest atrocity that the world has inflicted me with is this:

This picture is the logo for Bedford Road Collegiate Institute the high school that my eldest child currently attends. When you walk around the school, you see this logo absolutely everywhere. The school team name is “Bedford Redmen”. The “men” part of the name excludes half the population, you may or may not notice. I suppose I thought it possible that there could be a more fitting, more positive logo could be chosen. I felt that it is yet another example of white culture stealing a First Nations image.

But then I got some schooling! Apparently I am not the only person in the neighborhood that disliked this logo and wanted to go with something more positive. When the gym was built in the school, there was a big debate about whether the Redmen logo should go on the gym floor. I was informed by someone who knows better that all sides were heard during this debate and people voted on whether to use this image. There were even some native people that thought this image was just fine and it is tradition after all. The issue of the logo was put to a vote and the majority prevailed. Democracy in action and democracy is awesome.

My fear that the more things change the more things stay the same has to be crazy, right? It’s not possible for a majority of people to willingly choose a racist and sexist image to represent their school could they? Racism and sexism are both things of the past. I must have been crazy to think that such a thing is possible.

TRADITION TRADITION TRADITION THAT MAKES IT OK!

I am so glad that I am surrounded by so many smart people that can tell it the way that it is. So excuse me for ever having had a problem with this logo.

I had the most wonderful time meeting the people of Yorkton. My friends and I got the warmest of welcomes from all the people there. I will never forget sitting around Linda’s kitchen table talking to all of her friends and family. A few people wanted to talk us out of having our rally. They expressed fears about being arrested by the police, simply for making their voices heard about a very contentious issue. But we assured everybody that it would be all right. We had our video cameras rolling, our cannabis flag and rally signs. We took turns on the megaphone. We got many honks from supportive passers-by and many visits from people of all ages. I met up with a lot of young people who saw our protest plans on facebook and came out to check it out. I also met up with elderly people looking for medicine for their ailments. I got the opportunity to educate the public and let the people of Yorkton know that the drug laws need to be changed. I couldn’t have asked for a better day.

I have some video footage of the rally, unfortunately my cinematography and video editing skills are seriously lacking. A lot of it is wobbly and unusable and I still don’t know how to use windows moviemaker very well. At any rate, if I figure out how to cut and paste video, I will be on my way and I will be posting it here.