Comments for I am the giraffe

Comment on Stand up for your rights? by SF_Mommy

SF_Mommy — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 14:54:02 +0000

Tom Rook wrote “if everyone thought as I do [...] there would be (drum roll please…) NO WAR.”

Well, I’m sure anybody who ever started a war or participated in one thought just that, no matter how wacky that person’s persuasion might seem to you. Sorry if you were merely joking and I misunderstood, but the argument “hey, we’d all get along if you’d just decide to agree with me” has been widely used by so many people and simply doesn’t work.

Dissent and differences in opinion are challenges in any free society. There is no perfect way of solving them but civility (as in “CIVIL” disobedience) is definitely an asset, I feel, in attempting to do so.

I totally agree with whoever (was it Madhousewife?) said somewhere above something about many people today wanting to protest but then subsequently wanting to sue somebody over the consequences of their protest. Seems to me that this is one symptom of the overall U.S. American disease of wanting our cake and wanting to eat it, too. If Gandhi had been that kind of a crybaby, India would still be a British colony…

Comment on Travel and leisure by tawnya

tawnya — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 04:31:47 +0000

Not childish at all. I think that is all very valid. We very nearly were stationed in Japan instead of San Diego. I cried at the thought.

Comment on Travel and leisure by cheryl

cheryl — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 01:08:37 +0000

No slappings necessary. I’m with Alison –the fact that you are having anxiety about all this proves you are a responsible adult. Kids do that to us. We can’t ever be thrilled about doing fun and exotic stuff anymore because we will always worry about the kids. Always. And forever. Which kinda sucks even though it’s the point. So, permission granted to worry and fret. As if you needed my permission. Or something.

You’ll have a blast. Kids will be fine. Cherry blossoms will reign supreme.

Comment on Stand up for your rights? by Wayne

Wayne — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:09:27 +0000

OH PUH-LEEZE.

Comment on Travel and leisure by Patience

Patience — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:56:23 +0000

I don’t think you need to be slapped. I was in a similar state of anxiety about going to Rome, and it was my idea to go there! I know other reasonable adults who were unhappy prior to taking fabulous overseas vacations. But then when the vacation is over, everybody seems to agree that it was worth it to go.

Comment on Travel and leisure by Alison Wonderland

Alison Wonderland — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:30:58 +0000

Actually rather than being childish I think you’re being rather adult. And it’s one of the worst parts of being an adult. Kids can be happy, just completely unabashedly happy about the littlest silliest thing. You get then a toy, a toy from McDonald’s and they’re totally happy. Adults not so much. When was the last time you got a gift that made you 100% happy? I’m guessing it’s been a while. Because as adults we can’t help but think that maybe the red sweater would have been a choice than the maroon one and sure the trip in two weeks is great but in two weeks there’s also something else going on because when is there not something else going on? and maybe the trip should be longer or shorter or…

Sigh, maybe we should all be slapped.

Comment on Travel and leisure by evitafjord

evitafjord — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:17:16 +0000

I would have trouble (worries) about leaving my kids that long, especially to go to a place that I wasn’t 100% sold on – and Japan is definitely one of those places. Does it have to be so long? I suppose if you’re going to go there, you’d better make it worth going since it probably won’t happen again. Well, at any rate, you’re not alone. I’d feel the same way.

Comment on Stand up for your rights? by Tom Rook

Tom Rook — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:35:53 +0000

I have been a Jehovah’s Witness for almost 50 years, and when I was young, pledging allegiance to the cloth flag was deeply inculcated into society.

I was always proud to be a good citizen, but not so proud that the allegiance that belongs ONLY to God and his Christ should be shared with a political nation.

I have always stood out of respect for National Emblems, Flags of Nations, and National anthems, etc, but I do not salute, pledge, sing, or affirm.

Regardless of whatever else may be the case… if everyone thought as I do, or more to the point, as the Bible really teaches, there would be (drum roll please…) NO WAR.

Tom.Rook@Technik-SA.US

Comment on Stand up for your rights? by madhousewife

madhousewife — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:20:51 +0000

I think what bothers me the most about this incident is that it could have been resolved so easily. Most likely there would have been no issue at all if there hadn’t been a substitute that week. But they had a substitute, and the substitute was acting like a suckhead, so they ended up making a big deal out of it. What is the real issue here? This particular school district doesn’t have its substitutes reined in sufficiently? I’m not seeing evidence of a deep-seated problem within the system. The principal admitted it was the kid’s right not to say the pledge. That should have been the end of it. Maybe when the regular teacher came back they could have had a nice civics lesson about the incident. But no, the parents wanted an apology, so they went to the press, and now the kid is getting harassed by his peers, so maybe they’ll sue. I don’t know. It just doesn’t make me feel all mushy-hearted about the first amendment.

Comment on Stand up for your rights? by traci

traci — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:27:20 +0000

Since I was very little I thought standing up every morning and saying a pledge to the flag was weird. There were two Jehovah Witness kids in my class and I always felt bad for them because they stood out so much by not standing up, instead they stayed at their desks with their heads down. In fact they stood out to me so much I remember their names and this was eons ago. Of course, they also did not get to share in birthday parties. The pledge always felt like a prayer and since I grew up going to church all the time it took a certain amount of self control not to say “amen” at the end. And why pray to a flag? It was always a confusion. I think the teacher was wrong in this instance to both harass and call attention so much to the little boy. On the other hand, I would be unhappy if any of my children ever told a teacher to jump off a bridge. I’m kinda’ with you on the respect issue. I would rather they told me, and I would discretely call the school, or write a note, and most emphatically tell the teacher where to jump.