Posted on 07/31/2013 1:05:05 PM PDT by nickcarraway
My 10-year-old daughter, Birdy, is not nice, not exactly. She is deeply kind, profoundly compassionate and, probably, the most ethical person I know — but she will not smile at you unless either she is genuinely glad to see you or you’re telling her a joke that has something scatological for a punch line.
This makes her different from me. Sure, I spent the first half of the ’90s wearing a thrifted suede jacket that I had accessorized with a neon-green sticker across the back, expressing a somewhat negative attitude regarding the patriarchy (let’s just say it’s unprintable here). But even then, I smiled at everyone. Because I wanted everyone to like me. Everyone!
I am a radical, card-carrying feminist, and still I put out smiles indiscriminately, hoping to please not only friends and family but also my son’s orthodontist, the barista who rolls his eyes while I fumble apologetically through my wallet, and the ex-boyfriend who cheated on me. If I had all that energy back — all the hours and neurochemicals and facial musculature I have expended in my wanton pursuit of likedness — I could propel myself to Mars and back. Or, at the very least, write the book “Mars and Back: Gendered Constraints and Wasted Smiling.”
But it is not one thing or another, of course. My mostly pleasant way might get me more freelance work. And friendliness tends to put people at ease — loved ones, neighbors, waitresses — which is a good thing. Plus, smiling probably makes me feel happier, according to all those studies about self-fulfilling emotional prophesies. I know that our sweet-hearted son, who is 13, has always had the experience of niceness being its own reward.
(Excerpt) Read more at parenting.blogs.nytimes.com ...
Wow, can't imagine why.
“I want her to be a total raving b**ch. Look how well that’s paid off for Hillary!”
Welllllll..... I do! But Mrs WBill has a built-in bias. :-)
You’re fortunate. You got one of the good ones. Good women are hard to find!
Yes, that was my take-away as well. What a manipulative beyotch.
—James Stewart as Elwood P. Dowd
This is a waste of electrons. I’ve seen junior high submissions written better.
Not with shallow, stupid women you don't. They confuse rudeness and meanness with masculinity and are attracted to it.
They also confuse politeness with weakness. As do quite a few men, who have abruptly discovered their error when the "nice, polite" man suddenly knocks them cold or kills them dead.
I never thought about it like that. For our family, this is very encouraging. My teen’s true character is getting better all the time. (That could change, because she is only 14.) She still lies and takes moral “shortcuts”, but less frequently, and takes her consequences more calmly. She has also discovered some forms of responsibility, like being punctual, and taking better care of the cat, and doing most chores without making a fuss. She has also defended people who were being picked on, and gone out of her way once or twice to make conversation with shy kids.
Thanks for your post. You gave me some good food for thought.
Been there. Had more than one person try that hypothesis out. So far I’m 2/2 for assault convictions without significant injury on my part.
One dude went so far as to jump out of his car and sucker punch me. On camera. 2 minutes from the police station.
I did get a nice ride with a cute lady cop after. :D She thought it was hilarious that the tiny dude just took the punch. :)
It’s from a parenting blog.Who knew?
That says it all for me.
.
January 14, 2013, 2:31 pm
Emetophobia, Vomiting Children and Me
By CATHERINE NEWMAN
If you are a child in my family feeling your very rottenest, your tender mother (me) is likely to bolt out of the room with her fingers in her ears.
May 14, 2012, 5:22 pm
My Son Looks Like a Girl. So What?
By CATHERINE NEWMAN
My 12-year-old son has long, half-pink hair, and everyone, everywhere assumes he’s a girl. Why is that such a problem?
Response to Catherine Newman’s “I Do. Not.:Why I Won’t Marry”
October 24, 2012
Catherine Newman’s odd essay “I Do. Not.: Why I Won’t Marry” explains why she is against the life-long commitment of marriage. Asked over and over again why she isn’t married to the man she lives with and the father of her child, Newman is used to explaining herself to the simple minded. But she claims “there are so many reasons, and they’re all only partly true and shot through with contradiction”, and that is why she can’t explain them to common folk (61). A reason she begins with is “because marriage is about handing the woman off, like a baton, from her father to her husband” (61). Men are continually thinking about owning the greatest “possessions” (wives, money, etc.) and Newman refuses to be viewed in such a way. She also brings up the fact that she has a form of attraction for other women, so she has a hard time deciding her sexual identity. Another reason is “because not being married means we get to keep choosing each other” (65).
In her eyes, if two are married, they have already “choose” one another, and they feel committed to stay together. Because her and her partner, Michael, are not married, everyday they get to “fall in love” again. She claims “for us, there’s something psychically liberating about that little bit of unmarried space that allows us to move forward, to come toward each other, over and over again.” (65). A very important reason to Newman is “because we have a kid together” (65). I find this paragraph to be extremely contradictory to her previous paragraph, because with her child, she has a serious commitment to her partner. I believe they both want the best life they can offer to their child, so staying together will provide their child with a supportive, stable home-life and environment. At the end of her essay, Newman says she will stay with Michael through thick and thin because he takes care of her and “he is the father of her child” (66).
I found myself puzzled by the end of her essay, because towards the end, it sounds like she really loves her partner and plans to be with him for the rest of her life. But throughout the majority of her essay, she seemed to be trying to prove to her audience that she is completely against monogamy. I believe in marriage and spending your life with that one person, so I found it hard to relate to this essay and Newman’s opinions.
1. How do you think Newman ended up answering the drunk man’s question at the wedding? She probably told him getting married is against her beliefs, and that her and Michael are perfectly content with the way their life is with their son. It sounds like she did not go into detail about her beliefs, because what she said is true: “there are so many reasons, and they’re all only partly true and shot through with contradiction, and I can’t say any of them out loud” (61).
2. From the details of this essay, what do you think Newman’s religious beliefs are? Toward the beginning of her essay, she says “marriage is, of course, a supremely natural and God-given institution and a naturally and God-givenly straight one” (62). To me, it seems as if she is mocking this commonly known Christian belief, and does not really seem to have any respect for those who believe it. If she knows this is true, why does she continue to worship her beliefs on nonmonogamy? I do not find the assumption that she is Christian or believes in traditionalism.
Actually, with a lot of women, it can work to your detriment. If you come off as “too nice”, then you are seen as a pushover, someone to be taken advantage of. Treat them poorly, and they see you as “strong and decisive”. Go figure.
Yep, that’s the attitude I’m seeing quite a lot of these days. I was raised that you treat a lady like a lady which means you go out of your way to make them feel special. It gets tiresome being told that you’re too nice!
This essay has 971 words. 43 of them are “I,” “me,” “mine” or “my.”
I like nice guys, but I am well aware that far too many women like bad boys. They often become “battered women”, or end up having children with worthless men who will never even look for a job. An attraction to bad men can ruin a woman’s whole life - and her children’s lives. But some women don’t learn.
Perhaps she could benefit from some counseling to get over her obvious psychological issues.
What the hell’s wrong with smiling at people, for goodness’ sake? Jeez...
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.