Hey, all!
There's nothing new; but I just wanted to add to my prayer/support list after reading a friend's blog. Though my memory is terrible, I promise I won't forget, Susan!
The Knitwit
Seems like I'm saying that alot, eh? :P
K, for today's rant I guess I'm in the same basic vein as before ... that I am wondering when something became acceptable. Actually I know the answer to when .... with the growth and increased use of the internet; but I guess I wish someone would think about this and realize that email is just another form of conversation. My rant this time is about the constant barrage of ones concerning religion, politics and sex.
I think we were all raised with the admonition that polite conversation should never include religion or politics. Sex, of course, was so far from the realm of politeness, that it didn't even need to be included in this admonition.
Then came the internet and email. Dirty jokes quickly were bantered about, no matter whether the recipient was straight laced or devoutly religious, extremely naive or whatever. My mother actually received jokes from (Christian!) friends that she didn't understand but forwarded anyhow because she figured they HAD to be funny considering who'd sent them.
Quickly following the jokes came pictures .... a short lead in of innocuous content, followed by the smack in the face of nudes ... sometimes even animated!!! Now I will grant you that there's nothing more beautiful than a young and healthy human, but I don't find it necessary to look at pictures of them. And if I did want to look at pictures of them, I'd surely know where to find them rather than having them tossed into my face when I least expect it. Neither am I a prude. I just feel that there's a time and a place for everything; and email being conversation, one should give a moment's thought whether something might offend or not.... or maybe the receiver just isn't in the mood!!!
Then came the religious stuff. Greetings and God Bless You are one thing, but religious chain letters are REALLY annoying. And when the chain letter is entwined into religious content like a prayer or something, I find this particularly odd. Sometimes they will talk about "prayer" ... and prayer becomes "make a wish"!!!! It's like God's being made out to be some fairy godfather we're asking for toys. PULEEZE. And then comes the audacity to accuse you of being ashamed of God, or told that your "wish" won't be granted, or, worse yet!, that something bad will happen to you if you don't send this onward. I'm sorry, but this is just NOT my version of belief or of "spreading the word" either; and I feel one's spiritual beliefs are extremely personal ... and not for someone else to judge. I don't consider it polite to pass this stuff around unless it's a simple greeting, and especially not if it admonishes the receiver in any way!
Lastly came the political crap. Yep, that's what it is .... crap. I think I've seen MAYBE 1% that isn't total fabrication, sensationalism and/or downright HATRED. When answering these and providing proof that they're untrue, you're often then accused of being argumentative, or ... LIBERAL, or SOCIALIST, or the latest ....COMMUNIST! The president's been in office for what, nine months? In that time he's made little change, only proposed changes because the whole system is such a wreck. It's obvious we're a sinking ship, and no matter who took the helm, it was inevitable that the people would make them out to be a bum. And there it is ... Obama's being held responsible for things that have been going on for a long time ... definitely through the entire run of the last administration -- yeah, the one that either caused the mess or did nothing whatsoever to change it, i.e., the economy, the war(s), abortion, health care (and paying for abortions), illegal immigrants, taxes, etc., etc., etc. All these issues the emails are ranting about are not new -- but they're still blaming Obama (or someone in his cabinet/administration) OR saying he will allow them (when they already ARE allowed)!!! I just don't understand how intelligent people cannot remember less than a year ago or realize that these things have been going on for years. When Obama was (agreeably ridiculously) given the Nobel Peace Prize, they DID remember that he's changed nothing to date.
Okay, I won't turn this into yet another rant like the ones I'm ranting about (ironic, eh?); but I just wish people would realize that email is the new method of conversation ... and the rules of politeness should still apply.
And oh! Have you noticed that most who send these emails will send at least one of each kind in rapid succession? A dirty joke, a nude pic, then a deeply religious email or presentation, followed up by a right-wing/moral majority one. What's up with THAT?
K, that's it. I'll shut up for now. :P
The Knitwit
PS - Pass this on to at least TEN friends within FIVE minutes of reading, or an airplane lavatory ice block (ewwww!) will smash through your roof! :P
Hey, all!
I've got the shop and my FO's tied into Flickr and periodically add pics of new items. When I first opened the photostream in there, I was kinda pleased and flattered that someone almost immediately added one of my things to their fave list. It was one of the first pair of slippers I designed.
Well, the other day I got a note that another pic had been added to a fave list, and I recognized that it was the same member. I clicked through and found that it was another pair of slippers. Hm.... Does this person love slippers like some love shoes? I clicked through further and found that the user doesn't have their pics open to non-friends, but there was a listing of their friends (or something like that); and when I clicked through to see other pics, I quickly realized this is a group of people with a fetish for feet, especially involved in sexual situations. Ewwwwwwwwwww!
Well, that skeeved me out, that some freak is somehow turned on my my feet complete with swollen ankles, etc. Like I said: Ewwwwwwwwwwwwww!
The Knitwit
Hey, all!
I just wrote a long post, previewed it, hit the back arrow, AND IT'S GONE!!!! The title and first sentence are in the Drafts folder, but the whole rest of the post is gone.
I'm gonna pass on redoing it again tonight. What the heck is with the autosave? It just saved this but not my long rant......... ARGH!!!
Maybe I'll rewrite it tomorrow.
The Knitwit
Hey, all! Yeah, I'm still here. Been busy but also really didn't feel like writing after losing Evie. The mourning is finally starting to ease, but I still miss the hell out of her. She was so different than the other two that every single change outside reminds me of how SHE would've responded rather than how the two remaining did and do. Ah, she was a hoot.
Well, it's now tomorrow .... this is the post that for some reason didn't autosave and got lost in the cosmos after previewing it.
In the interim since I last posted, I've continued as always to knit and knit .... and I'm also able to crochet now if I keep it to a minimum with knitting projects in between and also by staying away from the little dinky thread and hooks. As always, I love making things much more than getting them into the shop's stock; so the dining table is perpetually covered with FO's (finished objects) I've yet to photograph or write up or weigh or any combo of those needed to add them to the shop. I constantly view this as a PITA chore and would like to get myself to change that attitude, but I haven't quite figured out how to "fool" myself into thinking it's fun rather than a drag.
My venture into offering/selling patterns is interesting and quite nice. I've had a couple sales and a couple hearts, so that's encouraging. I am anxious to hear back from those who've bought a pattern to know how their FO's came out and if they are as pleased with them as I am. Personally, I really love the slipper patterns; and I've looked all over to see if there's something similar and with all the attributes I love and demand ... and I don't find it anywhere. Most are bulky or bumpy or downright goofy looking, and I'm exceptionally pleased with mine. (Gee, catch me boasting! I think I've done that about two times in my life!) Anyhow, I'm encouraged with the response as well as the pleasure in sharing my ideas with others; so I'm pretty sure I'll be offering additional patterns in the future.
Okay, well, now on to the rant!!
Last night I was encouraged to come and write the rant 'cause I was watching a sitcom while knitting, hoping to catch a laugh as well as zone out and relax. That was completely shattered about five minutes into the program when the highest and most-hated word on my unacceptable language list was used. This morning I was encouraged to come back to rewrite the rant 'cause it was used again on TV, plus Chris Rock is on The View ... and we all know the controversy he's stirred with his opinion that it's alright for Blacks to use the "n" word. I personally feel that NO ONE should use it, but that's my opinion.
Remember a while back when I talked about using foul language? I'm completely unoffended by cursing but feel this to an extreme degree about words that are generally considered not offensive and are used in conversation all the time.
Without using the word I most detest, you will know what it is and realize how freely and often it's used from this list of just a few of its nearly cliche uses:
- He's getting away with m_____
- Screaming bloody m_____
- If you don't quit fussing, I'll m_____ you (to one's child)!!!
- We (our team) got m_____
- We (our team) m_____ them
- Traffic was m_____
It's obvious that the ones using this word are completely detached from its meaning and are using it for emphasis. But these very same people would never say
- Screaming bloody rape
- We (our team) raped them
- Traffic was like getting raped
Yes, they will use "torture" in place of "m" sometimes, and that's offensive to me too. But why is it acceptable to use "m" when these same people realize that it's not acceptable to use "rape"? I'm astounded at WHO uses this word and how flippantly, and without a second's thought that they might be causing someone pain.
Every time I hear it, I'm thrown with the force of a punch, and I'm set to reeling and trying to regain balance and composure while not appearing to be completely insane. It's frustrating, and the ones who deliver this have no thought whatsoever of what they've done.
I know I'm far from the only one who deals with this problem. And you might ask why we don't just say something about it. The truth is that we're too much in shock and frozen to say anything, and also sometimes the other person's reaction is "Shit! You need to lighten up!" After many years of dealing with this, I finally have been able to ask those VERY close to me to PLEASE not use that word; but to my amazement, I find I repeatedly have to ask them.
What's the solution to this situation? There probably isn't one. People who struggle with it withdraw from others, especially those who don't know them extremely well; but the television, radio, and books still make it unavoidable ... and I don't just mean the news where they are actually speaking of an actual "m".
To me, this is not a word that becomes acceptable for emphasis no matter your race, religion, or familiarity with it in the way that Chris Rock and some people feel is the case with the "n" word.
Solution? Probably not. I can wish and hope that my friends will take note of their vocabulary and banish this word from use, but I don't imagine it will ever disappear from speech in general society. I doubt that a hundred years ago this was a commonly used word, so when did it become acceptable? When did we become so insensitive and hurtful without meaning to be?
When we were little, we chanted "Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words can never hurt me." I beg to differ. This, of course, was to bolster the child who was being called names; but even then I differ. A child repeated called something negative will carry that into adulthood ... even to old age. And in the case of offensive words, they can deliver a blow that is really much more hurtful than a physical wound ... and that will always be unacceptable to me.
Okay, that's the end of my rant.
The Knitwit
