Taking the Pledge Against Cyber Bullying
Back in the late-80s through early-90s, I was a scrawny little, nerdy thing with braces and glasses. I had always been this way, but there was something about middle school and high school that made other children notice my puny geekiness even more. I was teased, called names, and even had a girl or two threaten to fight me for daring to say that someone who verbally harassed me was a "bitch." Sure, I was bullied, though not to the extent that kids today are. And I am also ashamed to admit that I am pretty sure (thought I can't remember), there was probably a kid or two who I gave as good as I was getting [though I doubt I ever threatened to fight anyone -- when you weigh 70 or 80 pounds, it's just not a smart thing to do...]. At some point by the end of high school, no one really seemed to care that I was 90 pounds at 5'7" [with the exception of (1) this overweight girl who used to call me Olive Oyl every day; and (2) my friends who would get visibly upset watching me scarf down enough lunch for two people without putting on a single pound, while it was all they could do to keep their weight in check], a complete drama geek, and vice president of our chapter of the National Honor Society. Nor did anyone care that I didn't have a cool bone in my body. By college and law school, I was actually (gasp!) one of the popular gals. With all those traumatic years of middle school and the beginning of high school far, far behind me, I thought I had long left the days of bullies. Boy was I ever wrong.
I was reintroduced to the world of bullies shortly after becoming pregnant with Pop Culture Toddler. I joined a parenting message board. Although my time on that site was generally wonderful, and I have made some great and hopefully lifelong friends out of the process, I also witnessed behavior that I thought was left behind junior year of high school. I was pregnant with Pop Culture Toddler during an election year. Now, politics and pregnancy hormones generally don't mix as it is; however, some of these ladies took things to the extreme. I witnessed a now-friend of mine (a lovely lady who I have hung out with in person a number of times, who I know to be a loyal and generous friend) called "terrorist," simply because she is Muslim. There were a few girls on one of my expecting boards who prided themselves on being the Bad Mommy club, who would pick fights with other moms just to entertain themselves. When the admins cracked down on the drama on our board, they started picking fights with other expecting months and even a competing website. I also witnessed one crazy mother on my other expecting board who, in addition to bragging about throwing a television set at her husband, constantly harassed other mothers, called one mother the "N" word in her "happy birthday" message, and made comments about vile things (which I will not repeat) that she did while looking at pictures of our children. I have also seen people come to board designated for blended, bi-racial/multi-ethnic, and (unofficial) LGBT families and make either racist, bigoted, separatist or homophobic comments, just to get their jollies. I have seen all of this by people who are allegedly there to have support during their (or their partners') pregnancies and life as parents. Yes, these crazy people (assuming the majority of them weren't true trolls) are raising children. Sad.
This wasn't the end of it. As a Featured Blogger on that same website, I would often get comments from people who apparently had nothing better to do with their time than pick on the bloggers. Although I have always been that mother who maintains that things I do and advocate are what's right for my family and my family alone, I would get several comments either accusing me of thinking I'm "always right" or just outright attacking me for things I did -- very personal parenting choices. Whether it was my decision to practice attachment parenting, following my pediatrician's advice for calcium substitutes for my milk-allergen carrying kid, my husband's and my decision to pierce our infant daughter's ears, or my choice to breast feed in public, there was always some parent (not always women, mind you) who had something snarky and hateful to say.
I saw my other mommy friends attacked, too. One of my friends was attacked for daring to enjoy a vacation with her husband while her in-laws watched her children. Recently, I have watched with horror as one of my dearest friends gets attacked on a constant basis. In some cases, we know or at least suspect who some of these cyberbullies are. In others, it's the same sort of cyberbully who attacked me -- idiots who think that the anonymity provided by the Internet gives them free license to be hateful. I have even recently heard the case of one mother who was basically attacked as an "accomplice" in her child's accidental death, while his pictures were stolen off her blog and co-opted as a poster child for their cause by the same group attacking her. It's all immature, deplorable behavior.
Now there's nothing wrong with expressing an opposing view, but there is something wrong with being hateful and ugly in expressing that view. Not to mention, it gets you nowhere.
This is why I was so glad to hear about the Mommy Blogger Pledge. It's time for bloggers to take control and bring civility back to discourse. Sure, we cannot control the actions of others, but we can take control of how we react to it. I can't stop someone from calling me names or harshly criticizing my actions, but I can choose not to engage in similar behavior and to delete the offending comments before a comment thread gets out of hand. I will not feed the trolls.
If we want to teach our children that bullying is wrong, it's important that we set a good example. If you have a blog, I invite you to take The Pledge, and if you don't, I implore you to consider The Pledge when leaving comments on others' blogs.
When Tragedy Strikes, Who Gets Your Most Precious Cargo? (Modern Family)
On last night's absolutely hilarious episode of 'Modern Family' ("Someone to Watch Over Lily"), Cameron and Mitchell spied on Mitchell's family members in order to determine who would get their daughter, Lily, in the event they were both deceased ("God forbid!"). First, Mitchell and Cam went over the Mitchell's sister's Claire house. After Claire's husband, Phil, set the kitchen on fire, her daughter Haley called her "the worst mom in the world," and her daughter Alex barges in the kitchen wondering why no one heard her screaming while she was locked in the garage for the past 20 minutes, it was pretty clear that the Dunphys were out of the running as Lily's potential guardians. Mitchell was set on his father and young step-mother Gloria, but Cameron had his reservations about Papa Jay. Eventually, the pair settled on Jay and Gloria, leading Gloria to shout with glee that Lily was finally hers and taking Lily upstairs to see her "new room."
In addition to making my husband and I laugh until our sides hurt and we had tears coming out of our eyes, it got us thinking: we have not yet written our wills or issued directives on what would happen to our children in the event something happened to us. Sure, we've discussed it plenty of times, but we've never come to a final conclusion. We have someone in mind who would be the perfect guardian, but we've never finalized that decision with each other, let alone talked to the family to see how they feel about the situation.
Considering I'm a lawyer and have done pro bono work putting together wills and powers of attorney for others, it's really sloppy of me to not have drafted wills for my Pop Culture Dad and myself. Honestly, I started the drafts nearly three years ago, when I was pregnant with Pop Culture Toddler. However, here I am pregnant with Pop Culture Kid #2, and we have yet to put anything final on paper. Shame, shame!
This weekend is a long holiday weekend, and as they say, "There's no time like the present." In between cleaning out the guest room to transform it into a princess paradise for Pop Culture Toddler and otherwise just getting our house in order, Pop Culture Dad and I need to spend the weekend getting our affairs in order. I plan on making sure we carve out some time to do our wills (which, honestly, shouldn't take very long) and then, once we declare with certainty that we do in fact want the guardians we originally discussed, give them a call to see how they feel about the subject. There's really no reason we shouldn't have done this sooner, and there is no good reason to delay it any further.
So how about the rest of you -- are your affairs in order? If not, what's holding you back? Is it a sense of laziness/disorganization, like what happened with us? Or is it more of an issue of really not knowing who you would trust with your children? Or is it something else entirely?
(image courtesy of ABC.com)
I've Lost That Disney Magic
Beauty and the Beast is not just one of my favorite Disney movies, it's easily one of my favorite movies, period. When it was first released, I actually saw it in the theaters with my friends — in high school (don't judge). I've owed the VHS version and probably every DVD version ever released, all long before I had a child. After Pop Culture Toddler was born, and once we finally broke down and purchased a Blu-Ray player, I purchased the platinum edition of the movie. Like most of my favorite movies, I can recite many lines by heart. I know all of the songs, even the new one, which was never part of the theatrical release. So, given my love of Beauty and the Beast, why is that with each year I just get more and more cynical/questioning about parts of the movie?
Let's start with the whole reason the prince turned into the Beast. A beggar woman showed up at his door unannounced and asked for shelter for the night, and he said no. Uh... She's lucky he even opened the door. If some stranger shows up at our house in the middle of the night, I'm pretending we're not home. The last thing I'm doing is offering them a bed. This would apply even after she revealed herself to be a hottie sorceress. Maybe if she was offering Girl Scout cookies, I'd at least open the door; but she still would not get an invite in. The Beast is perfectly blameless in this one.
And how about that curse? The Beast has to find true love by age 21. Twenty-one?? Very few people I know had found true love that young. And what about Mrs. Pott's claim that they have been waiting 12 years for the spell to be broken. Are we talking dog years or something? If not, then this sorceress basically punished a nine-year old child for not letting her have a sleepover. That is seriously problematic.
Speaking of Mrs. Potts... (1) are all of the cups her children, or just Chip? Mrs. Potts tells Chip to get in the cupboard with his brothers and sisters, but Chip is the only one who appears to have changed back to a human when the curse is lifted. How in the world does she have a son that young when she is so very old, anyway?
And, I get that the moral of the story is acceptance, tolerance, and not judging people solely by their appearances, but the Beast is still (as far as Belle knows anyway) a different species. I don't care how nice he is, it's still bestiality. Ew.
And where does this story take place? Everyone says "bonjour," "monsieur," "madame," and "mademoiselle." There are names like Belle, Gaston, and Le Fou. However, the accents are distinctly American and only two of the characters (Lumière and his feather duster girlfriend) have French accents. The best I can figure, this all takes place in Canada.
I have many more questions and more just arise every time I watch the movie. For now, however, it's safe to assume I've lost the innocence and wondrous magic of Disney.
Let's start with the whole reason the prince turned into the Beast. A beggar woman showed up at his door unannounced and asked for shelter for the night, and he said no. Uh... She's lucky he even opened the door. If some stranger shows up at our house in the middle of the night, I'm pretending we're not home. The last thing I'm doing is offering them a bed. This would apply even after she revealed herself to be a hottie sorceress. Maybe if she was offering Girl Scout cookies, I'd at least open the door; but she still would not get an invite in. The Beast is perfectly blameless in this one.
And how about that curse? The Beast has to find true love by age 21. Twenty-one?? Very few people I know had found true love that young. And what about Mrs. Pott's claim that they have been waiting 12 years for the spell to be broken. Are we talking dog years or something? If not, then this sorceress basically punished a nine-year old child for not letting her have a sleepover. That is seriously problematic.
Speaking of Mrs. Potts... (1) are all of the cups her children, or just Chip? Mrs. Potts tells Chip to get in the cupboard with his brothers and sisters, but Chip is the only one who appears to have changed back to a human when the curse is lifted. How in the world does she have a son that young when she is so very old, anyway?
And, I get that the moral of the story is acceptance, tolerance, and not judging people solely by their appearances, but the Beast is still (as far as Belle knows anyway) a different species. I don't care how nice he is, it's still bestiality. Ew.
And where does this story take place? Everyone says "bonjour," "monsieur," "madame," and "mademoiselle." There are names like Belle, Gaston, and Le Fou. However, the accents are distinctly American and only two of the characters (Lumière and his feather duster girlfriend) have French accents. The best I can figure, this all takes place in Canada.
I have many more questions and more just arise every time I watch the movie. For now, however, it's safe to assume I've lost the innocence and wondrous magic of Disney.
Lay Off Natalie Portman, "Feminists"
So around the same time I was happily weeping at Natalie Portman's Oscar speech and her beautiful declaration that motherhood would be her most important role, some self-proclaimed feminists were lambasting her for that same statement. For shame!
First, let me say that I consider myself (among other things) a feminist. I firmly believe women can and should do virtually anything a man can. I support women's rights and women's causes. I'm a full-time career woman, and I feel no shame about that fact. That being said, I have a real problem with the turn the feminist movement seems to have taken in the last decade. At the heart of the feminist ideal is that a woman can be anything she wants to be. If a woman wants to be a CEO of a Fortune 500 company, she should have that right. If a woman wants to be a stay-at-home mom, that too is her right. Women should define for themselves what they want to be; and that role — what each woman considers important for herself — should not be defined by others. After all, what is the difference between a man dictating that a woman cannot have a certain occupation and another woman saying that a woman must have some occupation other than wife/mother or that if she has another occupation, she cannot still consider her role as mother the most important thing she has ever done in her life?
Part of the reason I found Natalie Portman's speech so beautiful is because she is such an accomplished woman. Seeing a Harvard graduate/activist/accomplished actress receiving an award considered one of the highest in her field state that motherhood would be the most important thing she has ever done absolutely moved me. I found it to be one of the most touching statements regarding motherhood I could imagine.
I graduated at the top of my class in high school, went on to graduate college summa cum laude after only three years, went to an Ivy League law school, and now I work for a large, national law firm. These accomplishments are great, indeed. But my crowning achievement spent part her day sitting at her art table, coloring and watching Dora the Explorer. My boss, too, is a very accomplished woman — certainly moreso than me — and she, too, has published biographies attached to presentations she has given to other professionals listing out every single one of these accomplishments, but stating that her greatest two accomplishments are her children. There is nothing wrong with thinking this way. We decide for ourselves what is important in our lives, and we are two women who prioritize our family, more specifically our children, above everything else.
Some of these so-called feminists who slammed Natalie Portman's speech argued that you would never see a professional man, let alone a male actor make such a proclamation. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. I count my husband as one of many professional men who will answer in a heartbeat that the most important thing he's ever done is fatherhood. Some of my coworkers — male partners at a major law firm — likewise make the claim that nothing they have ever done rises to the level of being a dad. Many of my friends' husbands [including BostonsMama, who herself has written with sadness about the ugly turn the feminist movement seems to be taken], have made similar statements. One very famous actor/producer/former-model and rapper (and my secret boyfriend) has claimed that his most important role was being a dad, and if he fails at fatherhood, he "fail[s] at everything."
Real feminists recognize that there's more value in celebrating men like Mark Wahlberg and my husband, who relish their roles as father and set good examples for their sons and daughters, than there is in ripping apart women like Natalie Portman and myself. Real feminists recognize that a woman's hierarchy of what's important in her life is personal to her and her alone.
For more feminists supporting each woman's right to be an individual, check out these amazing posts by my gal pals Enyo, Suzanne, [[more to come; come back later to check]]
First, let me say that I consider myself (among other things) a feminist. I firmly believe women can and should do virtually anything a man can. I support women's rights and women's causes. I'm a full-time career woman, and I feel no shame about that fact. That being said, I have a real problem with the turn the feminist movement seems to have taken in the last decade. At the heart of the feminist ideal is that a woman can be anything she wants to be. If a woman wants to be a CEO of a Fortune 500 company, she should have that right. If a woman wants to be a stay-at-home mom, that too is her right. Women should define for themselves what they want to be; and that role — what each woman considers important for herself — should not be defined by others. After all, what is the difference between a man dictating that a woman cannot have a certain occupation and another woman saying that a woman must have some occupation other than wife/mother or that if she has another occupation, she cannot still consider her role as mother the most important thing she has ever done in her life?
Part of the reason I found Natalie Portman's speech so beautiful is because she is such an accomplished woman. Seeing a Harvard graduate/activist/accomplished actress receiving an award considered one of the highest in her field state that motherhood would be the most important thing she has ever done absolutely moved me. I found it to be one of the most touching statements regarding motherhood I could imagine.
I graduated at the top of my class in high school, went on to graduate college summa cum laude after only three years, went to an Ivy League law school, and now I work for a large, national law firm. These accomplishments are great, indeed. But my crowning achievement spent part her day sitting at her art table, coloring and watching Dora the Explorer. My boss, too, is a very accomplished woman — certainly moreso than me — and she, too, has published biographies attached to presentations she has given to other professionals listing out every single one of these accomplishments, but stating that her greatest two accomplishments are her children. There is nothing wrong with thinking this way. We decide for ourselves what is important in our lives, and we are two women who prioritize our family, more specifically our children, above everything else.
Some of these so-called feminists who slammed Natalie Portman's speech argued that you would never see a professional man, let alone a male actor make such a proclamation. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. I count my husband as one of many professional men who will answer in a heartbeat that the most important thing he's ever done is fatherhood. Some of my coworkers — male partners at a major law firm — likewise make the claim that nothing they have ever done rises to the level of being a dad. Many of my friends' husbands [including BostonsMama, who herself has written with sadness about the ugly turn the feminist movement seems to be taken], have made similar statements. One very famous actor/producer/former-model and rapper (and my secret boyfriend) has claimed that his most important role was being a dad, and if he fails at fatherhood, he "fail[s] at everything."
Real feminists recognize that there's more value in celebrating men like Mark Wahlberg and my husband, who relish their roles as father and set good examples for their sons and daughters, than there is in ripping apart women like Natalie Portman and myself. Real feminists recognize that a woman's hierarchy of what's important in her life is personal to her and her alone.
For more feminists supporting each woman's right to be an individual, check out these amazing posts by my gal pals Enyo, Suzanne, [[more to come; come back later to check]]
Valentine's Conversations with Toddlers
Some days, it really is an amusing job being a mom. Here's a sampling of conversations I have had with Pop Culture Toddler today:
Character Confusion
PCT: Elmo, Happy Valentine! Say hi to Mommy, Elmo. Say "hi" in Chinese. [turning Elmo to me]. "Hola!"
Me: Honey, that's Spanish. Dora says "Hola." What does Kai-Lin say?
PCT: Elmo!! Tell Mommy "Ni Hao."
Mommy Confusion
PCT: Mommy! Strawberries!
Me: Ask me nicely...
PCT: Strawberries pllllleeeeaaase!
Me: Okay
PCT: No! Grapes!
Me: Do you want strawberries and grapes, or just grapes?
PCT: Just grapes [long pause] and strawberries
Me: Well, that clears it up.
(later)
Me: How are your strawberries and grapes?
PCT: I like Cheerios.
—-—-—
Happy Valentine's Day everybody!
Character Confusion
PCT: Elmo, Happy Valentine! Say hi to Mommy, Elmo. Say "hi" in Chinese. [turning Elmo to me]. "Hola!"
Me: Honey, that's Spanish. Dora says "Hola." What does Kai-Lin say?
PCT: Elmo!! Tell Mommy "Ni Hao."
Mommy Confusion
PCT: Mommy! Strawberries!
Me: Ask me nicely...
PCT: Strawberries pllllleeeeaaase!
Me: Okay
PCT: No! Grapes!
Me: Do you want strawberries and grapes, or just grapes?
PCT: Just grapes [long pause] and strawberries
Me: Well, that clears it up.
(later)
Me: How are your strawberries and grapes?
PCT: I like Cheerios.
—-—-—
Happy Valentine's Day everybody!
Posts
