Offensive Explosion

     Are people becoming more sensitive as I age, or am I merely noticing it more because of social media?  I mean...is the need to feel infringed upon, becoming the norm?  Do we, as a public whole, feel the need to become offended in order to fit in, or is it the younger generation, or just the need to constantly tell people that they have hurt our feelings?  
     I think people are looking for a reason to feel or be offended.  Whether it is for attention, or to fit in with the social hoard, I don't know.  I think all of the politically correct crap, in order to not offend anyone, is a mountain of offal being circled by media flies to spread the smell!

     You cannot read the news online without seeing how someone is being offended, someone is offending another, or is how everyone is trying not to offend someone!  This topic can be a volcanic button.  It's time to not be offended, by the exploration of people becoming too offended!

     There are times being offended is well placed.  This is seen as realistic based on the intent behind the offense.  For instance...an athletic official having an athlete cut their hair because of athletic guidelines.  Is there maliciousness in this?  Is the athlete being harmed in some way by conforming to the rules?  Is the athlete being picking on, or are they intending to humiliate the athlete?  NO!!! The guidelines were there for the athlete's safety!  All athletes needed to conform to the regulations. No need to get all hyped up at this scenario.  No need to bring out the torches and pitchforks to skewer the official, the coach, the school, the administration, the media...THE WORLD!  

     The manager of a public pool puts out a sign declaring no black people can swim.  Is this offensive?  YES!  Did the manager intend to exclude someone based upon their own declaration of what should and shouldn't be allowed?  YES!  Should people get offended and fix the situation?  YES!  Should people just bitch and moan and groan and call each other names while yanking out their hair?  NO! Get to the actual source. Address the actual problem. 

     It used to be that we didn't discuss politics, race, money, and religion.  Why?  Because these can be hot button topics that can cause disputes in a situation where you aren't trying to run a debate!  With social media being everywhere now, we have keyboard warriors who love to have these debates.  I call them shit stirrers.  

They must tell everyone their views on any given subject, and then sit around belittling or harassing anyone that doesn't agree with them!  "But I have a right to my opinion!  I have the freedom to say what I want in this country."  You are RIGHT, you DO!  Here comes the kicker...Just because you have the legal right to do or say what you want, should you?  

     
     Recently a store was selling chocolate ducks.  They had the names written below.  One was milk chocolate, labeled Crispy.  It must have some of those delicious crunchy rice pieces in it.  The next was yellow colored white chocolate, labeled Fluffy.  I can only imagine how light and airy it would taste.  The last ducky was dark chocolate with what appears to be a pink color drizzled and splattered on it.  It was labeled Ugly.  Very easy to see why. The splatter was pretty messy looking.  But WAIT!!!!  Someone got all offended on Twitter.  They proclaimed the ducky offensive!!!  The store must have intentionally tried to harm, make fun of, or insult people by labeling the dark ducky Ugly.  O...M...G...That store lost out on a lot of money.  They re-packaged and are selling the ducks again, but at what cost?  Some person didn't bother to stop and analyze squat!  They just wanted to whine, or complain about a non-existent offense!  

     Before you get your panties in a wad, your undies in a bunch, your knickers in a twist, start pulling out your hair and banging on your keyboard...STOP!  Take a moment to analyze what it is that is offending you.  Was there malicious intent behind it?  Did the person, store, or entity MEAN to offend?  We ALL say stuff that puts our foot in our mouth at one time or another.  We didn't mean any harm, but others got offended and let us know pretty fast.  Maybe that is what is happening...or maybe you are reading more into it than is there.  Stop looking for offense and you won't see it everywhere!!!

     My momma always said to, "suck it up"!  "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger"!  I have lived by that philosophy my whole life.  I don't advocate it all the time.  There are times you just suck it up because it's a minor thing and you just learn from it.  There are other times where the offense is wrong and large and you must take a stand.   Those are the offenses you make a stink about!  The rest of them...let it go!  Suck it up and become stronger, or learn from it!  Maybe, with most of them...just maybe...there was no offense intended to begin with! 

Electronic Babysitting

     Wee Ones With Electronic Babysitters

     How many of you have seen wee ones out and about with an electronic device stuck in their chubby little hand?  Out to eat and there sits a tiny tot not even out of diapers, with a tablet, phone or some electronic device with their eyeballs glued to it!  What the heck people!?

     What happened to socializing with our wee ones?  What about sitting at a restaurant and talking aloud with each other and with the wee lads and lasses, about anything and everything!?   What happened to feeding them crackers, and playing the drop and fetch toy game, in order to pass the time waiting on your food?  Have people just given up on basic parenting?

     Most little ones I come into contact with lately, do not speak correctly.  It seems they lack the skills of basic communication, that all children used to have.  I mean ...a three-year-old that cannot converse in complete sentences, or even at a level that most people can understand, is what I am continually seeing!  Inevitably those children have a tablet or phone entertaining them, a large percentage of the time.  Car rides, while dinner is cooking, while mom or dad is busy with something; any spare time that they need entertaining, an app or video is doing what used to be a parent's job!

    An article in science news showed that handheld screen time was associated with potential delays in expressive language!  For every half hour of mobile media use, a child's risk of language delay increased by about 50%!  I am no doctor nor scientist, but even I noticed a huge difference in today's wee ones and prior generations. 

     Behavior is changing as well.  Whether the child is frustrated at the inability to communicate their needs properly, or the lack of hands-on parenting, I don't know.  It seems these same children tend to throw fits or strike out at others more often.  They scream more, hit their parents or siblings, or even the furniture!  I have watched meltdowns where the parent melts as much as the child, and I think a huge part in it is that they never went through all of the normal hands-on parenting, and so do not have the skills they need in these situations!

     Sit down and play with your wee one!  Build with blocks, and spell words!  Read books and encourage learning!  Sit down and eat with your wee one!  They will learn table manners, patience, and how to better interact as they are watching their parent do it!  Those handheld devices do not have the capability of teaching your child the inflection of your voice.  They cannot provide the subtle nuances of your voice, to teach emotions and meanings.  In essence...electronics cannot educate, nor raise your child as well as you can!  

     What do you think parents did before social media, video sites, cartoons in an instant?  We sang, went for walks, played with toys, and even read to our children!  Youtube is great, but it cannot raise your child!  No pig can educate your baby, nor any animal teach your wee one as good as you.  Stop with the electronic babysitting, and get back to basics.