What’s Next, Voting For Lieberman?

By The Goat

4 Aug

Those of you who are avid viewers of The Colbert Report may have seen the episode last week where Linda Hirschbaum came on to promote her book “Get to Work.”

Listening to her talk about how “stay-at-home” Moms are making the wrong choice and basically retarding the progress of women, I had a reaction that made me wonder if I need to turn in my Lefty Shield and Piece:

“Fuck You, Lady!”

Of course, I reacted that way because Amy has chosen to stay home with Jack for the time being while I work, and I just generally get spittin’ pissed at the assumptions and tsk-tsking this choice elicits from otherwise progressive-minded folks. It makes me think of this exchange in The Matrix Reloaded:

Commander Lock: Dammit, Morpheus. Not everyone believes what you believe.

Morpheus: My beliefs do not require them to.

My Mom worked, and I turned out generally fine. Other people who are royally frakked-up had Mom at home with them. The quality of parenting is what is crucial, not the mere fact that the warm bodies of parents are present. For Amy and I, the right choice now is for one of us to be home with Jack full-time. Honestly, I’d love to take care of Jack all the time, but one of us needs to go out and bring home the snausages.. If Amy goes stir-crazy, she’ll get a job, and we’ll make it work. It just burns my ass that anyone would have the temerity to suggest she’s been brainwashed by society into wanting to care for our child full time rather than be a worker bee at Inatrobe…

What say you all? What was your experience growing up? Any other latch key kids like me? Anyone have Mom home full time?

Also, what the crap is happening to me? I’m in a very traditional nuclear family situation, I was frustrated as hell by Seattle as usual during my last visit, and the idea of moving back home to the Tri-Cities isn’t sounding too bad.. Am I turning into a suburban Republican zombie?

Hmm.. Not yet.. still no urge for an SUV covered in “These Colors Don’t Run” stickers, and my critical thinking skills still lead me to the conclusion that the majority of Republicans are deeply selfish and sorta evil.

Side note: I took Jack for his check-up this AM, and this lady in the waiting room complimented me for being such an “attentive father.” What are other Dads like? I can’t imagine acting any other way with my boy. Do other Dads just hook a feed bag over the kid’s ears while they play Halo 2 online?

Filed under: Boring Life Stuff, Family, Politics

7 Responses for "What’s Next, Voting For Lieberman?"

D M August 4th, 2006 at 10:55 pm 1
Hoo boy. This is one of those postings I probably shouldn’t respond to with x glasses of wine in me and drinking a beer, but I am anyway. So take it with salt over your shoulder.

1) There is no ‘right’ way to raise a child. Parents who love you are what matters the most. Parents who love you will make sacrifices (financial, emotional, spiritual, even physical) to make sure that their children are given the best place they can to grow up in.
[subset a] those parents will also, occasionally forsake the children for some time for themselves. They need to. You are not just a parent; you’re a human being with all the other things that come with that.

2) This said, I do think that, overall, it’s a good thing to have a parent at home for young children. Doesn’t matter which parent.

3) I think that the economic realities of the current world make #2 almost impossible. This breaks my black, light sucking heart.

4) Men, even men who dearly love and take interest in their children, are not given the credit they deserve, culturally. Nor the…decree of responsibility {doing the best I can here; drunk} that says that raising children is a good thing. You can/should sacrifice for that and that’s O.K. Instead, we’re kind of culturally…ignored. Treated as 2nd class [this is changing, but I think it's still true in a whole cloth sense] as parents, so when you take an interest, people seem surprised. But only because their dads didn’t take interest.

This, I think, also needs to change. You cannot make the world a different or better place by pissing off half the population.

5) What does being a Republican mean? Being sick of Seattle–you don’t really say what that means, so I don’t know how to speak to that.

6) here for balance (tribute: Fuzzy)

7) There is a weird, unexplainable backlash amonst women; Stay at home Mom’s seem to be downgraded, and I don’t understand why. To me, feminism is about being able to make choices. Not degrading someone for making choices you would not have made. A woman will be able to make better statements on this one-I just think it’s sad that such a backlash exists. Career, working women, are just as valuable as stay at home, or part time Moms. They all do a fuckton of work, and any valuable, interested, loving parent is doing, at the least, a 2nd job.

So why not respect that? (this, though, requires a cultural shift, where we actually prove that children, and good parents, matter. Money will be involved here, sadly)

Final aside. I saw how you and Amy were. You love Jack, and your actions toward him show it. Anyone who wants to judge you: Fuck those bitches.
Fuck ‘em.
D M August 4th, 2006 at 10:57 pm 2
Um…and there’s probably shit I forgot, since I’m drinking. But…I just want to be goddamn reasonable. It’s hard, when reasonability is attacked as insane thought these days.
The Goat August 5th, 2006 at 3:31 am 3
About the Seattle thing.. I wasn’t really specific enough. Of course I love Seattle, but my tolerance for the traffic has evaporated, and I find the cost of living rediculously high. I guess these are basically lefty critiques.. I’d prefer to see reliable, swift mass transit and affordable housing.

When I was a kid, my parents clearly HATED Seattle. Whenever we were in town, they acted like it was this awful, scary place. If we went to a Seahawks game, it was straight to the Kingdome, then straight back to I-90. When I went to Western, moving to Seattle became like this ultimate Holy Grail-like object for me. Now that I’m falling into the “Seattle’s a great place to visit, but I don’t want to live there” camp, I worry that I’m becoming this frightened suburbanite.

As to your other points, I say word up. Also, thank you for the kind words, good sir.
D M August 5th, 2006 at 2:53 pm 4
I just think you’re being sensible.

I mean, making livable cities is going to be one of the great challenges of the new millennium. It’s no wonder people want to move to smaller, less…active cities, because they generate less stress.

Portland is dealing with much the same thing-although more proactively-and I sincerely hope we take steps to make the city livable for not only the future, but the wide economic class that’s coming here (and is already here)

But. I think that deciding to make sure that concern for the lowest, over concern for those that have-I’d hope this doesn’t change as we get older. I’d hope t his become more fierce in us, more pressing and important. Even as we become concerned with local events, and our own familes and communities, we become connected with a larger community, via the internet. We become more, compassionate. There’s plenty to go around, if we’re willing to take what we need, and share the rest.

And I’m drinking again. What is it about you that inspires me to drink?
Boypan August 6th, 2006 at 10:27 am 5
Seattle Vs. The Tri-Cities??? I would love to really see what stereotypes stand up in either city, and then do the comparison. Plus, dude…I don’t see how traffic and housing costs are “lefty critiques.” I think everyone, left or right, would prefer more affordable living and better transit. I’m sorry if I seem on the defense, but I love my city. Seattle is pretty cool. Sure, homes do cost WAY to much here and we can’t seem to get our heads out of our asses when it comes to transpiration, but when I have a kid, I would much prefer to raise him in an open environment and not one that could be considered closed minded to all issues. (Again…this wold be determined by the “stereotype stand-off.) You have to remember, there is more to Seattle then just downtown where the Seahawks stadium is located. It’s a pretty big city. It’s the Emerald City! You have to love it for that. Ha ha ha! Ho ho ho! And a couple of Tra la las!
Kerry G. August 7th, 2006 at 8:14 am 6
It freaks me out that the Tri is starting to look like a good idea to you. The PNW is bigger than just Seattle vs. the Tri, you know. There are plenty of small towns with open minded citizens.
Zandra August 7th, 2006 at 8:26 am 7
I grew up with a single parent so obviously my mom worked. I think I turned out pretty good. I had a good support system between my family and my mom’s good friends.

I think that if women want to stay at home they should be able to make that choice without being told that they are setting back women’s rights. I saw that women on the Colbert Report and I couldn’t get behind her argument.

I didn’t grow up in the Tri but I have visited there many times. I would take Seattle over the Tri. Like Kerry said there are plenty of places to live in PNW that would provide the small town and would leave you close to your family as well.