Domestic Psychology

just because you can, doesn’t mean you should

// March 8th, 2012 // No Comments » // people, politics

Every election day, I go to my community polling place to vote. I know with complete certainty that the workers have diverse political viewpoints, but not because we talk about it in that setting. One of the workers always recognizes me and asks about the children. While standing in line, most of us joke about food, weather, pop culture, and everything except politics. Somewhere in the line is one of my neighbors. My children play with classmates whose parents are waiting their turn to vote. Before I leave the building, I always see school administration keeping a quiet eye on the voting activity in their facility. Voting is a pleasant gathering of the members of my real-life community.

On this year’s Super Tuesday, the exceptions to the rule were out and about.

While most of us made sure to wear nothing political, avoid political chatter, read the sample ballot before entering the voting area, and have our ID ready, some people arrived ready to express dissatisfaction with anything and everything. An older woman accused the young man sitting at the registration table of trying to steal her social security number. Someone else lectured the worker because he didn’t like the check boxes asking if voters want an R or D ballot. One person in line complained that she shouldn’t have to wait, because she “has a life.” A woman shrieked that poll workers don’t deserve to get paid for making her wait in line and then she went to the workers’ break area and ate a worker’s lunch.

I don’t know if the disgruntled voters were really distressed because they didn’t like the choices on the ballot, hate that the machines have dials instead of a touch screen, or just had low blood sugar from skipping breakfast. I know for certain that the rest of us were merrily enjoying the privilege and responsibility to vote while the poll workers politely accepted the abuse that they did not deserve. Are the workers adults capable of coping with difficult people? Yes. Are people allowed to behave like that at the polls? Yes. Does that make it right? No. Just because you CAN be a jerk to employees at the polls, or anywhere else, doesn’t mean you SHOULD take your issues out on them.

One man offered a photocopy of his license as his ID. When the poll worker recited the acceptable forms of ID, the man calmly pulled his license from his pocket. He wanted to better understand the new ID law and he did so without being rude or creating a scene. If he had skipped his breakfast, maybe he would have taken his disapproval of the ID law out on the poll worker. The poll worker would not have argued. The poll worker would only call the police and a giant fuss could have interrupted everyone else’s ability to vote. It would have accomplished nothing.

While the viral video of the TN soldier, who has an acceptable military ID if he shops in the Commissary, was an obvious planned protest of the voter ID law, the poll worker he harangued really did NOT deserve that abuse. That behavior should have been saved for the halls of the elected Tennessee officials. Should the workers quit to protest the new ID law or something else that elected officials have concocted to fix problems that don’t exist? Only if they don’t want to work the polls in the future. Working at the polls is more than a job. It is an important part of the election process. Don’t make the workers feel as miserable as you feel. Let their sense of pride and pleasure in being a voter melt your icicles.

Wislawa Szymborska

// February 1st, 2012 // No Comments » // life, politics

Children of Our Era
by Wislawa Szymborska
translated by Joanna Trzeciak

We are children of our era;
our era is political.

All affairs, day and night,
yours, ours, theirs,
are political affairs.

Like it or not,
your genes have a political past,
your skin a political cast,
your eyes a political aspect.

What you say has a resonance;
what you are silent about is telling.
Either way, it’s political.

Even when you head for the hills
you’re taking political steps
on political ground.

Even apolitical poems are political,
and above us shines the moon,
by now no longer lunar.
To be or not to be, that is the question.
Question? What question? Dear, here’s a suggestion:
a political question.

You don’t even have to be a human being
to gain political significance.
Crude oil will do,
or concentrated feed, or any raw material.

Or even a conference table whose shape
was disputed for months:
should we negotiate life and death
at a round table or a square one?

Meanwhile people were dying,
animals perishing,
houses burning,
and fields growing wild,
just as in times most remote
and less political.

Election Night Pictures

// November 8th, 2011 // No Comments » // flickr, politics

be careful

// November 4th, 2011 // No Comments » // politics

Tomorrow is the fifth of November. It is a good day to do this:

If no effigy, then it is acceptable to do this:

It is a bad day to do anything even remotely resembling this:

Occupy Wall Street

// October 26th, 2011 // No Comments » // flickr, politics

D is the new R

// August 3rd, 2011 // 2 Comments » // people, politics

My father is an extremely conservative, white, Southern Baptist male. He also loves Drudge Report and has a 1950′s attitude about race and gender. Tomorrow, he is driving to what Newscoma lovingly terms as Hoots for the funeral of his cousin. My father will be one of the most liberal people at that funeral.

Today’s Democrats are yesterday’s Republicans. There is a Bachmann in every Southern Baptist congregation. Our country is tilting furiously as the oligarchy fight to separate themselves from responsibility. Using the Southern Strategy to gain control of the country for maximum greed, many Americans now endorse the dismantling of social services and the infrastructure that helps us work toward safer air, water, food and pharmaceuticals.

Social media makes the world feel small, but it also makes it easy to forget that there is a large portion of the world who are not political junkies plugged into the Matrix. Most people could care less about the back and forth in DC. Do you know why the President asked people to tweet their elected officials? Because nobody else cares.

Those of us who want all children fed, clothed, sheltered and educated regardless of their parents’ place of birth or employment status are the minority. We need to stop acting shocked when our fantasy of a healthy, educated populace gets dealt political blows.

We have a choice. We can act like emo teenagers blaming a President who is constrained by the reality of being black in America and help get a Koch owned politician elected OR we can elect politicians who are not bought and paid for by lobbyists. We can give our President intelligent team players who care about ALL Americans or we can rage against the good guys because they had to compromise with racist, sexist creeps and corporate overlords.

Realistically, the best and brightest thing we can do for the future is to educate all children and raise our own children to care about others.

because Twitter isn’t my real estate

// June 2nd, 2011 // No Comments » // politics, social media

“Things I don’t care about: 1. A twitpic of underpants. 2. How someone eats their food.”

“Things I do care about: 1. My children wearing clean underpants. 2. All children having healthy food to eat.”

A few minutes after I tweeted, I saw this.

Dear TN legislators,

// May 18th, 2011 // No Comments » // politics, school

Please do not pass legislation mandating school calendars. Leave that decision in the capable hands of local school boards.

You already know how low ACT scores, graduation rates and subject area benchmarks are for Tennessee’s children. You have seen the reports from Tennessee universities that most incoming freshmen need remedial coursework before they can begin their college level classes. Business leaders have repeatedly told you that they cannot operate in Tennessee with the illiterate workforce that currently exists.

Our high school students are too valuable a commodity to weaken their educational system with this ‘compressed calendar’ movement so that companies can have cheap summer labor. School IS a student’s job. Our students need more education and not less education. Our state needs a more highly skilled workforce to survive in the current and future economy.

Our state needs to focus on jobs. Jobs require a literate workforce. Future jobs require a highly educated and skilled workforce capable of innovation. Our students need more math, more science and more critical thinking skills. Our students need less summer vacation, not more.

Please do not take control of local school calendars away from the communities which they serve.

Cathy McCaughan, parent

social media reactions

// May 2nd, 2011 // No Comments » // politics, social media

Far left: Rapidly tweeting the one-liners that late night comedians will use all week. No credit will be given to original authors.

*Far right: Scolding left on their disrespectful use of humor on such a serious occasion as the creation of a worse enemy.

Bush fans: The President had nothing to do with this event. All credit goes to our military.

Obama fans: 2 > 8.

Missing the big picture: Why isn’t my gas cheaper now?

Tin-foil hats: He’s been dead for a decade.

TeePees: Waiting for their corporate overlords to tell them how they feel.

*The same people who once invoked Psalms 109 while praying about America’s President.

Last night in tweets

// March 3rd, 2011 // 3 Comments » // politics, school

It’s tweet the school board mtg time.

Pictures and plaques for donors is the first task of the evening.

The main floor of the City-County bldg is about 80% full and red stickers are the accessory of the evening.

The red sticker – http://twitpic.com/45gfkc

They are discussing a policy on civility in the schools. Ms. Buttry does not support this.

Her complaint is that if we can’t force parents to be involved, we can’t tell them how to behave in schools. / I disagree.

Ms. Buttry will hereafter be referred to as Ms. B as she has a lot to say tonight.

Ms. B would like a detailed explanation of the protocol for emergency closures available online.

New Northshore school design being discussed because the homeowners near it are concerned about traffic pattern and …

the hvac, trash and design needs to blend with the neighborhood design codes.

Ms. B refuses to vote because she doesn’t approve of the site or the $ on a new school.

Ms. B has to express her disapproval of $ being spent on STEM school. Board chair expresses approval of capitol investment plan.

Ms. B wants to argue about STEM school costs.

Someone please bring Ms. B a Snickers bar.

For the record, Ms. B voted for the budget on accident, then voted against as well.

Next is a huge number of community members discussing sex ed.

First speaker – BHS parent. No PP. Compared PP to KKK.

Second parent – No PP. Thanks board, but wants more info about PP’s influence in schools.

Anti group wants teachers prevented from attendance at all PP trainings, mtgs, events.

Next speaker expresses that PP breaks laws and defies parental authority.

This speaker disagrees with PP answering student questions in a graphic manner. Apologized for using the word sperm in his example.

Next speaker expresses that anything beyond abstinence only is not allowed in our schools. “Students are coerced to use anatomical models.”

Speaker does not want students taught use of condoms and dental dams.

“Planned Parenthood sells sex.”

School Board Chair extremely patient with speakers going beyond their allotted time.

Knoxville OB/GYN does not refer his patients to PP, so schools should not. Claims PP condoms and BCP are designed to fail.

According to this Dr, local ERs have to deal with girls who lose uterus or die because of PP abortions.

FYI – That was Dr. Briggs speaking if you are seeking a new OB/GYN.

This speaker is complaining about Knox County KAPPI program and Cynthia Hudson.

More apologies before reading examples. Claims PP discusses making sex pleasurable instead of pregnancy prevention.

Next speaker suggests audience learn about PP from child predators website.

This speaker expresses that teens should not be taught about oral sex.

This parent has documented on their blog how PP makes millions by teaching sex to create the need for abortions.

This speaker claims this curriculum has been kept a secret from parents.

This speaker expresses that PP conducts a sales pitch for their abortion services. Now talking about Mona Lisa Project.

Oh, goody. It’s my parents’ pastor.

This speaker might be connecting PP to slavery, but I’m lost in a sea of quotes here.

Someone complaining that board chair is cutting every speaker short 30 seconds early even though each speaker has gone a minute over.

This speaker says nothing but abstinence is legally allowed in schools. Concerned PP handed out literature to students.

This speaker concerned that parents were excluded from decision to allow PP in schools.

This speaker very concerned about PP peer program that markets their abortion services. Concerned students will want condoms and more sex ed.

This speaker unhappy about the way the HVA parent who complained was ridiculed by press. Unhappy that a Bearden teacher was honored by PP.

This speaker concerned about PP using Kinsey research.

Speaker expresses that anyone who questions the perversions of Kinsey should not allow PP to “get our children”.

This speaker is a Dr who is discussing his patients suffering from the psychological consequences of sex and abortion.

Speaker asks board to support the good people in this room who don’t support evil.

Another speaker unhappy that a Bearden teacher was given a PP award and says that it is no accident PP wanted an abortion clinic in Bearden.

Speaker concerned PP curriculum is going to sneak into all classes. Is going to fight for elected Supers.

This speaker wants school teaching biology and STDs. Does not want sexual activities or relationships discussed.

This speaker does not want anyone teaching her children that “gay” is normal or healthy.

Speaker doesn’t want her children who opt out to be exposed second hand to other students talking about sex.

This speaker wants us all to know that he has to go potty.

This speaker concerned that PP doesn’t lead children to the healthiest option. He works for abstinence program. Discussing Kinsey again.

This speaker claims abstinence only is proven to be the only program that works.

This speaker says that kids who are asking questions need answers. Wants comprehensive sex ed, peer support and trained teachers.

This speaker asks students to speak up and say what they want and need.

Best speaker so far – http://twitpic.com/45hbyq

This speaker unhappy PP was kicked out before parents could give feedback. Wants PP back in schools.

I’m old, but this speaker looks like a teen to me. He is very unhappy that students now have no one to answer their questions.

This speaker wants us to know that sex ed determines where parents send their children to school. / Really?

This speaker wants teens taught that teen sex is wrong. Says that teens don’t have sex if they have close relationships with parents.

This speaker thanks board for removing PP and wants sex ed to ask students to have better behaviors.

Speaker says we should expect abstinence.

Dude, I knew you were a youth pastor before you said it.

Speaker prays we can go all the way and do something better for our kids.

This speaker is going to read the PP Q&A page.

This speaker concerned that PP teaching sex is beyond PP’s area of expertise.

Teenwire.com very unpopular with anti-PP speakers.

West High parent asks that Just Wait group be allowed in schools to teach students to protect their purity.

This speaker comparing KKK to PP. Second time tonight that parallel has been used.

This speaker had a child die of AIDS and says PP wouldn’t have saved his son from the homosexual lifestyle.

Board chair sounds exhausted.

Teen who is a PP peer would like audience to know that she is not brainwashed.

Very nervous Bearden teen says that PP does talk about abstinence as an option.

This HVA teen says PP is not the enemy. Ignorance is the enemy. Says students can say things to outside speaker they can’t say to teachers.

Senior from Missionaries for Life is unhappy that he has to speak about something so disgusting tonight.

He is going to read an abortion procedure handout to us.

Now he is talking about second graders performing oral sex in school.

Commissioner Wright is speaking about the new elementary school on Northshore.

I think we’re done. I’m going home to distribute condoms to the neighborhood.

Tonight I learned I live less than Innagaddadavita from the City-County Bldg. Oh, and Knoxville thinks sexuality is a dirty, dirty choice.