One of the blogs I read on a daily basis stirred up a bit of controversy over the past few weeks and has been stirring in my mind since I first read the article.
You have to do a bit of reading to get on board....and to proceed you probably need to be a bit thick skinned about foul language...the *F* word in particular.
You need to know something of this book. Go the F* to Bed
When it first made the rounds on Facebook, I could resonate with the title--or the sentiment behind the title. I don't think I "shared" the link but I might have "liked" a post or two about the book.
Then I read this post on Karen Spears Zacharias' blog. You need to at least sample the comments on the CNN site (link from her blog) to understand the harsh and disturbing commentary she received. (or the comments on her own blog.)
I admit from a first read of her first post, I wasn't completely with her. Some of the leaps and connections she makes between a book of "humor" and child abuse/neglect/oppression, didn't immediately connect for me.
I thought about it more and read more comments...and then, some of her comments convicted me.
Of course I heard the title of the book through my own filter. A filter that is much tamer than many families across the country. I may have *thought* in exasperation, "Just go the 'h-e-double hockey sticks' to sleep already," or had the emotional reaction that went along with the sentiment of the title...but I don't know I have ever felt the visceral hatred that comes across in the words beyond the title. And, laughing at the title on Facebook feels different that sitting down with the book (if only mentally) and picturing myself reading it in response to my reaction to my kids... um, that doesn't feel as funny.
There is a second post in defense of her first post. I found this more clear and actually a better attempt on her part to make her original point. (this one quotes a bit more of the book...which is where I realized I don't find it all that funny beyond the title.)
I think I have written about swearing elsewhere on this blog, about how swearing one of my only rebellions. It also "protects" me from being seen as too 'holy" or "un-friendable due to religious convictions" or I (misguidedly) have thought it made me "cooler" than I am in real life. And sometimes, sometimes, it is just really how I feel and what I want to say.
But as I read over comment after comment, the crassness of our current culture hit me hard. (the fact this all occurred the same time the jacka** "star" died in a car crash, and because I daily read a blog by the jacka**director's wife, the news, and her reaction to it, sucked me into just a titch of the jacka** culture. (talk about a crass/gross/beyond my understanding) All these combined posts and comments probably have a lot to do with my dismay at the state of our cultural dialogue and what is deemed funny.)
Never in a million years do I want my children to communicate with one another as the discourse displayed in these comments suggestions many do. Maybe I need to ponder a little bit more why I feel a need to express myself (even in my head) with this type of anger towards my children. Or maybe the mild thoughts I have are natural...honest. Maybe the conviction I felt comes from the fact my own communication style is lacking some days and it was a reminder to myself to "grow the cuss up" (or keep the anger, frustration and selfishness a little more in check)
I offer all this as food for thought. An insight into my brain. I'm not surrounded by many adult conversations these days, certainly not deep ones, so I thought I'd use this blog for its intended purpose---unload my thoughts so I can form new ones.
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