I’m so irritated RIGHT NOW that I’m pretty sure steam is coming out of my ears. I’m not even sure how to write this and/or what to say other than I need to vent.
I’d like to ask you all at what age do you consider a child no longer a child? Some people feel if you’re 18 and can vote, get married and go to war, you should be able to have a drink. Other people feel the drinking age should be 21 because the brain doesn’t develop until then yada, yada, yada…..Some people think 16 years old is too young to drive and that kids don’t develop good driving and decision-making skills until a few years later in life.
Today I was told that 16 was no longer a child.
Now I’m going to switch gears for a second. I was also told this morning that the only reason Bristol Palin didn’t get voted off Dancing With The Stars last Tues night was because of her mom. That everyone was voting for her. Then I was told that her mothers reality show was a bomb and a flop and that nobody liked her. So if nobody liked her, why are they voting for her daughter? I didn’t get an answer for that question. “Someone” did a little dance around that question and she doesn’t even watch the stupid show.
Then I go on Facebook and I see one of the most right-wing liberal’s I know. Champion of all “causes.” Mr live in San Fransisco and defender of gays and people who are bullied and all around activist and Mr Democrat, state this: “Wow, those Palins — such a classy bunch!” with a link to TMZ no less. When I read what was on that link, my stomach got a funny feeling because I hated the way they talked but then I had to step back and remember that Willow is only 16 and I feel she felt like she was protecting her family. I feel she felt backed into a corner so I replied that “kids say really stupid things sometimes.” To which a war erupted and I was told that 16 was an adult and that she is no longer a child.
Then another person who I hate to bring up because I love her to death but she hates Sarah Palin too (she would hate any Republican) so she was right in there talking about this child again and she’s the champion bullying advocate and yet she blasts this kid online. I honestly couldn’t believe it. She was so upset by all the gay teen suicides and is always standing up for kids and yet she chooses to trash this girl on Facebook for the world to see. What kind of a champion advocate for kids is this? Or do you only back underlings and democrats? That kids of politicians on the “wrong” side are fair game to make fun of a quite frankly, bully.
I guess what really bothers me the most is the hate when someone isn’t the same political party as you are. Why do people need to hate this way? I made the comment last week that I am really going to miss Don Shelby when he retires after the week and was told that “so and so doesn’t like Don” and I asked why on earth not (because everyone does) and was told “because he’s a democrat.” WHAT?? WHY?? Why should that possibly matter if you like someone or not?
I get so sick of politics. I agree with Obama when he said to leave the kids out of this. I really do. Why should these kids get drug through the mud because at times their parents do dumb things?
What do you all think? Is 16 no longer a child and is she fair game this way? I feel very bad for her and I almost hate the Internet for this reason. I know when my boys were 16 they were still very much wet behind the ears and neither of them were anywhere near being an adult. Boy, would I ever hate to have what I said and did at 16 come to light.
Side-note: I hate the names Willow called that boy and don’t even begin to think it’s okay. I also don’t feel it’s okay for adults to rake these kids over the coals for the bad choices made by the parents. They often don’t have a choice. I’m sure they hate being on a reality show and drug around like they are but it’s not up to them. What are they supposed to do? Move out?? Lastly, kids very often lash out and say “your mom’s fatter than mine” and “my dogs better than your dog” and that’s the way it’s always been. The names have gotten a lot nastier now though.
I just think kids should be off limits and if the gossip rags are dirty enough to try and use them, we as adults should ignore what the gossip rags say and not jump into the mud with the pigs.
Us Girls..Our Views 
Oh, this stuff just ticks me RIGHT off.
First off, the whole attitude of “tolerance” is just so much hypocrisy: “I will be tolerant of you as long as you espouse my views. And if I don’t like your views, I reserve the right to trash you publicly, and even bring the law down upon you, or even have new laws written, until you submit and are “tolerant” of my views”
It’s all a load of BS.
As for the Palin thing… wow. I have to say, different people are different ages at different times, if that makes sense. For example, I wrote a post a while back about the whole Miley Cyrus thing – remember when she went commando and flashed her hoo-haa for the paparazzi to see? She was something like 17 at the time, and everyone was yelling that “she’s a child, she doesn’t know what she’s doing”. But at the same time, they’re praising her for her line of clothing, and pointing out that she’d just bought a car and a house. To me, that says adulthood. If you’re old enough to own a house, you’re old enough to know that you don’t flash your bits in public. (heck, at TEN I knew not to flash my bits in public, but then that’s just me. I was a late bloomer.)
Willow, on the other hand, acted like a typical teenager, bad language and all. And who are all those people on the various boards to trash her the way they did? Honestly, the language they used to trash her was FAR worse than anything she said. It would be hilarious if it wasn’t so sad.
Should Willow have said what she said? Probably not. But I can tell you, I’ve heard younger kids than her say FAR WORSE things than she did, and straight to the faces of adults, not just amongst their peers.
I may be considered a bit old-fashioned, but I think 21 is when you’re considered an adult. 16???? Give me a darned break! The brain hasn’t even become fully functional in most people at the age of 16! As for trashing people, that kind of stuff really needs to stop! It is uncalled for in most cases, and totally unecessary! There are polite ways to put things and they should be used.
I agree, in this case, wholeheartedly. Willow likely is too naive to get the whole thing, and they should leave her alone.
I do have to say, though, that some kids, at that age (which is why I brought up Miley), want to act like an adult – going out drinking, driving their expensive cars, buying houses – but then expect to be given a pass when they do something stupid. And in that case? I say, you can’t have it both ways. If you want to be given that pass, stay with your parents another couple of years, and finish growing up. But if you want all the respect and trappings of adulthood, so much that you’re willing to move out and live on your own at 17, well then, act that way.
You’re right, Laura! Once they leave the house, of their own volition, they are to be considered as adults. That’s what the whole emancipation for teenagers is based on. However, according to that the kids area required to be entirely self-supporting. You know what else goes along with this????? This is a little off the subject, but, do you realize that kids, 13 and older, living at home with their parents and covered by the parents health insurance, can forbid medical professionals from providing ANY medical info to their parents???? That’s right…..what the parents know is determined by what that child allows them to know. Talk about ludicrious!!!!! Most young teenagers can’t even find their shoes in the morning, but they are the ones to determine sharing info. If they choose not to share, they ALONE are allowed to determine the treatment or lack thereof. Just another example of how messed up the world has become.
I had a different opinion on the Miley Cyrus case though. I feel that just because you think you’re old enough to make your own decisions, that doesn’t mean you actually are as responsible / accountable as somebody who is in fact an adult. Most 15-year-olds “think” they know all they need to know to get by in the world without their parents. That’s because teen hormones distort their thinking, so that in reality, they are less logical than a 10-year-old in some respects. But they don’t know that. So in my opinion, it isn’t up to them to decide when they should be treated as an adult.
I also think that in the case of Miley Cyrus, her “independence” had more to do with her parents’ parenting style than her actual readiness. If your dad/mom send you out into the world before you’re 18, that still doesn’t mean you’re an adult. Also, she didn’t get to choose her parents.
I know this isn’t about Miley Cyrus. I just feel that there are very, very few youngsters who really are mature enough to be as accountable as adults much before they are 18. Of course, 18 is arbitrary, and there are lots of people (especially nowadays) who aren’t competent adults despite being over 18. But at the very least, folks should remember that minors are minors, and act accordingly. And when they do turn 18 – as they all will – plenty of them will continue to be idiots, and then they will be fair game.
I recall a blog post by my most un-favorite blogger, trashing Bristol for her decision to go on DWTS. She, in her mid-30s, was having a field day trashing Bristol for every decision she had ever made in the past 2 years. My comment was that she was making a fool of herself picking on somebody young enough to be her kid. (As if she wouldn’t have gone on DWTS in a heartbeat if asked; and, as if her own youth was so stellar.) Needless to say, my comment was not appreciated on that liberal site.
Is it “the other” site? Or LL? You’ll have to email me LL’s address. I’ve lost it. I wouldn’t mind checking her out on a rainy day.
It was LL posting a paid post on a public site. It’s not “that other site” but another one that competes with it. Anyway, that was a while ago, shortly before I vowed to stay off those sites.
Wow Phyllis, I didn’t know that. I wonder if most 13 year olds and older know that? I know in my own boys that wouldn’t have been an issue but I know a lot of kids who went through a lot of “stuff” and this would have been a good way to get back at their parents and that’s sad because medical health is different and you’re so right about them not even being able to find their shoes. How would they be able to manage health decisions because they think they’re grown up.
Yeah, this is a very sad but true fact of life. And most kids who get counseling for things are made aware of it immediately! However medical drs. still seem to consult with parents and don’t necessarily make the kids aware. Thank God for that!
I agree with you, Joy. Willow said some dumb things that many 16-year-olds would say, especially if in a defensive position. No, it is not right, but there has never been a 16-year-old who was perfect. And no, 16 is not an adult. I started college at 16, and was pretty responsible as teens go, but I still was really clueless about many things, for years to come. I guarantee that I said/wrote things I wouldn’t want used against me in the national media.
Words like “gay” and “faggot” are often used generically and may have nothing to do with whether or not someone is homosexual. So I’m reluctant to even categorize these as “gay slurs.” They are crass, to be sure, but not necessarily an attack on the gay community. It would be different if she’d said “all gays should be dead” (which I guarantee some 16-year-old says every day of the year).
Isn’t it funny how everyone gets amnesia about the slurs that liberals make? Do you think Rev. Wright says nice things about homosexuality in his sermons? How about that “comedian” who got in some heckler’s face and called him all kinds of discriminatory slurs? The actor who got in the news for calling a co-actor gay? Does anyone recall the multiple times when Prince William or Harry dressed up as a nazi and so on? Our wonderful VP has made many choice comments, including remarking on how clean and articulate Obama was. And remember how, in a debate, Biden brought up the fact that Cheney’s daughter is gay? Democrats have been happily forgiven for being grand kleagle (sp?) of the Ku Klux Klan, for pete’s sake. But libs are not hypocrites, no siree.
And as far as leaving the kids of politicians alone – how come we always hear about the kids of conservatives? Whether it’s the Bush twins or the Palin kids, the libs seem to have round-the-clock paparazzi on them and that seems to be just fine. But when it comes to lib politicians’ kids, the only thing we ever hear is how cool their clothes are and what country their mama is taking them to now. Now, don’t get me wrong – I do NOT want to hear about Sasha and Malia or even Chelsea in a negative light. I think they ought to be left alone, as they pretty much have been. But the same courtesy should be paid to the kids on the other side. So-called journalists who show no restraint disgust me.
At a more abstract level, I will say that the fact that folks feel the need to trash these kids actually proves that they consider their mom to be a formidable opponent. But, of course that does not make it right. If you can’t attack the politician herself, then shut up.
I even remember Chelsea, during the Presidential Campaign, was out stumping for her mother. She was 25 at the time, I believe, and may have already been engaged. For sure, she was out of college, and into her career. She was asked what she thought of the goings-on in the White House when she was younger, and she said something like, “I don’t have to answer that, you can’t ask me that”.
‘Scuse me? We can’t ask you that? Ok, it was an inappropriate question all the way around – completely off-topic, and irrelevant to the situation at hand. BUT, the way that she and the press reacted – “She’s the child of the President! You can’t treat her that way!!!” Really? She’s an adult, and has chosen to place herself into the political fray, campaigning for a candidate. Seems to me, if she can’t take the heat – and she HAD to know that the question would come up, tactless as it is – don’t get out on the Trail.
I don’t think a child of 16 is anywhere near being an adult. I don’t think some adults should be considered adults. I taught my kids to not talk about anyone if they have nothing good to say. I remember my mother saying that to me. Someone once told me when I had my store to never discuss politics with a customer. It can lose you a customer here and there. I have so much to say about this but I can’t seem to get it down on paper. I wish we could discuss it in person. I have a feeling you and I would agree on a lot of subjects from what I know about you. We certainly agree with this subject. Maybe it’s because it is so late and Lilah gave me a run for my money today. I’m so out of touch I have to go google Willow.
What I would like to know is this: how did the press get this Facebook information, anyway? Is Willow’s FB NOT set to “private”? Is the other kid’s FB open? Or did the other kid bait her, and the minute she said that, copied the screen and sent it to the press? And how did he know who to send it to? Something just doesn’t add up here, and as usual, everyone is freaking out because it’s Palin’s Daughter, and SHE should know better, and SARAH is so tech-savvy that she should know better, etc… How did this come to light in the first place?
That’s the first thing I thought, Laura. How did anyone know she trashed whoever she did. I did look up Willow Palin on FB and there were only 3 pages that came up and the one that looks like it might actually be her was set on private so something smells fishy to me. But, none the less, she said what she said and it was stupid. It’s not my place to trash her or judge the Palin’s.
Just a brief comment for now.
I agree with President Obama too when he speaks of leaving the kids out. However he has a tendancy to interject them when it suits his agenda by commenting on what cute thing one of his daughters said about this or that (usually making him look good or needing to follow throug with somethkng controversial). So which is it? Leave the kids out of politics or bring them in when it benefits you?
At any rate I do believe kids should be off limits even if the other Party tries to use them to their benefit. One person’s actions shouldn’t dictate the other’s actions.
Kids should always be left alone, but I do hope their parents talk with them to make them realize that words hurt. IF this were my child and he said these things, then got blasted, I’d be irate! And I’d also talk to him about it, that’s MY job!
I can’t even imagine going after a child like that. These are grown adults, acting like children themselves. That’s the saddest thing. Is it right? No, but is what they did right? Hell to the NO! Wow….that is something else. And to not like DON SHELBY!!!!!! When Amelia said a little something to him on air about him leaving, I cried like a baby. He is thee sweetest man ever, and for someone to say they didn’t like him because he’s a Democrat, that’s the most asinine thing I have ever heard.
Now I fully understand what you meant when you said, you question your faith in mankind. How could you not after seeing and hearing such ignorance like that. A 16 year old is a CHILD, not in any way an adult, they haven’t came close to reaching full maturity!
And another thing, people really like to bitch. They like to argue, just for the control aspect of it. Half the time they end up contradicting themselves.
BTW, the imagine you used cracked me up!
You have no idea how often I want to pull out my hair!