Common Room blog try to scare child into monotheism

[FairyPrincessK]

The sanctimonious lot at the Common Room who regularly look after two disadvantaged small boys have really taken the cake this week. One of the small boys informed them that he believed in multiple gods and that he could believe whatever he wanted. :dance: They told him fine, we choose to believe you're a rabbit. And we're having rabbit stew for supper. :pink-shock: This is quite a young child, one who by their own admission is struggling with his home and family life. I hope he keeps his spirit!

http:// thecommonroomblog.com/2013/08/post-modernism-in-the-common-room.html#comments

[AtroposHeart]

Well, scare tactics have been used to get people into religions since the dawn of time. Can't blame them for going for the classics.

[linnea27]

Obviously, or not so obviously because I never share every single detail of our lives or theirs, much prayers are needed. We are looking at a very angry little boy this weekend, and we don’t really know why.

Lemme take a stab at it. I think he might be angry because he is being forced to stay in a house with a small mob of religious nut jobs who threaten to cut him up and eat him for dinner. And mock his beliefs.

[FairyPrincessK]

Not to mention that they frequently brag about how charitable they are caring for these boys on the blog. I suspect they make this clear to them in person. They also frequently make veiled judgemental comments about the boys' mother. She may or may not be mother of the year, but surely bad mouthing her to her children when she isn't around is not acceptable, much less charitable behaviour.

[AtroposHeart]

Can someone tell me the cultural background of this child? I want to know if he was raised in a Wiccan or Hindu home.

[ILoveJellybeans]

I dont think its ever been mentioned what kind of religion the boy was raised in, what kind of culture he comes from, she is very careful to keep identifying details off the blog.

She should let him make his own decisions, hes not even her kid, she cant force him to be Christian.

[AtroposHeart]

I would be so pissed if it turned out to be an Indian child, because that is completely insulting his culture.

[gardenvarietycitizen]

Not to mention that they frequently brag about how charitable they are caring for these boys on the blog. I suspect they make this clear to them in person. They also frequently make veiled judgemental comments about the boys' mother. She may or may not be mother of the year, but surely bad mouthing her to her children when she isn't around is not acceptable, much less charitable behaviour.

This is the part that just generally bugs me about her discussion of these two boys. It's a whiff of "obviously they come from bad stock but hopefully we can be a good influence" - and I think "sanctimonious" as you put in your first post is probably the best description for that blog possible.

Back when Dad worked managing a grocery, there would be similar posts about some of his employees, or tales about people he rejected for employment. The whole attitude is just a big ball of "of course these young people raised by bad parents have no sense whatsoever so it's ridiculous for them to expect to be hired." Take a few posts in that vein and mix it with the "let me tell you how we never took government aid even with nine kids so anyone who takes assistance is just lazy" mixed in with recipes for making lunches of the odd leftover juice at the bottom of a pickle jar and a few snippets of cauliflower (and somehow implying it's similar to Japanese lunches, haha), and you've got a good taste of that blog.

I took a few years off from reading her, and it was interesting to see how she's rather upset that the younger kids became more "worldly" than she'd prefer...

[gardenvarietycitizen]

I dont think its ever been mentioned what kind of religion the boy was raised in, what kind of culture he comes from, she is very careful to keep identifying details off the blog.

She should let him make his own decisions, hes not even her kid, she cant force him to be Christian.

Meh, she's slipped up over the years to the point that you can find the names of all her family members and their facebooks. I will not post them here, but... yeah. No mystery.

Though I have not seen her post about those kids with identifying details just offhand, and I'm not in the mood to stalk it up...

But yeah, she has made various posts about how she refuses to homeschool them because that's not her responsibility. You'd think that religious instruction would be similar, but probably she doesn't consider this any sort of instruction but just "saying the obvious in the course of normal conversation" or some such thing.

[FairyPrincessK]

gardenvarietycitizen, can I just say thank you! This is one of the few fundies I can stand reading every day and I often feel a little alone as they rarely appear on fj. I too picked up on the undertones about the people her husband did not hire. However, they were on government assistance for awhile when they were young. She often says it in a thinly veiled way, but back in their military days I think they were on WIC.

The only thing she has revealed about the two boys is that they are african american and have different fathers. As well as posting pictures of them in which she is less careful than she is with her own children, something I find particularly insensitive.

As for the point about how worldly the older children have become, well what can she expect when mom spends all day watching Korean dramas?

I also find it disgusting the way she writes about her daughter with disabilities. She tells everyone about the woman's toilet habits and thinks nothing of discussing things the woman does that she, as a mother, finds embarrassing. All, of course, in the name of ministering to others in hard parental situations, but really just another way of tooting their own horn.

[JesusFightClub]

She's noted that FJ is watching her, and says this:

I’ve read the anti-Duggar sites before, briefly. Kind of reminds of the blood libels against the Jews in earlier ages (and some places still)

Er, what. No, seriously, WHAT. Snarking on a family which puts itself out there on national TV is the same as accusing the Jews of killing children in order to drink their blood?

As for the kid who says he believes in multiple gods and can't be told he's wrong about it, does that mean I can point out to the "zookeeper" that the Bible she believes in is riddled with errors and downright evil ways of behaving (raping women, killing children)? Oh no, for that would be persecution *headdesk*

Srsly, we deal with Small and Smaller and the first named has PTSD likely. She does like to talk about God and gods and is confused about the whole issue. I would be a hopeless parent, granted, but I think it's just better to let kids talk and reason these things out for themselves. Even if you are a fundie, you must know that a coerced salvation is not a salvation at all.

Small: Nanna says that being christened made me believe in God.

Me: Small, do you believe in God?

Small: Daddy says God isn't true.

Me: So do you believe in God? Do you think daddy or nanna told you the truth?

Small: Did my mum believe in God?

Me: No, she didn't.

Small: So why was I christened then?

Me: Your mum thought it would make your Nanna happy and do you no harm. And that's true, right?

Small: Nanna said that when I got christened God started believing in me.

Me: It is fascinating that your Nanna and Trotsky shared similar lines of thought *Small looks bemused* Anyway, with believing in things, it's like liking things, you get to pick if you do or not and it's all OK, whatever.

Small *suddenly smiling*: One Direction! I really like One Direction!

Me: Er, you just go with that, comrade.

About 2 days later:

Small: Do you believe in God?

Me: No, I don't but it's not wrong to believe or to not believe in God. It's your choice.

Small: Can I choose later?

Me: Yeah, alright. Anyway, let's not worry about it.

Small: What about Jesus and Mary?

Me: What about them?

Small: Jesus is real, right? At school we played a Baby Jesus at Christmas and I was Mary.

Me: S'right. You were a very good Mary! Your dad showed me the video.

Small: So that's right, a baby Jesus was real? They don't lie to you in the school. The police would get them, because it's bad to lie to little children *wide-eyed cute look*

Me: Naw, adults lie a lot. You'll find that one out. But there probably was a baby Jesus, so they didn't lie to you about that. You're better to ask your dad about things they tell you at school which are confusing, he'll explain.

Small: Can I have a sweetie? Daddy said you bought sweeties from the shop.

Me: *headdesk*

[dpndetfarm]

JFC: ot, but you would make a wonderful childrens book author.

Your style of writing conversations with the littles is fantastic. I could read it all day.

I think you could especially add to the tween market.

I will now go down the rabbit hole of this new to me blog.

What a hateful sounding woman.

[wtylcf]

JFC: ot, but you would make a wonderful childrens book author.

Your style of writing conversations with the littles is fantastic. I could read it all day.

I think you could especially add to the tween market.

I will now go down the rabbit hole of this new to me blog.

What a hateful sounding woman.

Agreed! That was totally adorable. You sound like a wonderful aunt.

[gardenvarietycitizen]

gardenvarietycitizen, can I just say thank you! This is one of the few fundies I can stand reading every day and I often feel a little alone as they rarely appear on fj. I too picked up on the undertones about the people her husband did not hire. However, they were on government assistance for awhile when they were young. She often says it in a thinly veiled way, but back in their military days I think they were on WIC.

No problem! I read them from back in the USENET days, before the birth of their youngest kid.

Now that you mention it I do recall posts talking about how the amount of aid you get via food stamps is just over the top too much, you'd have money left over at the end of the month for certain, well goodness, the amount you get for a family of 4 is far more than we use for a family of 9, etc. I also used to occasionally peruse the frugal living groups over on USENET where people would talk about Amy Dacyzyn, who has made muffins out of the crumbs found in the toaster...

[JesusFightClub]

I will ask Small tonight (I'm helping babysit her and she'll be here in about 30 min) but I'm fairly certain she'd tell you I am a rubbish aunt :lol: I'm a rubbish everything at the moment because I don't like Peppa Pig, Moshi Monsters or One Direction. Small shouted at me during Peppa Pig because I described it as bourgeois shite. "NO! PEPPA PIG ISN'T BAD WORDS!"

The thing that really gets me about kids is how utterly random they are. I hadn't expected, until I became an aunt, to be woken up at 6am by a small child hissing in my ear "Auntie JFC, I know how to steal mans' willies! It's naughty to steal though" :pink-shock:

(It turns out that she thought that penises were detachable like Nanna's false teeth. No, I don't know either.)

Or to explain Stalinism to a three year old. That was difficult. Or antifascism, which was still more tricky. Or the difference between various types of guns (they fell asleep halfway through, thankfully). I do try to logically explain to them stuff which I know (how car bombs work, how lady bits work, how "mens" bits work, what you have to do when you have a job, why it's important to have a union card, why fascism is bad).

I think they basically regard me as a weirdo, but a friendly weirdo they can tell stuff to. Probably the best I can hope for, really.

[formergothardite]

No problem! I read them from back in the USENET days, before the birth of their youngest kid.

Now that you mention it I do recall posts talking about how the amount of aid you get via food stamps is just over the top too much, you'd have money left over at the end of the month for certain, well goodness, the amount you get for a family of 4 is far more than we use for a family of 9, etc. I also used to occasionally peruse the frugal living groups over on USENET where people would talk about Amy Dacyzyn, who has made muffins out of the crumbs found in the toaster...

:shock: I'm surprised Emily never tried that. I doubt she had a toaster, though.

[walnut]

Well, scare tactics have been used to get people into religions since the dawn of time. Can't blame them for going for the classics.

Foolproof methods. Why take chances with something new?

[FairyPrincessK]

Now that you mention it I do recall posts talking about how the amount of aid you get via food stamps is just over the top too much, you'd have money left over at the end of the month for certain, well goodness, the amount you get for a family of 4 is far more than we use for a family of 9, etc. I also used to occasionally peruse the frugal living groups over on USENET where people would talk about Amy Dacyzyn, who has made muffins out of the crumbs found in the toaster...

Muffins..out of the.. :wtf:

Yes, there is also a favourite rant of hers about people on foodstamps who audaciously bought lobster at her husband's grocery store. She always acts like this was a regular occurrence and that we should all be appalled, but to my mind there are many reasons one might buy lobster. Maybe you could use it in really small amounts in lots of recipes, or maybe per pound it was cheaper than other things, or maybe you were having a celebration once and were really careful with your money and bought lobster. OR, maybe one was just not very good at budgeting and really fancied lobster. Or didn't care about the budget. Or maybe they were scamming the system. I don't really care. I want people to have access to affordable food when they need it. And, I don't care if some people use it in a way it isn't intended. :nenner: Meanwhile she reflects back on her days of piously buying eggs, beans, rice, potatoes and milk, which is all well and good, but I think she likes the hyperbole of lobster a little too much.

JFC--you sound exactly what small and smaller need.

[gardenvarietycitizen]

Yes, there is also a favourite rant of hers about people on foodstamps who audaciously bought lobster at her husband's grocery store. She always acts like this was a regular occurrence and that we should all be appalled, but to my mind there are many reasons one might buy lobster.

Thing is - it's none of her damn business. She doesn't know the circumstances of those families, or if they scrimped the rest of the month to save for someone's birthday, or what. Furthermore I suspect it's apocryphal anyway.

It reminds me of the other main theme I find annoying about that blog, which is that the main author clearly follows every dubious right-wing political blog in existence and faithfully echoes every talking point of the Right. Of course she's going to have stories of welfare queens buying lobster, because those are pretty common in that media space - we need to be reminded that those in poverty are not truly deserving. At which point it's pretty much all about the :popcorn2:

[stonefruit]

FairyPrincessK, just wanted to chime in that I hate-follow this blog, and I feel kind of alone out there about it too! They really are awful - smug, condescending, and honestly quite meanspirited/nasty. I agree with your distaste about how the mom writes about the daughter with a disability; in addition to the oversharing, she seems to use that daughter in her writing as a way of boosting up her holiness credibility. I really, really loathe the attitude she has.

[Mudball]

Muffins from toaster crumbs? What the..? :o lol I have all her books, I never saw that! She does have a recipe for breadcrumb cookies, but I don't think she mentioned using toaster crumbs.

As for that blog, what a despicable creature.

The food stamp wank irritates me so much. It's as if the ppl that say that think that because people buy lobster with them that they automatically get more. Food stamp recipients get a set amount every month. It doesn't go up if you have expensive tastes! If the recipient wants to blow the month's food money on a lobster dinner and expensive cheeses and eat ramen for the next 30 days why the hell should anyone care?? How is that hurting the tax payers any more?? Gah. :angry-banghead:

[gardenvarietycitizen]

It's possible the toaster crumbs thing was just on the frugal-living group - basically just a commentary that those books, a lot of good information is in there and then there's a bit of wtf? sometimes but you can just skip that part :) I apologize for misdirection.

That blogger's opinion seems to be that the amount set for food stamps is just too high, period. The idea being, if you can eat ramen 30 days a month and then lobster, well, you should eat ramen 31 days instead, and then wow you don't need so much money. There's a thought out there that all money completely aside, it's just unseemly for poor people to enjoy themselves ever, they should be pretty much self-flagellating in shame 24/7. If only you didn't buy that lobster, you wouldn't be poor anymore, so we can sit back and blame your situation on your bad choices, and not have to worry about any sort of systemic issues.

[lilah]

Honestly you'd think after having several children that getting into an argument with a small child is just asking to made a fool.

[aveline]

What a bunch of lies about a kind and generous woman and her family. I can understand why you lot snark 'fundies', but this is a woman who is just as against fundie royalty as you are and you're going to make up stuff about her?

[Gertie]

What a bunch of lies about a kind and generous woman and her family.

You need to specify what you comments you're referring to that are supposedly lies, otherwise this is a pretty pointless comment. Pointless because no one reading it knows what you're referring to.

I can understand why you lot snark 'fundies', but this is a woman who is just as against fundie royalty as you are and you're going to make up stuff about her?

Even if she's not so-called "fundie royalty," she's still a fundie, so I take it you can understand see why we snark on her. Whether or not we're going to make stuff up remains to be seen, but I kind of doubt it, since in general our discussions are based on actual things fundies themselves write in their blogs, not on stuff we've made up about them.