Sewing can make boys gay, and so can "Musloid" culture

[Four is Enough]

What with the Inquisition and all, I thought it was hard to give Catholics a bad name... worse than that, anyway... but I was wrong. She's really tried to make us all look even worse.

[FloraKitty35]

Musloid sounds like the name of a textile. "Presenting new DuPont Musloid, a blend of muslin and celluloid."

[artmama]

Ann Barnhardt is a special kind of stupid. I forget how I came across her blog a while back, but I fell down the rabbit hole for a couple of hours. She is all over the internet spreading her brand of conspiracy laden nonsense.

It's really hard for me to imagine her as a professional anything, much less a commodities broker. She doesn't really give the impression of someone you would want to trust with large sums of other people's money.

[DGayle]

1) She won't blame the bullies since she thinks they were right. I :pink-shock:

2) She has obviously never heard of straight boys joining cheerleading so they can be surrounded by pretty girls.

3) She can die and go to hell now.

[Burris]

Ann Barnhardt is a special kind of stupid. I forget how I came across her blog a while back, but I fell down the rabbit hole for a couple of hours. She is all over the internet spreading her brand of conspiracy laden nonsense.

It's really hard for me to imagine her as a professional anything, much less a commodities broker. She doesn't really give the impression of someone you would want to trust with large sums of other people's money.

Some people can hide that kind of thing well enough to get along in life - as long as they're willing to continue moving from person to person, getting as much from each relationship as possible before destroying it.

A few years ago, a woman e-mailed me offering $500 a day for me to transcribe a meeting she needed to attend. I couldn't figure out why she would ask me: Transcription isn't my specialty, and even if it were, why would this woman be willing to pay over $50 an hour for a service she could get elsewhere - and from someone trained in transcription - for half the price?

At first, she was evasive about what the meeting would involve. This was a red flag for me, but then I had dealt with people genuinely afraid to produce written accounts of things they'd experienced. Until or unless they were certain I would maintain confidentiality, perform additional background research, treat the people involved with respect, and so on, some people will not tell me anything about what they want until they see how I work. (I charge individuals on a sliding scale. I only charge what this lady was offering to organizations rather than individuals.)

By e-mail and on the phone, she seemed perfectly "normal" (for lack of a better word) and so I sent her my terms - which included that I did not necessarily require so much money depending on what she needed and what she could afford.

That's when the crazy began to emerge.

She was an insurance broker, if I remember correctly, and was facing a disciplinary hearing. She wanted me not only to transcribe the meeting for her, but to produce formal documentation in her defense.

I told her that was what tape recorders and lawyers are for; that I'm a writer and would not want to associate myself with such a document.

She told me she couldn't afford a lawyer and couldn't find another writer with my, er, reputation. In other words, she believed I would be willing to do anything. She was close to being correct: I might have been willing to help her, but she threw an actual temper tantrum when she read my terms.

I would produce such a document only under the following circumstances:

* I wanted to know, well before the meeting(s) were scheduled, what accusations she faced and how she planned to defend herself against them.

* I would decide only after having heard the whole story whether or not to provide any services, whether they be transcription or a document outlining her defense. (I didn't - and still don't - mind writing something in defense of a guilty person, so long as the document were truthful: The document had to contain an accurate account of how and why this individual had violated the code of conduct for the governing body to which she answered.)

* If she were unwilling or unable to produce an accurate account of the situation, I would only transcribe the meeting - and for about half the price she offered - but I would not produce any documentation other than an accurate record of what was said and by whom.

* She could not claim that my providing the service was an endorsement of her position.

* Whatever documents I produced, whether they include only the transcription or also a statement of defense, they would belong to her alone. She would own the copyright. She alone would be legally responsible for the content. My name would not appear on any product I created for her.

* She had to affirm her understanding that I am not a lawyer and nor do I have legal training of any kind; that the quality of the document I produced would depend in large part on the quality of the information she gave me.

She wrote me back this scathing letter lamenting that she would even have to dig so low as to reach for me; that she could find a monkey to do the work better than I could, and so on. This e-mail was several pages of !CAPS-LOCK INSULTS!

I wrote back sincerely wishing her the best of luck in finding anyone, anywhere, from any background, in any field, who would do what she seemed to want.

I never did learn what the hearing was about - but I strongly suspect that both poor customer service and multiple ethical lapses had probably put her in trouble. (If she treated everyone the same way she treated me, it was a wonder she could function in the real world.)

[Toothfairy]

What??? :cray-cray:

[Grimalkin]

This made me physically sick when I was skimming it- which was all I could do because it disturbed me so much.

I was upset to hear she is Catholic, then realized that any sane person would know she was batshit crazy...... And I think this Bitch should listen to Pope Francis.

Lastly cheerleaders are fit. They have to be. My second daughter started cheer this year, I was not enthusiastic about it but those girls worked HARD. I was very proud of her by the end of the season, and though she is a seasoned competitive soccer player ( which include massive amounts of running and sprinting) cheer practice exhausted her. I saw some male cheerleaders at the compitition,and they were the high scoring teams. Those boys had real muscles, they were certainly not effeminate in any way, they put thier squads over the top because the boys allowed the girls to do over the top stunts. They themselves were some of the best tumblers during the competition.

I am so pissed off reading that I don't think I will fall asleep any time soon and it's Christmas for fucks sake.

[RosyDaisy]

What the actual fuck? Ann Barnhardt, you are one crazy ass judgemental bitch!

[SquirrelySquirrel]

My husband (who loves to sew, ftr) has some cousins who are much younger than him, and they were active in competitive cheerleading from early childhood through their teen years. Their male cousin was also heavily involved. I know of at least 2 male friends through cheer they lost through suicide. It's so fucking tragic that these kids can't be who they want to be without some assholes making their lives a living hell. I just don't get that kind of hate. It makes no sense whatsoever.

And not that it should matter in the least, but the cousins's male cousin is straight as an arrow. He has no probs with the ladies. I imagine being in that particular sport has helped him immeasurably in that regard!

[feministxtian]

My youngest wasn't in cheer, but he was a competitive gymnast...nothing effeminate about that...have you seen the guys on the rings? AND...my husband does counted cross-stitch as a hobby. He learned to do it years ago when he was laid up with a knee injury and has completed some GORGEOUS projects. FTR...youngest son is str8 as hell...with a gorgeous girlfriend and baby boy. Husband...well...married, 24 year Naval career...and the only things in his closet are his clothes :)

I hate people who make shit up...

[RosyDaisy]

My niece went to cheerleading competition (as a spectator her school doesn't do competitive), and most of the squads had male cheerleaders. She even flirted with a few.

[smittykins]

IIRC the first cheerleaders were male.