Dillards 65: Standard Cringe, New Atrocious Signage

[ati_escapee]

3 hours ago, HereticHick said:

There are far too many people on FJ who, partly due to their interest in a handful of WHITE fundy Protestant families, have convinced themselves that the entire American south is 100% white fundy Protestant Christian.  

Pretending racial, ethnic and religious minorities in the American south don't exist because we don't fit your easy stereotypes is pretty f**king insulting.  

I grew up in Chicago and I've lived on both coasts, I actually really like NW Arkansas. 

[melon]

On 9/11/2018 at 11:40 AM, Scrabblemaster said:

In our region we have a word that would fit for a situation everyone discusses right now. It's "schäkern" (I live in Germany). I will make an example: 

When I am grocery shopping and waiting in the line to pay, and there is a baby or toddler in front of me, it could happen that I start to smile at the Baby/toddler. Sometimes the baby/toddler smiles back, then I will smile again, then I might start to wave, the baby might start to giggle, then I might start doing silly faces ... and so on. I only act like this when I have the feeling that the mum/dad/person who is with the baby/toddler would bei ok with it. I'm not stupid. 

This is what I would call 'schäkern'. If I had to define the word, I would say it means flirting without sexual connotation. 

Is there something similar in English? 

Once,I was in the check out line,at the store.In front of me,there was a baby in the shopping cart/buggy....he smiled at me...a big grin..I smiled back,waved...the mother turned around and said to her son "Are you flirting with the lady??"..meaning me.

[NakedKnees]

I just wanted to chime in on the Arkansas-hate conversation. I grew up primarily in Southern California, but spent about12 weeks a year in Missouri (initially Northwest Missouri where my mom grew up and parents met, but eventually the Ozarks where they bought a house in my early teens). My parents are both teachers, so we all had similar schedules to do that type of thing.

I hated going to Missouri growing up. My parents wanted me to view it as a privilege that I got to travel like that (ding ding ding, they were absolutely right), but I just didn't get it. I had countless pet peeves about the culture (90s and 00s, for context) and missed my friends a lot. When I started working, I had more freedom to just go to Missouri when I wanted to and that was fine for a few years.

Now, really just since my twenties, I feel like such an idiot for not appreciating it more when I was younger. It's so beautiful, unique, affordable, and the people are generally really down-to-earth and honest. I love going it now. The cities are really cool. The politics are mind-blowingly rich and complex compared to the liberal bubble of my home-city. To be honest, it did feel like another world in some ways 20 years ago, but the internet and chain grocery stores and new roads and things like that have gone a long way.

At this point in my life, I would never dream of trying to buy property in California when I have a community in the Miswest and its an option. I know that's a giant "gentrification" red flag, but it's also super real. Almost none of my childhood friends live in my hometown, and almost all left 100% for financial reasons. I know there are assholes taking over spaces that aren't theirs to take over, but there are a lot of people who honestly can't afford what their parents could, and because of that I suspect that today's young adults are going to shuffle around and we're going to see a lot of negative stereotypes about the midwest and south change over the next few decades. 

As a side note- my brother is the opposite of me (loved Missouri as a kid, doesn't like it now). No idea how that happened. 

ETA: I know this post probably sounds elitist to many and I'm sorry if it gets you down or angry at all. I've learned to just shut up about this experience IRL, especially when locals are talking... but hey, it is my experience, it exists, so I just thought I'd share.

[patsymae]

1 hour ago, melon said:

Once,I was in the check out line,at the store.In front of me,there was a baby in the shopping cart/buggy....he smiled at me...a big grin..I smiled back,waved...the mother turned around and said to her son "Are you flirting with the lady??"..meaning me.

well, maybe doing this to death, but "flirting" has no sexual connotation to me and it does seems odd to me that "flirting" would be seemed as a sexually charged term. If anything it's more like an "I like you"-- let's have some playful fun like word play, even if you are 2 or 102-- or a kind of cat-and-mouse thing--"flirting with danger."
 

[SamiKatz]

2 hours ago, Timetraveler said:

I find Derick so...weird and annoying. To me, he is on the same level of weird and annoying as this couple:

 

 

Rufus bless indeed.  

[HarleyQuinn]

2 hours ago, littlemommy said:

How could either one of them think a classroom "date" was a good idea? They are bizarre.

How many years has Derrick had braces now? I got braces as an adult and while it felt like forever no way were they on this long.

Boob probably hasn't given him any money to go get them taken off yet. 

[QuiverFullofBooks]

The flags are probably in the classroom because it’s used as their mock courtroom. Classrooms typically do not have flags, but courtrooms always do.

[Lisafer]

1 hour ago, NakedKnees said:

I just wanted to chime in on the Arkansas-hate conversation. I grew up primarily in Southern California, but spent about12 weeks a year in Missouri (initially Northwest Missouri where my mom grew up and parents met, but eventually the Ozarks where they bought a house in my early teens). My parents are both teachers, so we all had similar schedules to do that type of thing.

I hated going to Missouri growing up. My parents wanted me to view it as a privilege that I got to travel like that (ding ding ding, they were absolutely right), but I just didn't get it. I had countless pet peeves about the culture (90s and 00s, for context) and missed my friends a lot. When I started working, I had more freedom to just go to Missouri when I wanted to and that was fine for a few years.

Now, really just since my twenties, I feel like such an idiot for not appreciating it more when I was younger. It's so beautiful, unique, affordable, and the people are generally really down-to-earth and honest. I love going it now. The cities are really cool. The politics are mind-blowingly rich and complex compared to the liberal bubble of my home-city. To be honest, it did feel like another world in some ways 20 years ago, but the internet and chain grocery stores and new roads and things like that have gone a long way.

At this point in my life, I would never dream of trying to buy property in California when I have a community in the Miswest and its an option. I know that's a giant "gentrification" red flag, but it's also super real. Almost none of my childhood friends live in my hometown, and almost all left 100% for financial reasons. I know there are assholes taking over spaces that aren't theirs to take over, but there are a lot of people who honestly can't afford what their parents could, and because of that I suspect that today's young adults are going to shuffle around and we're going to see a lot of negative stereotypes about the midwest and south change over the next few decades. 

As a side note- my brother is the opposite of me (loved Missouri as a kid, doesn't like it now). No idea how that happened. 

ETA: I know this post probably sounds elitist to many and I'm sorry if it gets you down or angry at all. I've learned to just shut up about this experience IRL, especially when locals are talking... but hey, it is my experience, it exists, so I just thought I'd share.

I've lived in Missouri my whole life, in the Ozarks for around a decade. I'm glad you like Missouri. It has some beautiful areas. I love the Ozarks, especially as they extend into NWA and the hills get steeper and the views more scenic.

I had to laugh at "the politics being mind-blowingly rich and complex," though. In the big cities, yes, there's more diversity of opinion. But in the rural red zones, politics are so...Christian Right. Anti-abortion, anti-gay, pro-gun, prayer in schools, etc. etc. There are very few people in my day-to-day life that I will discuss politics with beyond a brief comment. Also, we elected Greitens, and that turned out really well. *sarcasm font* Of course, this is my own experience.

It's taken me a long time to build a community of like-minded misfits around myself, and my close circle is really small. Part of that is me, and part of that is because "community" where I live occurs, a lot of the time, at church. And I don't go to church anymore. 

We do have lots of people in this area from California, though. Lots of retirees for sure. Some of them assimilate quite well, and some stick out a mile away .

What I do love about where I live: the tough spirit and resourcefulness and independent spirit of the Ozarks culture, a culture that can be hard to find these days but still lives up in the "hills and hollers." My own ancestors embodied that culture, and as a witch I feel in tune with their spirits when I walk the land that they walked on. 

[NakedKnees]

16 minutes ago, Lisafer said:

I've lived in Missouri my whole life, in the Ozarks for around a decade. I'm glad you like Missouri. It has some beautiful areas. I love the Ozarks, especially as they extend into NWA and the hills get steeper and the views more scenic.

I had to laugh at "the politics being mind-blowingly rich and complex," though. In the big cities, yes, there's more diversity of opinion. But in the rural red zones, politics are so...Christian Right. Anti-abortion, anti-gay, pro-gun, prayer in schools, etc. etc. There are very few people in my day-to-day life that I will discuss politics with beyond a brief comment. Also, we elected Greitens, and that turned out really well. *sarcasm font* Of course, this is my own experience.

It's taken me a long time to build a community of like-minded misfits around myself, and my close circle is really small. Part of that is me, and part of that is because "community" where I live occurs, a lot of the time, at church. And I don't go to church anymore. 

We do have lots of people in this area from California, though. Lots of retirees for sure. Some of them assimilate quite well, and some stick out a mile away .

What I do love about where I live: the tough spirit and resourcefulness and independent spirit of the Ozarks culture, a culture that can be hard to find these days but still lives up in the "hills and hollers." My own ancestors embodied that culture, and as a witch I feel in tune with their spirits when I walk the land that they walked on. 

Hahaha, maybe it was a BIT of a hyperbole to say "mind-blowingly rich and complex," but really, a part of me really treasures actually meeting people and not knowing what they think politically?*  Where I'm from in California, you hear a lot of pearl-clutching "How could ANYONE ever vote for X?!?" and that drives me crazy on another level. But yeah, most of my family lives in and around Kansas City year-round. There are two family houses at/near the lake that a few dozen people basically share.

I will say this: I've only been able to go there once since Trump was elected, and almost everyone avoided talking politics with me like the plague. On the other hand, my father (who is a lot more obviously latino than I am) had this weird experience of lots of known conservative/repubilican people trying to buddy up with him. Like, people seemed really interested in SHOWING that they like this guy from Chile. I was a bit ruffled about it but he loved it, so, to each their own, I guess.

But yeah- all in all, beautiful place with lots of fun activites to do I feel really grateful to my cousins for getting my out of the "vacationers and retirees" sphere though- that's made a big difference in the places I've been able to see.

 

*ETA I realize it's a big privilege for me to find the mystery surrounding what people's political beliefs are interesting. For me, personally, I feel like genuinely scary people often show their stripes early on and they're certainly not exclusive to any place. I feel like I've heard equal amounts (though different types) of bigotry from people I know in California and Missouri, but take that anecdata for what it is.

[NachosFlandersStyle]

8 minutes ago, Lisafer said:

I had to laugh at "the politics being mind-blowingly rich and complex," though. In the big cities, yes, there's more diversity of opinion. But in the rural red zones, politics are so...Christian Right. Anti-abortion, anti-gay, pro-gun, prayer in schools, etc. etc. There are very few people in my day-to-day life that I will discuss politics with beyond a brief comment. Also, we elected Greitens, and that turned out really well. *sarcasm font* Of course, this is my own experience.

 

I was gonna say the same, as someone who's spent a good part of my life in MO and worked in local politics... mind-blowing maybe, but rich? Lol

[Kelsey]

Why can't Jill do an online degree at Liberty?

[Carm_88]

I've never hear of Family Day. MUN, to the best of my knowledge, does not have it. There's a tour for first year students and their parents before school, but I've never heard of Family Day.

Either way, Derick and Jill are a bit cringy.

[socalrules]

I want to know how low are Jill’s standards that going to a class with Derick is seen as a date worthy of posting on social media. Does she think people out there are jealous? I never went on a date with anyone to a class while I was in school and I am pretty sure I didn’t miss out. Once again, they are doing something that benefits Derick and fits into Derick’s schedule. He got to stick to his routine and she just tagged along. When do we see Derick going out of his way for Jill? Of course he would mention he is taking his time out as a law student for Jill. Anyone else want to bet that Jill calls and texts Derick a hundred times a day? 

[sixcatatty]

I'm going to try this again. In my law school, professors passed around the seating chart sometime the first week of class. You were stuck where you were when you signed your name that evening after that.

My father had a quadruple bypass and double endarterectomy about six weeks before my last semester ended. I got word that he was out of surgery and in ICU by a note stuck on the door of my classroom (i didn't have a cell phone in the late 1990s).

[SapphireSlytherin]

I live in one of the three blue blobs in an otherwise hyper-red Missouri. Even in the blue blobs, there is increasing division, and derisive statements are occurring with more frequency.

 

[SapphireSlytherin]

4 hours ago, SorenaJ said:

Please tell me that’s not a confederate flag in the classroom. 

See? This is yet ANOTHER EXAMPLE of the incredibly shitty opinion of Arkansas. There's not a single, legitimate organization in the state that would even consider using the Confederate Battle flag in any capacity.

May I, however, point you (and everyone else) to the state flag of Mississippi?

 

[Sky with diamonds]

1 hour ago, Carm_88 said:

I've never hear of Family Day. MUN, to the best of my knowledge, does not have it. There's a tour for first year students and their parents before school, but I've never heard of Family Day.

Either way, Derick and Jill are a bit cringy.

Nor me. I have friends from back home who have also attended MUN, they never heard of it either. Or smaller colleges don't have them. 

[QuiverFullofBooks]

1 hour ago, sixcatatty said:

I'm going to try this again. In my law school, professors passed around the seating chart sometime the first week of class. You were stuck where you were when you signed your name that evening after that.

My father had a quadruple bypass and double endarterectomy about six weeks before my last semester ended. I got word that he was out of surgery and in ICU by a note stuck on the door of my classroom (i didn't have a cell phone in the late 1990s).

My law school lectures had some empty seats. Maybe no one wants to sit next to Derick. Hope your dad recovered.

[frugalitymom]

After reading and catching up I wonder how Dwreck would react to a female instructor 

[caitrona]

I'm betting D was the "brains" behind this date.  What's better (for him) than time without the kids, where his educationally-deficient helpmeet can be awed by his "hard work" and "intelligence", AND he can give himself plausible excuses for why his classmates don't want to invite him to their study groups (because by showing off the wifey, clearly they must be awed by his commitment to being a family man and don't want to intrude). 

[Kittikatz]

All the classrooms and lecture halls in my law school had the Canadian and provincial flag on small wooden poles. Usually one on each side of the board. I never thought anything of it.

[Dandruff]

2 hours ago, socalrules said:

Anyone else want to bet that Jill calls and texts Derick a hundred times a day?

I'd guess at least a dozen times a day.  And I suspect she knows every class location and study area, and his schedule to the minute.

I wouldn't be surprised if he's finding law school less stressful than his marriage at this point.

[theotherelise]

I also live in one of the blue blobs in Missouri and grew up in the biggest blue blob in MO. My husband is from SW MO (he went to HS with Sierra Jo) and most of his family lives in SE MO. Except for one sibling of his and her fam. They lived in Fayetteville and now Rogers. I may have some not-so-nice Arkansas opinions, but I come by them honestly. I feel the same way about AR that I do about the southern half of MO. Everyone has things like that and I fully recognize that my opinions are still based on limited interactions. I don't go around spouting off about it, but I wouldn't care to spend too much time there. That's not to say everyone sucks, it's just not my cup of tea. I grew up 5 min from where Michael Brown was shot, so I've probably got a chip on my shoulder over people crapping all over my hometown for the last 4 years. I'm salty tonight, apparently.

[SapphireSlytherin]

4 minutes ago, theotherelise said:

most of his family lives in SE MO

My family is from SEMO and NEARK and WKY and WTN. They're mostly bigots. But most of them have moved to NWA and took their bigoted ways with them... The bigotry is spreading insidiously.

 

 

[HarleyQuinn]

On the bright side, I'm sure Jessa at least let Sam out of his car seat/high chair/whatever restraint the Dumbs usually have him in.