B3TA Question of the Week

I should probably read more of the newsletter than just the one part, but never mind. B3TA's summary of the best bits of "Question of the Week" really cracked me up today.

QUESTION OF THE WEEK
Common as muck

Last week we wanted to know what you saw as
common. This generated a huge flame war of
snobbery, one-upmanship and hate. Excellent:
http://www.b3ta.com/questions/common/

* COMMON KIDS - My husband works at a primary
school on a council estate. One child, a girl,
is called... Nokia. (Mrs Liveinabin)

* COMMON MUMS - I used to work in an opticians
in Essex. I think the most common thing I ever
was the woman who, when booking her children in
for eye tests, checked her tattoos for their
dates of birth. (Mrs Liveinabi again)

* COMMON GRANS - when I lived in Newcastle there
was a banner hanging outside of a house that
read "HAPPY 30th GRANDMA". (cowjam)

Don't Blame the Parents

It seems as though people are keen to blame absolutely anything they can on one's upbringing, especially when looking at antisocial behaviour issues. Whilst this seems like a logical conclusion to make, might I add that most of the people I associate with do not have children. I used (and am still tempted) to spout such easy-to-say-when-you-haven't-been-through-it shit, but I stop myself because being a parent is probably very much different to not being one. So when people say "oh just discipline them, it's not hard!" they have absolutely no leg to stand on - how do they know whether or not it's hard?

The problem with this type of discussion is that it will often lead to a general debate about upbringing, at which point everyone seems to argue a certain point: "I was brought up dat way n I'm fine lol!!11" Far be it from me to tell them that they're spoilt and self-centred, don't behave well at school, and don't have a very good relationship with their parents. How can you really look at yourself objectively like that? Not to mention that statistical evidence might say something entirely different, but as long as you "turned out OK" that's all that matters, right?

So in sum, maybe parents can have a little conversation about upbringing, or perhaps those that have investigated the research and are doing it within a professional setting. Other than that, watching Supernanny and snubbing the featured parents' techniques does not make you an expert.

"Here's an idea. Let's give the girl with low self-esteem a makeover."

That's right, it's not just an element of American high school films; it happens in real life, too. And it completely baffles me.

What possesses people to think that it will be a good idea to imply to someone "Hey, you've got shit dress sense and look like a dog, so we're going to try and counter-act those factors"? That's right, it's a shit idea, and it always seems to be targeted towards those that are unsure of themselves in the first place. Let me tell you people some home truths: some basic cosmetic modification is not going to offset years of low self-esteem. Actually, your authoritarian approach to the superficial matter will most likely suck whatever's left of it completely dry.

I hate women.

Peter Kay's Britain's Got The Pop Factor And Possibly A New Celebrity Jesus Christ Soapstar Superstar Strictly On Ice

I can't wait for this.