peacetraveler22 | Discrimination against the childless!

America is a country of convenience, but for whom? In Virginia, we're having torrential rains the past few days, but this doesn't stop me from doing ordinary chores. A woman still has to eat, even in the pouring rain. After a very long day in the office, I drove to a crowded new grocery store. I had no umbrella, so my tired eyes began searching for a parking space near the entrance so I wouldn't get even more wet. Then I saw this sign!! Right beside the handicapped spaces in each parking aisle are two reserved spots for "Customers with Children." Why? Tell me please why I should have to park further away, carry my heavy bags a longer distance, and get soaking wet just because I'm childless? Being a parent is suddenly a handicap, worthy of a special parking spot?

Then I went inside the store and saw delicious cookies being offered by "Harry the Happy Dragon." But for kids only. What happens if I decide to take one? Will the dragon breathe fire at me? :)

Do you think parents should have special parking spaces? I don't. I'm sure being a parent is one of the most rewarding and life changing events in a human's life, but with this choice also comes a new set of responsibilities, joys and inconveniences. One of them includes taking much longer to leave the house, board the car and leave it, especially when dealing with an infant. I've done it many, many times with young relatives and my nephew. Such is life...

I love children, but don't think parenthood should equal special and favorable treatment. Not at the grocery store and definitely not in the workplace. How about airplanes, and the nightmare of having an unruly and screaming child near you? Of course, we've all experienced it and in such situations I'm usually very calm and sympathetic as long as the parent tries to correct the child's behavior. Should single people and solo travelers have a "child free" cabin, so they can rest in peace during long flights? :) Personally, I think this idea is ridiculous.

Do you have these special parking spaces for parents at Russian stores?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I wrote to her in an email. She comments in my blog frequently, but you are usually a silent reader. :)

i baited her, or trolled. not a nice thing to do, but i alas have a very low threshold for certain types of ... not exactly behaviors, more like.. a certain phraseology. it sets me off.... i learned it from books mostly, and in my late 20s and 30s, having left the USSR as a child ( and a sheltered one) .. but i "see it when i see it". i am not sure you can appreciate it, or that there is an american equivalent. one would have to go to prison for that, perhaps. it is (outside of prison) - an amazing marker.
the switch is amazing - from a relatively benign tone to this shrill toxic invective. i am actually enjoying studying this phenomenon. there is an american equivalent, but it is much milder.

Yes, this reader sometimes becomes hysterical in comments. But I believe she is a good person deep down, and you're absolutely right. There are so many things about Soviet and Russian mentality that I'll never understand. It's impossible to relate to if you're an outsider.

i am an outsider, too. my only advantage over you is my relative fluency in russian.
in the 90s i moderated a super-geeky site ( amero-euro, english-language) - i was much nicer then, and just could not understand the irritability of some characters. i banned left and right for any conduct i thought was disrespectful to the opponent, openly or covertly. before a ban, an offender would get two warnings. after a ban, they could still respond to the moderators, directly. i remember one particular "primal scream" - "But Molly, he is such an IDIOT! I cannot not react to this IDIOT! His presence here negates the whole purpose and mission of this community!" ... i don't remeber what i answered, or whether i answered at all. he was probably right - very silly people damage the platform they are expressing themselves on...

Discrimination against the childless!

Re: uti-puti

oh, then you are fair. my bad....

Re: oh, then you are fair. my bad....

Re: oh, then you are fair. my bad....