Messages By: specialred

Now wait a minute... here we are, all supposed to be wanting people to be happy with themselves the way they are, despite what outside forces are saying, and you're going to blame models, actresses, etc? 

  

I'm sorry, I don't look like any of those women on tv.  i have massive purple stretch marks from being pregnant, scars all over from always working labor, and lord knows what else "wrong" with me... and you know what?  I DONT CARE.  I wear a bikini to the beach!  I am perfectly comfortable with my body.  It's functional... I can lift over 100 lbs, I can care for my child, clean my house, etc.  and you know what else?  I think I'm damn sexy.  Just the other day, a guy friend of mine came over, and there was a dispute, because he said "you're fat and ugly"... to which I replied... "I'm sorry you feel that way... If you don't like what you see, don't look".   

  

Secondly, what all these women need to understand, is yes, they CAN look like an actress or a model... if they choose to stick to a strict diet, exercise vigorously at least 1 hour every day, and buy all the latest makeup to "hide" their imperfections.  However, what needs to be said, instead of laying the blame on people who are 

• A) naturally thin/muscular/athletic
• B) WORK VERY HARD to attain that look

is to say, quite frankly, "I could look like that... If I wanted to."  The point of it is, you shouldn't want to.  You should want to look like you.   

  

I am so sick of hearing these women blame the media.  Yes, we all KNOW we DON'T look like that.  And for the most part, we don't WANT to look like that.  And sorry, most of the men I know KNOW women don't look like that.  Thanks to Adobe Photoshop and a digital camera, I, too, can airbrush out my stretch marks, zits, lovehandles, etc.  As can my husband, brother-in-laws, and their friends.   

  

I know this has been a rambling post, but my major contention is:  it is all too easy to blame everyone else for your own problems.  We gripe that these men are projecting their insecurities on their wives, yet here we are, projecting OUR insecurities on women we don't even KNOW! 

you know what, I am so sick of cashiers getting such a bad rap.  I'm a cashier.  I'm twenty.  I greatly appreciate it when people use dividers, as do the rest of my cashier comrades, as it makes it quite distinguishable to us where your purchase ends and another begins.  Let me just say, it gets quite mind-numbing to stand at a register for 8-10 hours a day, dealing with some of THE most obnoxious people in society, whose main problem is exactly that:  they think we are stupid.  You know what?  Try being a little bit more considerate of the people who are WAITING on you... its a thankless job, and the majority of us work very hard, and try very hard to be nice and tactful, despite the thousands of rude and hurtful things that are said to us.  This just goes to show you, most people have lost all consideration for other people... the minute you imply that all cashiers are stupid and lazy is the minute you have lost all the respect i may have had for you at any point in time. 

Exactly.  The problem isn't that this country is too "stiff" on sex... take one look at a commercial, a movie, a billboard and a listen to the radio and you'll quickly find that sex is all around us.  I'm young, I'm "cool"... i listen to the "cool" music and watch the "cool" movies... the major plotlines/lyrics revolve around sex. 

  

The problem is that no body seems to be teaching our younger generations to RESPECT themselves, sex, and their bodies, to treat sex with reverence, and to understand the difference between appropriate and inappropriate.  We are a generally open family, albeit our daughter is only 2, I plan to speak openly and honestly with her.  Any question will be answered, and the information I believe is important in her teenage  years (birth control options, std's, pregnancy, the significance of the act itself) will be freely given.   however  it will be done in an age-appropriate manner.  I'm sorry, I'm 20 years old, generally sexually open, and have a kid,  and I would be extremely uncomfortable with ANYONE showing me their sex toys, swings, and personal photos on the internet.  Call me old-fashioned, but I believe those kinds of things should be and STAY in said couple (in this case 3some's) bedroom.   

  

Someone needs to tell this woman, quite frankly, NO ONE cares to hear about your sexcapades.  No one thinks you're cool, liberated, shocking, etc.  No one is impressed by your behavior.  It looks to me as if she is having a "second adolescence".   In fact, most of us feel sorry for your children, who were OBVIOUSLY embarrassed.   

well, lets see... when i do my shopping, i often have my two year old in tow.  and yet, i still manage to get the cart back in the coral, as at work i often have to leave my register to retrieve carts.  it really is quite simple: 

1.  take cart to car.  unload bags into car. 

2.  take cart to coral, toddler still in seat. 

3. place cart in coral, remove toddler from cart. 

4. carry toddler back to car, where bags already await. 

5. drive home. 

  

i mean, it takes an extra two minutes.   

  

the problem is, i work at target.  and i get complaints from people all the time about slow service at the registers.  what these people don't understand, is that when they destroy the store, leave their carts laying all over the place, etc... there simply isn't enough staff to repair the damages.  THEREFORE, guess what?  they pull cashiers.   

  

I started work during the Christmas season.  I can't tell you how many times I got pulled off a register to clean up after negligent guests.  Guess what?  I have gone back into the kid's softlines (I.E. clothing sections) and found what appeared to be an ENTIRE RACK of sweatpants that somehow exploded... there were mounds of pants on the floor, halfway across the section, hanging from other racks...   

People need to understand:  yes, we do anticipate a bit of a mess with people shopping.  However, if you wouldn't leave your own house looking that way, why would you do it here?  It shows complete lack of respect for the people who have to clean up after you, and the other shoppers.  Plus, take into consideration the next time you make a monstrous mess:  there isn't anybody who's "job" it is to clean up after you... ( I am so sick of hearing this; I hear it every day from someone or another... "don't pick that up, someone gets paid to do just that"... no sweetheart, we don't) ...   when there is a huge mess, be it the carts in the parking lot, mysteriously exploding clothing racks, etc, the front end supervisors pull cashiers to help assist the cleanup.. therefore... the longer a line you have to stand in waiting to checkout.   

  

Just another reminder of the various crap that goes on in a store like target or walmart that people want to complain about... 

Yes, I do.  Because when it is raining or snowing, my child is properly dressed for those elements.  Secondly, Maybe it's different where I live, but in almost every store parking lot there is a cart coral on both sides of the parking lane, and they are only spaced about 13 car spots apart... so figure that to be about a 30 foot walk... Please don't imply that I am walking 100 yards to a cart coral.  The absolute farthest I have to walk is about 30 feet... however, by parking in the middle of two corals, I only have to walk about 12 to 15 feet...  Sorry, but 15 feet, properly dressed, is not that horrible. 

  

Secondly, yes, I have done it with more than one child in tow.  As a member of a large household with 5 kids in it, and the only member of such household to be a stay-at-home mother (i stay home to provide child care to my family members who live in said home), I have shopped before with this throng:  two 2 year olds, a four year old, a 6 year old and a 12 year old.  And yet still, I manage to get my cart in the coral! 

  

I firmly believe that these children are being brought up with a good work ethic and a good basic respect for those around them.  We are all healthy, able individuals, and the fact that I have kids with me does not limit or hinder my abilities to properly replace that which I have removed.  It has not once made the children ill or injured, or even moderately cranky, and I am a big stickler for common courtesy in this household.  Although my two year old may not be able to speak spanish or play piano, she is completely well-versed in please, thank you, sorry, and you're welcome, which to me, in this day and age, is much more important.   

  

I plan on raising my child/children the same way everyone in this household was brought up:  If you are capable of cleaning up after yourself, from something as simple as cleaning up toys before moving onto the next activity, down to just putting the cart in the coral that is a mere 10 feet from our car, do it!  There is no room for laziness, inconsiderate or disrespectful behavior in my household.