Letters to the Editor
wire0monkey
Published Letters: 173 Editor's Choice: 5
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A laptop of one's own
[Read the article: Go away, can't you see I'm writing?!]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]One of the hardest things that I've had to learn as a mother is to take time for myself, away from the house. If you're in the house, you're trapped in the role of mom. No one leaves you alone. They always need something. It's just a short interruption to ask where their second best jacket is, or could you make a sandwich, or drive them to Jenny's house. It just doesn't work. I love my children, but parenting is a demanding 24/7 experience if allow it to be. You have to create your own space. The kids aren't going to give it to you. (Even as they demand their own space, bless their hearts.)
You need time away from the house and a lap top. A friend who is an author takes her laptop to Starbucks or the library. People don't bother her and she gets her writing done. Trying to write in the house, especially with her son home, is impossible.
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Mmmm....toasty troll meat
[Read the article: Help! I'm an Internet troll!]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]So find a forum where trolling is welcome.
I like Fark.com for pointless flamewars, myself.
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Run!
[Read the article: My husband and I are fighting bitterly over our failing restaurant]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Your husband is borderline violent. He threatened you. Get the hell out of there. Right now. As soon as you can. Don't wait until he actually tries to kill you.
You have another problem besides the potential violence. You need to see a lawyer immediately. If your husband is making false statements to the SBA or other government agency and your name is on the loan papers, you could BOTH be guilty of fraud against the government. It's a felony. How does a felony conviction sound? If you're an accountant, a felony conviction is going to reflect badly on you in your chosen profession, isn't it? How are you going to support yourself and your family if you're a convicted felon? You need to decide how to get out of this situation without damaging your career or drawing a felony charge.
It's not your problem if the effing business fails. He's stepped over the line. That was his choice. It's not your fault that your ex-husband became an an addict/alcoholic and his band failed. That was his choice.
If you feel guilty about it, so what? It's just a feeling. Feelings are information, but we don't have to obey our feelings slavishly. We can still do things that make us scared or make us feel guilty, if it's the best rational decision to make. If the feelings are stopping you from acting, you need to see a therapist to work out those feelings.
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DILFS
[Read the article: My partner is being stalked by a trolling MILF]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]DILF (Dad I'd Like to F**k) I'm sure it has already been coined, but if not, please give proper attribution :-)
No, no, no!
The correct term is DILDO: Dad I'd like to Do
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Teach your parents well...
[Read the article: I'm a doubting teenager]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Dear LW,
Cary's advice is good.
For now... read! Read everything you can get your hands on. Read Christians. Read athiests. (Sam Harris "Letter to a Christian Nation" is a really interesting criticism of Christian reactions to his first book.) Read Catholics. Read C.S. Lewis. Read liberation theology. This seeking is healthy and adult and will keep you sane. Good for you. If you don't want your parents to know what you're reading, don't let them know. Hide your books in your locker at school or under your mattress. You need time to grow and think and explore in silence. If you really need to talk, find some liberal Christian forums or a liberal Christian pastor.
Be kind to your parents, even if you decide they're wrong. They've made the best conclusions about spirituality and religion that they can based on their own lives and experience and education. You may decide that they're wrong. They may tell you that you are wrong. They may yell at you. Even if they seem controlling, please know that they're acting out of love and a desire to protect you and keep you safe from things they perceive to be harmful. How much harm can a parent see than the fear that their child will be damned by God and burn forever in a lake of fire? They love you, though, so be kind and patient with them. If you can talk to them in language that they understand, (ie. emphasizing the kindness and charity and forgiveness messages of the gospels) it might help.
If things get painful with your parents, remember that you're just a year or two or three from getting out of the house. You'll be free to leave your parents house when you turn 18. If you want, you can just walk out the door. It's really not very long to wait.
Good luck. Be safe. Be happy. Be well.
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Anonymous at 1:49 pm
[Read the article: I'm a doubting teenager]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]You are ignoring the human death tolls of progressive movements such as Communism, Stalinism, and Fascism...
Every movement has had its failures and it's brutal despots anxious to use it consolidate power. Get over yourself.
(And before you tell met that Fascism is a conservative movement, let me call "bullshit." Fascism is a conservative social movement married to progressive economic policy and extreme statism.)
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Give me a break
[Read the article: My alcoholic father has a child we never knew about]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Oh, Lordy, the drah-ma!
You have a family that is very, very unhappy. It is breaking up. You may or may not terminate your relationship with your father.
The possibility of a new family appears through a long-lost half sibling. You latch on to it. Maybe this family will be happier, more fun, more loving, less drunk... In your head, it's ideal. You'll dump the current family and join the other family. You and your long-lost half sibling can bond over shared bitterness at the sins of your alcoholic father.
Give me a break. Your half-sibling has parents and a life, and you're not part of it. Sib probably doesn't even think too much about your dad or you. Sib had a father and a mother. Leave them alone.
You have issues, tons of issues. It's not fair to the long-lost half sibling. You should work out your current issues with your father and family before you try to form a relationship with the half-sibling.