Politically Correct Reset Button

I have a theory about the politically correct speech movement? It's a reset button on culture and vernacular. Let me explain.

For hundreds of years, humans have stereotypically judged, segregated, and discriminated against people based on skin color, religion, nationality, gender, and more. Nigger, slut, pussy, fag, jew, jap, camel jockey and dot head are just a few words used to describe people. 

Perhaps we need new words, new stereotypes to exploit. Skin color? Are you still judging people by skin color? Gender? Seriously, get over it. 

What those who are enforcing politically correct speech are saying is this:

Your vocabulary is outdated. It doesn't fit anymore. So we're going to have to wipe the chalkboard, clean the slate. We need to find what else makes us wonderfully different and make words for that. The old system is rusty. 

While we often long for the past and view it with appreciation, we would not give up the technological progress we've made to go back. We're not at home spinning our own thread to make our own clothes. We're not churning our butter and milking our cows. So why would we not also take advantage of cultural and societal advances?

Oh, and for those of you who say that people shouldn't be so sensitive: when you're the butt of the joke, when those names carry the weight of slavery and violence against your family members, then you can be the one to say whether or not it's okay. If  you're white, you don't get to decide that calling blacks, "niggers," is just a joke, as it also conjures up memories of burning crosses and lynchings. If you're a man, when you call someone a bitch or a pussy, don't forget that those words imply that the person referenced is as weak as a woman or as mean as a woman. That the word, "fag," is a reference to wood so worthless it can be burned indiscriminately.

We are smart enough to learn how to make fun of ourselves with better technique. We should not stop laughing at our differences, but we should use our vocabulary with greater care. What is the point of having words if we don't agree on their meaning and origin? When we're all just talking jibberish.

Cousinly Love

Last night, we had one of my nephews overnight for the first time. The kids had a lot of fun playing in the afternoon and evening. They read until around 9:00pm, then it was time for lights out.

JD's bed is a twin-over-full bunk with a trundle, so all three were able to sleep in the room with Bunny on the trundle and nephew on top.

About 30 minutes later, I passed by the room and heard them goofing around. I told them it was time to go to sleep. Almost immediately, I started thinking about that.

This was nephew's first time sleeping over. It's winter break.

Yesterday, we were at a Chanukah party (yes, it ended on the 14th, but sometimes you just can't get everyone together.) It was at a family friend's house and I've known them most of my life so that we are more family than friends. So when an aunt heard that nephew was sleeping over, she reminisced about how she still remembers those times with her cousins so many years ago. That made me remember how I still have memories with my cousins, how those memories are the foundation for our relationships that are still strong today.

A little while later, I heard them again, telling Bunny to be quiet. Going into the room, I told them that, if they wanted to, they could lay in bed with the lights off and talk quietly with a brief explanation of how I still remembered these times from when I was a kid, blah blah blah. I figured they would talk for a while and then pass out.

This morning, Wife sent me a text saying that there were notes left outside our bedroom door and that the kids were up very late. I wondered how she knew that they were up late. It turns out that the notes have the time written on them.

11:21
Bunny is shuving her way through the top bunk.

11:23
Bunny took JD's pencil and is eating it and the eraser and is sticking it at our bodies.

11:25
Bunny is ripping papers and shredding them then throwing them at us.

11:56
Bunny is randomly ripping papers out for no reason. She is also taking all of the covers on the upper bunk.

12:05
Bunny ripped JD's dino mask and is pulling off the mattres cover to "fool" JD.

"'JD's room stinks.' - Written by Bunny" (no time indicated)

Dear Mom & Dad 12-27-15
Mom and just so you know that Bunny was making fun of me and Nephew and lighing [lying] about what she shows and being meen [mean] so would you be kind have a tock [talk] with her.
Senserly, [sincerely] JD (no time indicated)

Apparently, Bunny was being annoying. They're going to remember how much fun they had :)

Laundry Detergent Tip

I got annoyed with liquid laundry detergent collecting and drying in the bottom of the cup.

Solution: put a tiny bit of water into the cup before dispensing. Then, after adding the detergent to the load, put a little more in, swirl it, and add that in, too.

Viola, clean cup.

I do that with fabric softener, too. Especially in the dispenser of my front loading machine, it got really gross. I add in some water and it always comes clean. The machine uses water in the process, so it's not like I'm changing the composition of the fabric softener.