NationStates Jolt Archive

My mum just called me and told me to take pictures of myself shooting a gun offline, as she was afraid I might be questioned or looked at with suspicion after the Va. Tech. incident. Is she being irrational? I think so, but I obeyed her, as she is my mum.

Do you have irrational parent stories?

parent's are totally rational all the time, it's the kids who are too stupid to understand [/parent defense]

parent's are totally rational all the time, it's the kids who are too stupid to understand [/parent defense]

hah! :p I think that might be true much of the time :p

My mum just called me and told me to take pictures of myself shooting a gun offline, as she was afraid I might be questioned or looked at with suspicion after the Va. Tech. incident. Is she being irrational? I think so, but I obeyed her, as she is my mum.

Do you have irrational parent stories?


Heh that does sound quite irrational. I'm gonna take the Smunkee strance here though and side with the parents. We never stop being parents, we can't help it, and fear for the safty of our children will sometimes make us irrational.

On with the goss though.

A politician once woke my slummbering, drunken Dad form his doze on the sofa. He was canversing for me dads vote(silly man) he happend to be from the other party, and my dad chased him down the road in nowt but his pants(underware) and vest(string) waving a teddy bear up high whislt shouting 'Kiss my fuckin' teddy bear'

Irrational as hell, but very very funny!

Well, in this case it was probably a rather rational worry that a rather less rational media/overzealous internet snoops/government would interpret the pictures the wrong way.

The next few weeks are gonna be a tough time for anyone who looks a bit strange or does strange things in the US. And you don't want to necessarily be posing with guns at least for a few days.

Well, in this case it was probably a rather rational worry that a rather less rational media/overzealous internet snoops/government would interpret the pictures the wrong way.

The next few weeks are gonna be a tough time for anyone who looks a bit strange or does strange things in the US. And you don't want to necessarily be posing with guns at least for a few days.

Good point. I'm back in the classroom today, and I have to admit, I'm a little jumpy. It's irrational, I know, but still.

My mother is a drug addict and half the time has no idea who I am. I don't talk to her much anymore, since there's not much point. But I still visit her occasionally.
Some of the things she's done over the years are definitely irrational.

Frankly, I'm surprised most of us make it past 10 given the stupid s**t we do. I'm surprised parents don't keep us under lock and key.

Having said that, Mr. Larkin has a point:

They fuck you up, your mum and dad.
They may not mean to, but they do.
They fill you with the faults they had
And add some extra, just for you.

But they were fucked up in their turn
By fools in old-style hats and coats,
Who half the time were soppy-stern
And half at one another's throats.

Man hands on misery to man.
It deepens like a coastal shelf.
Get out as early as you can,
And don't have any kids yourself.

--Philip Larkin

Good point. I'm back in the classroom today, and I have to admit, I'm a little jumpy. It's irrational, I know, but still.

its not irrational to be paranoid. in truth its irrational to be truly open and expect that nothing bad will ever hapen to you.

A politician once woke my slummbering, drunken Dad form his doze on the sofa. He was canversing for me dads vote(silly man) he happend to be from the other party, and my dad chased him down the road in nowt but his pants(underware) and vest(string) waving a teddy bear up high whislt shouting 'Kiss my fuckin' teddy bear'
That had me crying with laughter (and wheezing a lot...damned cold). :D

It's just the "Kiss my fuckin' teddy bear" that did it for me.

My mum just called me and told me to take pictures of myself shooting a gun offline, as she was afraid I might be questioned or looked at with suspicion after the Va. Tech. incident. Is she being irrational? I think so, but I obeyed her, as she is my mum.

Do you have irrational parent stories?

That's silly, you're atleast 500 miles away from there. That's a solid 10 hour drive if you're a professional driver. Hell it's impossible to look at every person who's got pictures of themselves firing guns.

Your parents are human. Humans are irrational. Therefore...

(Snip Poem)

--Philip Larkin

I like that. Ta :)

That's silly, you're atleast 500 miles away from there. That's a solid 10 hour drive if you're a professional driver. Hell it's impossible to look at every person who's got pictures of themselves firing guns.

Exactly right. And never mind that there simply aren't enough police in the nation to check out every gun owner who has a picture online. This isn't some terrorist attack that's going to inspire a nationwide manhunt - they know who the shooter was, and he's dead. The police have better things to do than to go after random people. So while your mom's fears may be understandable, they are completely irrational.

People, as a rule, tend to worry about the wrong things. For example, you're far more likely to die in an automobile accident than in a plane crash, and yet many, many more people are afraid to fly than are afraid to drive. The psychological factor that seems to be most operative in risk assesment is not the amount of danger, but the amount of control one has over a situation. So, in a car, since you're driving, you have some amount of control - not total, because you can't control the other drivers, but at least you have the perception of being in control of the situation. Whereas in a plane, unless you're the pilot, you have no control over the situation if something goes wrong. So it's the perception of helplessness that makes it so terrifying.

That's probably why so many people are freaked out by this shooting incident. Sure, you're unlikely to be killed by a random gunman, but since it's something you have absolutely no control over, it's more terrifying than something you can control. It's the randomness that freaks people and causes them to overreact.

My mum just called me and told me to take pictures of myself shooting a gun offline, as she was afraid I might be questioned or looked at with suspicion after the Va. Tech. incident. Is she being irrational? I think so, but I obeyed her, as she is my mum.

Do you have irrational parent stories?
I was in school in Boston on 9/11, and my mom called me from home (Minneapolis) frantic with worry that I'd been killed. "Mom, I'm okay, Boston is 45 minutes away from New York if you're lucky with traffic. No, I did not see the buildings fall. No, I didn't see the plane hit the Pentagon. That's in DC, Mom. It's hours from here. I know I'm on the East Coast, but it's a big place."

My mom is a very, very smart lady. She knows her geography. But when something awful happens anywhere near one of her kids, she instantly shifts into UBER PROTECTIVE mode. I love her. :D

Well, I have been directly under fire several times, in events that were openly broadcasted (some even worldwide). I can't tell you how worried my dad was. eventually, I had to turn off my cell phone so I could lay down for a while and continue working. In the end, so much worry only makes you more nervous.

Parents are just as irrational as anyone else, i.e. very irrational.


Most people are :p

What's really bothering me is that people are so concerned now. 30 some odd people died. There are at least a 100,000 times that many people that die from war, starvation, and all kinds of other crap. Why aren't we so in shock about that? Only when something happens in america, do people actually care, and it pisses me off.

Frankly, I'm surprised most of us make it past 10 given the stupid s**t we do. I'm surprised parents don't keep us under lock and key.

Having said that, Mr. Larkin has a point:

They fuck you up, your mum and dad.
They may not mean to, but they do.
They fill you with the faults they had
And add some extra, just for you.

But they were fucked up in their turn
By fools in old-style hats and coats,
Who half the time were soppy-stern
And half at one another's throats.

Man hands on misery to man.
It deepens like a coastal shelf.
Get out as early as you can,
And don't have any kids yourself.

--Philip Larkin

Gotta love Larkin.

On topic - before this latest fiasco - a few weeks back, the high school near me banned the wearing of black to school. No official reasons have been given as far as I know, but the local version (and it is an incestuous little town) is to do with the Trenchcoat Mafia having worn black a lot.

I hate to see what they are going to do, now. Yes - parents can be irrational - especially in mobs.

What's really bothering me is that people are so concerned now. 30 some odd people died. There are at least a 100,000 times that many people that die from war, starvation, and all kinds of other crap. Why aren't we so in shock about that? Only when something happens in america, do people actually care, and it pisses me off.

Only when something happens in America, do american people actually care.

For example, did you hear about the last year Rio de Janeiro riots? they were like this, but extended to an entire city.

I don't mean that what happened in Virginia Tech is not sad, or worrisome. But those things happen everyday too, in other latitudes.

Frankly, I'm surprised most of us make it past 10 given the stupid s**t we do. I'm surprised parents don't keep us under lock and key.

Having said that, Mr. Larkin has a point:

They fuck you up, your mum and dad.
They may not mean to, but they do.
They fill you with the faults they had
And add some extra, just for you.

But they were fucked up in their turn
By fools in old-style hats and coats,
Who half the time were soppy-stern
And half at one another's throats.

Man hands on misery to man.
It deepens like a coastal shelf.
Get out as early as you can,
And don't have any kids yourself.

--Philip Larkin


Ohh yeah!

I'm not much of a one for poetry, and I may have said this before but that's me second fave one after EAP's The Raven.

Only when something happens in American, do american people actually care.

For example, did you hear about the last year Rio de Janeiro riots? they were like this, but extended to an entire city.

I don't mean that what happened in Virginia Tech is not sad, or worrisome. But those things happen everyday too, in other latitudes.

I know, and thats what ticks me off. Some one said to me the other day, loosely quoting a comedian "They're brown people, its okay" and thats the mentality of the US public. -shakes fist angrily-

Gotta love Larkin.

On topic - before this latest fiasco - a few weeks back, the high school near me banned the wearing of black to school. No official reasons have been given as far as I know, but the local version (and it is an incestuous little town) is to do with the Trenchcoat Mafia having worn black a lot.

I hate to see what they are going to do, now. Yes - parents can be irrational - especially in mobs.

Well good, you do know that black is the colour of Satan!:eek:

Only when something happens in America, do american people actually care.

For example, did you hear about the last year Rio de Janeiro riots? they were like this, but extended to an entire city.

I don't mean that what happened in Virginia Tech is not sad, or worrisome. But those things happen everyday too, in other latitudes.

And, when things do get a mention in the US media, it's as if it never happened, anyway.

Back in February, I was listening to the radio. My ears pricked up at mention of a letterbomb in a London office, and I decided to listen to the whole story. But - that was it. That was the entire content.

Then we got a five minute 'on location' report about snow in Minnesota in February. 'Cause that never happens...

I know, and thats what ticks me off. Some one said to me the other day, loosely quoting a comedian "They're brown people, its okay" and thats the mentality of the US public. -shakes fist angrily-

Isn't America full of brown people too? Aren't you "multiethnic", the "Land of Freedom and diversity" and all that stuff?

Well good, you do know that black is the colour of Satan!:eek:

Unfortunately, in this part of Georgia - that's just as likely to be the reason.

:(

There is a kind of movement in places about needing to get back to roots. Get back to small-town America, and the 'old' values.

Let me tell you... small town America sucks ass.

My mum just called me and told me to take pictures of myself shooting a gun offline, as she was afraid I might be questioned or looked at with suspicion after the Va. Tech. incident. Is she being irrational? I think so, but I obeyed her, as she is my mum.

Do you have irrational parent stories?

I have irrational people stories. Some people think that because I own and carry a gun all the time, that I'm somehow waiting to murder people.

My mum just called me and told me to take pictures of myself shooting a gun offline, as she was afraid I might be questioned or looked at with suspicion after the Va. Tech. incident. Is she being irrational? I think so, but I obeyed her, as she is my mum.

Do you have irrational parent stories?

You have to understand that some of our strongest instincts are our parental instincts...they tend to rule our actions far more than other instincts. As such, parents can often be quite irrational.

Unfortunately, in this part of Georgia - that's just as likely to be the reason.

:(

There is a kind of movement in places about needing to get back to roots. Get back to small-town America, and the 'old' values.

Let me tell you... small town America sucks ass.

There are things that suck about it, sure. But you didn't have people running around school whacking people in small town America.

Only when something happens in America, do american people actually care.

For example, did you hear about the last year Rio de Janeiro riots? they were like this, but extended to an entire city.

I don't mean that what happened in Virginia Tech is not sad, or worrisome. But those things happen everyday too, in other latitudes.

Don't let people in America know that it happens elsewhere. And don't contradict the official line that violent gun crime only occurs in America.

[/sarcasm]

Isn't America full of brown people too? Aren't you "multiethnic", the "Land of Freedom and diversity" and all that stuff?

hah, only in saying, not in practice. If you want proof of America's so called love of brown people, look at the immigration issue, or any issue raised about Arabs after 9-11

There are things that suck about it, sure. But you didn't have people running around school whacking people in small town America.

Heheh please all of this talk about whacking on top of all this talk of arse sucking!:eek:

There are things that suck about it, sure. But you didn't have people running around school whacking people in small town America.

You don't have people running around school whacking people in most of non-small-town America either.

What you do have in small town America, is institutionalised discrimination and even persecution based on race, religion, gender orientation, sex - couple with the sort of old-boy-network mentality protectionism that keeps such things quiet.

It's not the parents who are irrational, it's the internet that's irrational and the current administration that's irrational. Anything on the internet is subject to any type of misinterpretation. Firing a gun on the internet opens the door to all types of theories by people from the top to the bottom. People today are so paranoid about safety that anything that the most paranoid person sees as unsafe is subject to official scrutiny.

I'm not saying this is the way it should be. It is simply the way it is.

Pull the pictures and be extremely careful what you put on the internet. What seems rational to the normal person is subject to review by the irrational on the internet.

Parents are normally older and wiser. Youth are normally young and stupid. Don't worry, in 20 years you will grow out of it.

Humans are pack animals like wolves. What happens to your pack is most important.


Well, I am the exception then. I care more what happens worldwide, than what happens in my home town.

What's really bothering me is that people are so concerned now. 30 some odd people died. There are at least a 100,000 times that many people that die from war, starvation, and all kinds of other crap. Why aren't we so in shock about that? Only when something happens in america, do people actually care, and it pisses me off.

Humans are pack animals like wolves. What happens to your pack is most important.

My mum just called me and told me to take pictures of myself shooting a gun offline, as she was afraid I might be questioned or looked at with suspicion after the Va. Tech. incident. Is she being irrational? I think so, but I obeyed her, as she is my mum.

Do you have irrational parent stories?

Sure I got a few...

Like this one time, I cut my knee coming out of the pool and my dad thought I should go to the hospital to get stitches when all I needed was to apply pressure and let it clot. The stupid part was it had clotted but he removed the gauze he had been using to apply pressure to my knee and it started to bleed again...

Or when he first found out I had a kidney disease, which is under control but I'm getting new meds now to shut it down, the way he had explained it to my mother made it sound like I was going to die.

There's a new wave... I hope it takes off. There are some of us, dotted around the world, that consider our pack to be one unlimited by literal geography, skin tone, individual politics or religions, or any other man made border.

Maybe one day mainstream America will join us, and we'll all be citizens of the world.

Maybe you'll get other people like radical Islamists to join you when pigs fly.

Humans are pack animals like wolves. What happens to your pack is most important.

There's a new wave... I hope it takes off. There are some of us, dotted around the world, that consider our pack to be one unlimited by literal geography, skin tone, individual politics or religions, or any other man made border.

Maybe one day mainstream America will join us, and we'll all be citizens of the world.

theres going to be a period of time when everyone is going to lash out against anything that resembles a gun or simulates shooting things. i know the gaming community is going to hear another "this could all be solved if we banned violent video games" arguement. as if people didnt commit any crime before mario was jumping on goombas or before those damn pong paddles were throwing a ball at each other.

what game will hillary attack now after this incident.

There's a new wave... I hope it takes off. There are some of us, dotted around the world, that consider our pack to be one unlimited by literal geography, skin tone, individual politics or religions, or any other man made border.

Maybe one day mainstream America will join us, and we'll all be citizens of the world.

Thats too liberal for america to do! :p

theres going to be a period of time when everyone is going to lash out against anything that resembles a gun or simulates shooting things. i know the gaming community is going to hear another "this could all be solved if we banned violent video games" arguement. as if people didnt commit any crime before mario was jumping on goombas or before those damn pong paddles were throwing a ball at each other.
QFTMFTM!


what game will hillary attack now after this incident.
My guess is that it will be the same ol same ol- GTA or something.

My mum just called me and told me to take pictures of myself shooting a gun offline, as she was afraid I might be questioned or looked at with suspicion after the Va. Tech. incident. Is she being irrational? I think so, but I obeyed her, as she is my mum.

Do you have irrational parent stories?

Am I the only one who doesn't get this at all?

I mean, what does taking pictures of yourself firing a gun have to do with being questioned or regarded suspiciously?

Am I the only one who doesn't get this at all?

I mean, what does taking pictures of yourself firing a gun have to do with being questioned or regarded suspiciously?

Evidently firing a gun and being a college student= crazy psychotic rampage.

Holy Shit, maybe my parents were on to something.

I have a cousin that works for the FBI, and out of no where he gets my MSN and is all asking me questions...WTF!

Evidently firing a gun and being a college student= crazy psychotic rampage.

that's why its called irrational ;)

Am I the only one who doesn't get this at all?

I mean, what does taking pictures of yourself firing a gun have to do with being questioned or regarded suspiciously?

Took me ages too; he means he had pictures of him firing a gun on the internet, and now he's taken them off.

Not that his mum asked him to take pictures of himself shooting whilst offline :D

My mum just called me and told me to take pictures of myself shooting a gun offline, as she was afraid I might be questioned or looked at with suspicion after the Va. Tech. incident. Is she being irrational? I think so, but I obeyed her, as she is my mum.

Do you have irrational parent stories?

two points.

1) when it comes to their children, yes, parents can seem irrational. but you know they only have your best interest in heart... or most do anyway.

2) I would be tickled pink that my parents, especially my mother, not only visits my site, but does so enough to know what content you have.

Love your parents and be patient with them, for one day, you may be a parent yourself, and the same question you ask now, will be the same question your children will be asking their friends. ;)

My mum just called me and told me to take pictures of myself shooting a gun offline, as she was afraid I might be questioned or looked at with suspicion after the Va. Tech. incident. Is she being irrational? I think so, but I obeyed her, as she is my mum.

Do you have irrational parent stories?

a few days after columbine my son was almost suspended from school (8th grade) because he pointed a pen at another kid and said BANG.

shes not being irrational; she is being over protective.

Aristotle said 3000 years ago (more or less for all you nit pickers) that humans make decisions based on emotion not logic. Humans like to think they are logical so you need to throw in a little logic, but in the end emotion will win the argument.

People haven't changed. Do something that has the potential to inflict emotion and you will get an emotional response. Guns do that.

In a smaller setting where you know the emotions of the people observing, a picture of a gun is irrelevant. On the internet, you need only one in tens of thousands to get emotional and you have problems.

Do you have irrational parent stories?

I have many stories where they've been totally irrational but usually they mean well but just have a completelly stupid approach so it ends up beeing contraproductive.

Parents are always irrational, it's what they are good at. Sometimes as a child you can accept the odd irrational decision but what cheeses me off is when parents never give you a reason why they made that desicion. That classic answer of "because i said so" really does not do it for me. If parents can't give a proper reason for you to do/not do something then i would class that as being irrational. But as parents they will always have their reasons like:

To protect you

For your own good

Not to make the same mistakes as i did and so on

I understand they dont want us to do anything bad but if we dont make any mistakes in life we wont learn anything...

I'm pretty sure my mother smokes crack.

Irrational behavior is driven by passion. Your mom just wuvs you. Awww :D

Do you have irrational parent stories?

My mom used to hit me with her crutch for little/no reason after her car accident. Say I'd walk in front of the TV she'd swing wildly to get me out of the way. I know shattering your ankle hurts, but seesh :(

What's really bothering me is that people are so concerned now. 30 some odd people died. There are at least a 100,000 times that many people that die from war, starvation, and all kinds of other crap. Why aren't we so in shock about that? Only when something happens in america, do people actually care, and it pisses me off.

Well, it's worthwhile to make a distinction between paying particular attention to one event over others and caring more about that event than others. I think it is exactly as horrible when 33 people are killed in the most dangerous parts of Baghdad as when 33 people are killed in an American university, but the latter is a great deal more shocking. It's also a great deal easier to identify with personally, and to think, "In a different year, at a different school, that could very well have been me" - which is bound to create a more visceral and immediate emotional response.

Equally a valid question is, why are kids so stupid?

It's nature.

Well, parents are irrational because actually wanting to parent is an irrational act.

Really, only the completely nutty would want to look after the little kneebiters.

Well, parents are irrational because actually wanting to parent is an irrational act.

Really, only the completely nutty would want to look after the little kneebiters.

I claim temporary insanity.

I claim temporary insanity.

S'alright. We all got to get a little unbalanced once in a while. Having kids usually starts with losing your balance in the first place.

(Unless you're a really balanced gymnast or contortionist.)

parent's are totally rational all the time, it's the kids who are too stupid to understand [/parent defense]

Bias.


Uh...mom's are generally overprotective and paranoid.

What's really bothering me is that people are so concerned now. 30 some odd people died. There are at least a 100,000 times that many people that die from war, starvation, and all kinds of other crap. Why aren't we so in shock about that? Only when something happens in america, do people actually care, and it pisses me off.That's not always the case--we in the US got lots of coverage on that school in/near Russia (I tend to forget names of places and people) where terrorists took it over and hundreds of people ended up dead. And when that Russian sub sank with crew aboard, we not only knew the story, but heard all the normal hand-wringing about the bureucratic fubarrage that allowed it to happen.

The key isn't just whether something's a tragedy. It's whether it's a shocking tragedy. War, famine, and natural disasters are all "normal" causes of death. Some crazed idiot (or idiots, in prior cases) going into a school and shooting it up in an otherwise-peaceful area is NOT normal, and therefore gets more notice.