# A response to Scylla that I can't make in MPSIMS **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 20, 2019, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-response-to-scylla-that-i-cant-make-in-mpsims/838964 "2019-08-20T21:41:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2019, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-response-to-scylla-that-i-cant-make-in-mpsims/838964/41 "2019-08-20T23:46:14Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > I’m going to go out on a limb and guess you’ve never had children, or the memory of shopping with them when they were toddlers is a distant memory viewable only through rose-colored glasses. Because you are absolutely ignorant of what it’s like and the level of control you have over them. (On preview, I see you think being an uncle somehow taught you everything. Uhh, right.) I will freely confess that the toddler I took shopping was a goddamned _angel_. It was surreal. She was, like, ‘sit nicely and quietly in restaurants while we ate and chatted’ angelic. She was quite literally _strangers commenting on how angelic she was_ angelic. She was, however, capable of having meltdowns at times. As I wasn’t the child’s biological parent (or perhaps because I’m a sociopath) I maintained the emotional detachment not to be conned, and to react accordingly. When she saw I wasn’t conned, she stopped having meltdowns, at least around me. I will note that from the tale, the mom character could very easily be characterized as a woman following the exact same philosophy (though her allowing the kid to abscond with the lunchbox is a strike against this). Not dignifying the meltdown with a response is one approach to it - one I’ve used myself (though not in public). It’s her lack of reaction when the kid starts wandering off and accosting strange men that casts doubt on that characterization. And speaking of characterization, it’s interesting that her response to **Scylla** ’s 'No" and her child’s resultant meltdown is described as being so calm - so calm as to make the resulting snark seem uncalled for. I get that the tale is being described in a self-depreciating manner, but from an “it’s fiction, of course” perspective, it’s an interesting narrative choice. > [@TroutMan](#): > > He purposely antagonized a 4-year old. Not some adult who should know better, _a 4-year old_. Meh, the kid (allegedly) started it, and it wasn’t _his_ 4-year old. Honestly if I was in this situation, I wouldn’t bust out “the face”, but my response wouldn’t be that of a caring parent, either. More of the “Get away from me, you little brat. Go bug your mother.” sort of thing. I may have helped raise a toddler, but all toddlers everywhere are not my problem. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2019, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-response-to-scylla-that-i-cant-make-in-mpsims/838964/42 "2019-08-20T23:48:25Z")
“The Horror of Blimps” it ain’t. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2019, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-response-to-scylla-that-i-cant-make-in-mpsims/838964/43 "2019-08-20T23:57:35Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > “The Horror of Blimps” it ain’t. \ ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2019, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-response-to-scylla-that-i-cant-make-in-mpsims/838964/44 "2019-08-20T23:57:49Z")
Jesus, **Left Hand** , it was Target! You are a Bureau of Mis-Information! ---
**Author:** ![tricoteuse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tricoteuse/32/4334_2.png) [@tricoteuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tricoteuse)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2019, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-response-to-scylla-that-i-cant-make-in-mpsims/838964/45 "2019-08-21T00:01:10Z")
> [@begbert2](#): > > The difference here is that when he _didn’t_ get your praise, he responded in a graceful, calm, and witty way. He did? > [@](#): > > You, on the other hand, came in here and shat your pants. No, I came here because I wanted to tell him to fuck off but I can’t do that in MPSIMS without getting warned. > [@](#): > > As the forum intends for you to do, of course, but you can’t say you want me to be _impressed_. Ego much? If you’re feeling left out, I’ll tell you to fuck off, too. So fuck off. > [@](#): > > Our Hero repeats his “No.” The kid repeats his (faux) meltdown. Our Hero doesn’t stick around to see if the mom wants to play the repeat game too. In other words he wants to dish it out but not take it. What a guy. ---
**Author:** ![tricoteuse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tricoteuse/32/4334_2.png) [@tricoteuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tricoteuse)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2019, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-response-to-scylla-that-i-cant-make-in-mpsims/838964/46 "2019-08-21T00:03:37Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > “The Horror of Blimps” it ain’t. 😕 I’m guessing that has something to do with when the blimps crashed in PA a few years ago? ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2019, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-response-to-scylla-that-i-cant-make-in-mpsims/838964/47 "2019-08-21T00:08:42Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > Jesus, **Left Hand** , it was Target! You are a Bureau of Mis-Information! oh shit. > [@begbert2](#): > > I will freely confess that the toddler I took shopping was a goddamned _angel_. It was surreal. She was, like, ‘sit nicely and quietly in restaurants while we ate and chatted’ angelic. She was quite literally _strangers commenting on how angelic she was_ angelic. > > She was, however, capable of having meltdowns at times. As I wasn’t the child’s biological parent (or perhaps because I’m a sociopath) I maintained the emotional detachment not to be conned, and to react accordingly. When she saw I wasn’t conned, she stopped having meltdowns, at least around me. God, you’re dumb about kids. How often did you take her shopping? Did you do it when you were exhausted? Were you her normal caretaker for like months at a time, so that she was used to you and didn’t see being around you as something even slightly out of the ordinary? Kids don’t con. Of course they manipulate, but they do it because it’s just about the only control they have over the world: there’s nothing dishonest or underhanded or unethical about a kid exercising the only control they have. Your smug self-evaluation about how you were detached enough not to be conned is somewhere between laughable and tragic. You don’t know shit about kids. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2019, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-response-to-scylla-that-i-cant-make-in-mpsims/838964/48 "2019-08-21T00:11:45Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Summary for those who haven’t read the linked story: > > Five year old is at the end of their rope, on the edge of a meltdown, fixates on something, and can’t regulate emotions. > > Mom is desperately trying to get weekly shopping done, staying in budget, while corralling two children b/c she doesn’t have access to childcare so she can get shopping done. > > Pitiful fucker is proud of himself for making the five-year-old melt down at Walmart. I’d be more sympathetic to the idea that the mom was over-stressed and tired if she hadn’t been able to muster the energy to castigate **Scylla** for saying “no” to her kid. She can lecture a stranger about “appropriate” behavior, but not her own kid? ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2019, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-response-to-scylla-that-i-cant-make-in-mpsims/838964/49 "2019-08-21T00:12:42Z")
I laughed. I thought it was funny, whether it was true or not. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2019, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-response-to-scylla-that-i-cant-make-in-mpsims/838964/50 "2019-08-21T00:13:24Z")
> [@tricoteuse](#): > > 😕 > > I’m guessing that has something to do with when the blimps crashed in PA a few years ago? [Your guess is incorrect.](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=160851) ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2019, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-response-to-scylla-that-i-cant-make-in-mpsims/838964/51 "2019-08-21T00:16:37Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > I’d be more sympathetic to the idea that the mom was over-stressed and tired if she hadn’t been able to muster the energy to castigate **Scylla** for saying “no” to her kid. She can lecture a stranger about “appropriate” behavior, but not her own kid? No matter how exhausted I am, if I see a grown-ass man getting his jollies by making my child cry, I’m gonna scrape up a little energy. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2019, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-response-to-scylla-that-i-cant-make-in-mpsims/838964/52 "2019-08-21T00:18:02Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > No matter how exhausted I am, if I see a grown-ass man getting his jollies by making my child cry, I’m gonna scrape up a little energy. He told the kid “no.” If being told “no” is enough to make your kid cry, that’s more on you than on the person talking to your kid. ---
**Author:** ![HelenGawn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a88e4f/32.png) [@HelenGawn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HelenGawn)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2019, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-response-to-scylla-that-i-cant-make-in-mpsims/838964/53 "2019-08-21T00:21:18Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > I agree 100%. What a dipshit. > > What kind of man acts like a tough guy to a child and his mother (no matter how they are behaving) then runs to the interwebs to brag about it? > mmm MAGAman! ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2019, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-response-to-scylla-that-i-cant-make-in-mpsims/838964/54 "2019-08-21T00:23:02Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > He told the kid “no.” If being told “no” is enough to make your kid cry, that’s more on you than on the person talking to your kid. He didn’t “tell the kid no.” He stopped, crouched down to eye level, sneered in the kid’s face, and said, “no!” sharply. I could say, “Doodlebug!” to a kid with this body language/tone of voice and make a kid cry, if they’re already on the edge. You could too. It’s not about the word. ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2019, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-response-to-scylla-that-i-cant-make-in-mpsims/838964/55 "2019-08-21T00:24:18Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > He told the kid “no.” If being told “no” is enough to make your kid cry, that’s more on you than on the person talking to your kid. Did you read his OP? This is what (he said he) did: > [@Scylla](#): > > So… I look down at the kid, curl my lip and sneer… > > It’s important here to discuss this curled lip and sneer in detail. It is literally a gift from God and a terrible terrible burden thrust upon me. I have a face capable of an expression that instantaneously engenders hatred. Remember that kid in the Maga hat? My sneer is at least ten times more punchable. It contains privilege, indifference, smug contempt, disdain. It’s undeserving insouciance makes Chevy Chase’s mugging look earnest and sincere. I can instantly start a fight just by flashing it at the wrong person. My wife has threatened to fucking kill me if I ever look at her like that. I would get sent to my room or punished as a child just for giving my parents this look. It is the nuclear bomb of facial expressions, and I usually keep it well away from sight. > > But, at this moment nobody can see me but the kid. I reveal the mask of my curled lip sneer at him and hit him with about 45 megawatts of smug contempt (or maybe that look is the real me and the mask is what I show in public. It’s hard to tell.) > > I lean down, look at the kid who has stopped screaming in sudden shock and I sharply say “No!” Loudly but firmly. A grown man going out of his way to intimidate a small child deserves a tongue lashing. It doesn’t matter if he was justified in saying no. The “no” is not the problem here; it’s all this other shit. ---
**Author:** ![tricoteuse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tricoteuse/32/4334_2.png) [@tricoteuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tricoteuse)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2019, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-response-to-scylla-that-i-cant-make-in-mpsims/838964/56 "2019-08-21T00:25:24Z")
No one’s saying she is mother of the year, but she politely (as per Scylla) told him not to talk to her children that way. She didn’t give him a Martin Shkreli sneer and shout at him. You can’t reason with a child who is about to go full Fukushima, or at least I never could. About all I could do with mine was to get them out of the situation as soon as possible and discuss how nice people act in a store or wherever after they’d calmed down. ---
**Author:** ![tricoteuse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tricoteuse/32/4334_2.png) [@tricoteuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tricoteuse)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2019, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-response-to-scylla-that-i-cant-make-in-mpsims/838964/57 "2019-08-21T00:29:39Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > [Your guess is incorrect.](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=160851) That was kind of funny. ---
**Author:** ![HelenGawn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a88e4f/32.png) [@HelenGawn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HelenGawn)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2019, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-response-to-scylla-that-i-cant-make-in-mpsims/838964/58 "2019-08-21T00:31:55Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > He’s an ass-nugget who made up 95% of that story just so he could get in the creative writing mood. > > That is all. That’s worse. He’s like an evil, petty Walter Mitty. A Walter Petty, if you will. (Apologies to Richard and Tom.) ---
**Author:** ![HelenGawn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a88e4f/32.png) [@HelenGawn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HelenGawn)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2019, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-response-to-scylla-that-i-cant-make-in-mpsims/838964/59 "2019-08-21T00:32:59Z")
> [@tricoteuse](#): > > That was kind of funny. Ah, the good old days, when Scylla was a truly entertaining non-douche. ---
**Author:** ![kayT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayt/32/3633_2.png) [@kayT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayT)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2019, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-response-to-scylla-that-i-cant-make-in-mpsims/838964/60 "2019-08-21T00:33:54Z")
> [@Knowed\_Out](#): > > I laughed. I thought it was funny, whether it was true or not. Good to know there are still some folks with a sense of humor on the dope. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-response-to-scylla-that-i-cant-make-in-mpsims/838964.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-response-to-scylla-that-i-cant-make-in-mpsims/838964.md?page=4)