Well, I responded to you in your PM because I figured you didn’t want to respond to me here. Now I find that you did answer here because you want to rub my nose in it for everyone to see.
I’m not one of your students Rubystreak, so you don’t have to give me warnings. You’re not really sure I want to get into it with you now and I maybe just better walk away? Why, exactly, is that? Do you have some unrelated fun things to drag in here like keturah or is that just a general warning?
I haven’t read every comment in these 1700+ pages and I’m not about to. I know culcoat has said some really stupid things, but I think she’s a troll yanking everyone’s chains. The more that people respond to her, the more those people say things that make them look as vile as she is appearing.
If you don’t want to get into it with me, best not to quote me directly and make some lame joke about what I said. You don’t need to attack me for me to consider something you say to be wrong. Still, I haven’t been scolded by a teacher since I was in high school so this little tit for tat has been fun.
Actually, I do not think that the word “selfish” applies here. If a decide to have a child and I do that for the simple reason that I love children, selfish seems to be little harsh. Am I also selfish because I buy myself some icecream on a hot summer day? Clearly my decision was not motivated by altruism, but was it selfish? I do not think so.
I PM’ed you well after I responded to you because I was trying to be conciliatory. I guess that was both a mistake and a failure. You want to have it out here? Entertain the masses with yet another bitch fight in this fucking ridiculous thread? Yeah, I guess you do.
And I don’t need to be slapped on the knuckles for making a joke when you’ve decided to take everything said here so damn seriously. Oh noes, everyone is being SO MEAN. This is the Pit. Yes, everyone is being mean. Shocking, that. What is it that you want? Civility? No one is being civil, no, not even you. Thanks for the lesson on being nice. You’d be better at it if you practiced what you preached, though.
I like you (still do despite this meowing and hissing here) and don’t want to get into it with you here, in this fucking stupid thread of all places. I wasn’t threatening you or warning you, but you’re bound and determined to see offense and attack. I don’t get it.
On several occasions, you have responded to me directly, even though I wasn’t talking to you, to take me to task for something I’d said. So, if you leave me alone, I’ll leave you alone. OK?
What you said was laughable. As such, it made a joke of itself. I find your defense of some of the assholes in this thread utterly bizarre. You can make your points about being child free without defending the jackasses in this thread. I’m certainly not defending the people who agree with me who have said obnoxious things. You’ve done PLENTY of scolding yourself in this thread, far, FAR more than I have. I’m in this thread for the laughs at this point. You, apparently, are in here to take everyone to task for being mean to the disabled, and defend the indefensible. Good luck with that.
Oh, and thanks for joining the ranks of jerks who have used my profession to make an unwarranted ad hominem attack. Duly noted. Also ironic as hell considering the amounts of sanctimony you’re doling out here.
If you’re done, I’m done. I’d love not to get into it with you. Like I said, you’re one of the posters here that I like and respect, a lot. This thread is not worth us flaying each other.
Wow, that was uncalled for. What’s a gamour shot? This? It’s not a lazy eye, it’s the work of a disgruntled photography intern that got roped into doing senior portraits. My eyes move together just fine, thank you. Cite.
So was that, bitch.
Actually, I’ve been paid upwards of $30 an hour because I’m such a good babysitter. Would you like to check my references?
Me too.
You are an idiot. People know I hate kids, but they know their kids will be safe with me.
Shithead.
I’ve always wondered this–why would it make a difference if the kid is a family member? There are lots of family members I don’t like, or who other family members don’t like. I’m sure there are some family members that don’t like me. Every family I know operates this way. Is there some wacky rule outside the south saying you have to like people because they are related to you?
My mother hates math and she worked as a bookkeeper for years. I hate math too–but I came out of both my required accounting classes with A’s. You don’t have to like something to be good at it.
The problem is that we’ve turned the word selfish into an insult. It describes the vast majority of human behavior, altruism is incredibly rare, and yet we use it to describe behaviors we don’t approve of. It’s really a meaningless word when it comes right down to it. Working to pay the bills is selfish, giving someone a rose so that you can feel good for making them happy is selfish. Almost everything we ever do is selfish.
I think that the reason selfishness/selflessness comes up because some people say that people who don’t want kids are selfish, while parents are selfless for having and wanting kids. Personally, I think that SOME parents have kids because they are egotistical and want little versions of themselves running around, to carry on the family name, tradition, whatever. Notice I said SOME. I didn’t say ALL.
Yeah. That’s nutty. I could believe that someone would hire a babysitter that openly professed to never want kids of their own. Heck, we used to have one of our friends babysit, and she not only never wanted kids of her own, but said things like, “I would hate being a parent,” and “I’m glad I can leave the kids behind and go home when I’m done babysitting.” But she genuinely enjoyed being around our kids – for short periods of time, and in a babysitter/friendly aunt capacity. If she’d said, “I hate kids but would be willing to babysit yours for a fee” – uh, no thanks.
PS: starwarsfreek, your picture is cute and you do not look like you have a lazy eye. I have no idea what that other guy was going on about.
Right, because I’m so bored and have so little to do that I would make up a bunch of shit to piss off strangers on the internet. I think a big part of the reason they hire me to babysit is when I tell people I hate kids, they don’t believe me. They think I am kidding, or lying, or exaggerating. But let’s look at this logically… if I let the kid starve to death in my care, would I get paid? Nope. Therefore it is in my best interest to take good care of the kid, no matter how I feel about it personally.
ETA: The other possibility is that they don’t care if I stick their infant in the microwave as long as they can go out and have a good time. But I kind of doubt it.
Well, personally speaking, I have no idea how bored you are or how little you have to do. But this seems really implausible. Are we to assume that if your sister wants you to have a relationship with your niece – the one who is barred from ever entering your home and who you have no desire to see or even meet until she is 18, right? – all she has to do is pay you to babysit? Seems bizarre to me. People who feel so strongly about hating kids that they will not even allow them to cross the threshold of their homes typically don’t seek out situations where they are going to be responsible for the care of the little monsters.
You know, this thread is providing a function much like Baywatch used to on television. Baywatch sucked, but at least it collected a bunch of really shitty actors into one place, so you could just flip past it with a simple click – whereas without Baywatch, these shitty actors would be spread out across other, better TV shows. This thread is like that for the SDMB, except instead of collecting shitty actors, it’s collecting crazy people and trolls.
I don’t seek out situations where I’m going to be responsible for kids–I avoid them, remember? But if someone offers to pay me to babysit, I’ll do it, provided the kid is reasonably well behaved and not allergic to peanuts. The last time I babysat was… a little over a year ago. Four year old boy who liked Star Wars, so I let him play with my old action figures. Later he shit his pants, so I didn’t watch him again after that.
Look, you can’t have it both ways. You can’t say you do hate kids, and at the same time try to convince us that you are a good babysitter. This is so ridiculous, you are a real nutcase.
And, when you watch children, they sometimes tend to do things like shit their pants. They are kids, shit happens. And that makes the difference between a good babysitter and a bad one. Just keeping children safe is easy, although even this requires that you don’t just leave them alone. Anyway. A good babysitter understands, copes with the situation, cleans the mess and generally handles unpleasant situations without griping about it.
Today my 9 month old boy vomited his supper all over the place (he is sick). Instead of crying, he smiled at me immediately afterwards, and so I was so proud of him - even when he is sick he is not complicated, always smiling. But that meant that I needed to clean up the mess, which every loving father does without even thinking that this is soooooooooo unpleasant.
So, STFU and don’t tell me that you are a good babysitter. You are not.
Where did I indicate that I did anything other than cope with the situation and clean up the mess? I didn’t gripe to the kid. I didn’t gripe to the parent, I told her next time to send him some extra clothes and when she refused, I told her to get somebody else. What you think about my babysitting skills is irrelevant–I don’t do it often and I’m certainly not going to watch your brat. Nobody cares.