Sights that depress or creep you out

In My Humble Opinion
21

Way back, I used to work in a charity thrift store. Every day I would go through a big bin of clothes, hang them on rolling racks, to prep for being put on the store racks. This in itself would depress and creep me out; “where has my life gone… I score 165 on an I.Q. test when I’m twelve, and by the age of twenty-three, I’m working in a frigging thrift store?!?”

But one thing that was really creepy and depressing: I was going through the childrens’ clothes one day, and came across a particularly strange little article. Couldn’t figure out for the life of me what it was, until I got it on a hanger: it was a pair of racy thong underwear, about the size that would fit on an 8 year old. This just distressed me to no end. I wound up throwing them away because I couldn’t bear the thought of them out in the store, for sale to some pervert.

22

Crown Prince - it’s pretty scary, isn’t it, what some parents allow their children to wear/buy for their children. It’s sick, and it’s creepy.

The thing that depressed me the most was something that happened to my son - and it’s really not appopriate for this thread I suppose, so I’ll pass. Sorry to hijack…

23

This website creeps me out.

I was in Las Vegas recently and the mall at MGM Grand has a photo-booth-thing where you can get your face inserted into a stock photo. I was waiting for Math Geek to meet me, so I watched for a little while. What depressed me was this beautiful (slightly overweight) Hispanic girl, about 12 years old, trying on pictures of skinny blondes and redheads. I just know that when she’s older she won’t realise how pretty she really is. I wanted to go over and give her a hug and a pep talk, but that would probably have creeped out the other people there.

24

Barbra Streisand. Enough said.

25

I get creeped out whenever I see a little girl in a pink dress and patent leather shoes, standing motionless, smiling, holding a red balloon-

on the streets of Boston, alone at 4:00 am.

God, i hate that.

26

Turp, that’s creepy!!! Hehe.

Why do I suddenly feel like singing “Eleanor Rigby”?

Eleanor Rigby picks up the rice in a church where a wedding has been, lives in a dream. Waits at the window, wearing the face that she keeps in a jar by the door, who is it for?

All the lonely people, where do they all come from? All the lonely people, where do they all belong?

Father McKenzie writing the words of a sermon that no one will hear, no one comes neat. Look at him working, darning his socks in the night where there’s nobody there, what does he care?

…

Eleanor Rigby died in the church and was buried along with her name, nobody came. Father McKenzie wiping the dirt from his hands as he walks from the grave, no one was saved…

Man, that song gets me.

Also dogs or cats walking all alone down the road. Where are they going and why aren’t they somewhere nice and safe? Even worse when it’s raining.

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** screech-owl, ** your disliking about the abandoned toys or a child’s shoe reminded me of what got me past shock and into crying when the Murrah building was blown up, children’s little shoes.

** shimmery ** someone else who doesn’t like the circus?? We should start a club, I hate seeing the animal shows, the lion tamers?? Someone should hit THEM with a whip and call it the lion tamers being tamed show.

** andygirl ** the picture both you and ** Sua Na ** paint of how often young girls think of themselves as less than they should, and the future that it holds with the self hate is so depressing!

** ChromiumGrin, [braces??] ** what struck me with yours was the church being turned into something run down and second hand. It seems like I’ve been seeing a lot of that lately. The church I was married in is a police substation, overgrown with tall grass and weeds.

** Missy2U, ** hey hon, if it happened to your son and was depressing and saddened you, this IS the right thread!

** Guinastasia ** you know with the pregnancy test that you sold to the young girl, I couldn’t help but wonder about the tie in with what got to Sua Na and andygirl, young girls with lowered self image stooping to be with anyone who seems to care.

** DigitalMuse, ** My oldest son and I had a project this summer while he was home, reading classics that we hadn’t read yet, and ‘Brave New World’ was one that he took with him back to school before I read it. But, what I can’t help but hope is, that people DO still care about sad, and depressing things, and people. THAT is still a hopeful image to me.

Ya’ll have touched me with what you’ve seen and shared, and it says a lot about your sense of compassion for those who are poor, old and alone, or feeling less than how they should. YOU lift my heart.

28

::wipes tears::
Chromium, these are beautifully rendered images…moving and sadly real. Bless you for your insight and your wonderfully crafted words.

29

Well, Anti P, my son spent his first seven years in the same neighborhood. That’s where all his friends were, his school buddies, etc. Unfortunately, we were forced to move because the owner had sold the place. We moved to a house to rent in another town, fairly far away. But the place was nicer, it was larger, and it was (believe it or not) cheaper. He started third grade in that town, and it was the first time he had been the “new kid” in school. To top it off, he started a week after everyone else did, and we were a minority in that neighborhood.

He came home from school that first day in tears. Some of the kids were bullies to him because he was new, thin, wore glasses, and was white. It was his first experience not fitting in, and being the victim all because of his appearance. He was brand new in the neighborhood, thought he’d never make any friends, and was planning to run away. He said he hated it there, and I couldn’t comfort him. It makes me cry right now thinking about how hurt he was…I convinced him to return to school, that it would get better, but it was hard. Every afternoon there were tears - they called him ugly, four eyes, you name it, he heard it. I still cry thinking of how sad he was - how low he was feeling, and the beating his self esteem was taking. I tried to help him as best as I could, but that was probably the hardest time of his life.

Well, later that week, two little boys from up the street came by and wanted to play. Teej asked them why they would want to play with HIM? Everyone hated him. They told him to just ignore those jerks from school - everyone in the class hated them because they were mean to everyone. He ended up being best friends with these two boys, hanging out together all year, playing baseball, doing kid stuff. He got straight A’s all year in school, and made some lasting friends. Unfortunately, that house was sold after that year, and we moved back to our old town - but not our old neighborhood.

He was the new guy again two years ago - same School District from our old neighborhood, but a different school. He was scared that he’d be treated the same way again, but we gave him pep talk after pep talk - it helped he would know SOME of the kids - and after a rocky start (it’s always hard for the new kid) he’s doing great! Friends in the neighborhood, doing well in school. And - my son, and yes, this is making me cry too, decided HE was going to be the kid that would make the new kids feel welcome because he didn’t want anyone else to have to feel as bad as he did. Although fighting isn’t right, he’s already been in trouble once for standing up to a bully who was picking on a new kid - and you know what? I’m DAMNED proud of him.

So, sorry to ramble, but that is what depresses me the most - my child feeling hurt is WAY no. 1, and prejudice and cruelty and the spreading of hate are a really, really close second.

I love my son like nothing else in the world - I think he’s the BEST.

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** Missy2U, ** I hope you print this part out, and show your wonderful son what you’ve written about him, it would have thrilled me to no end if my mom had felt this way about ME! You have a right to be proud of such a compassionate and caring boy.