I never want to hear that again!

I never want to hear someone say I'm messing my kids up by homeschooling them. They are far more balanced than any other children I know, they get tons of interaction with their peers, as well as the adult world. They know more about life, love, and respect than most adults I know. They are each exploring their unique personalities, and learning who they are and who they want to become FAR before they turn 18. This really crawls under my skin. I never want to hear someone say I am just another stay at home mom in college who will waste her degree on house work and child rearing. I am in school with a purpose and a goal. And hey, even if it doesn't land me my dream job, the course I'm studying will help me teach my children and assist those I care about. Thanks Tee, that felt good to get off of my chest!!

i never want to hear that im less of a woman because i choose to tend my family rather than toss my children into daycare and chase the almighty dollar. i dont sit around on my lazy a55 watching soap operas and gossipping on the telephone all day long. i have no desire to burn my bra in effigy, scream about the evils of mens oppression of my gender, or abandon the chldren i wanted to bring into this world for some societal standard of being "Super Woman". my day begins at 7am, after the flurry of readying said child for the bus and send her off to school, i go to WORK, my kitchen is cleaned up, animals are fed and appeased, laundry is begun, and another room of this house is started in on. walls and floors stripped, painting, edging, refinishing, furniture moving etc etc.. and thats in addition to the intermittant run up and down two flights of stairs inbetween loads of laundry, to wash, dry, fold, iron, hang, and put away. bills are paid, floors are washed, carpets are vacumed and bathrooms scrubbed. windows are washed, stuff is dusted, and organized. and then, weather permitting, i work outside in the yard as well. brush is cleared, wood is split and stacked, lawns are manicured, flowers are weeded, planted, tended. im just as handy with a chainsaw and a can of gas/oil mix as i am with a needle and thread and a spatula. im well read, well educated, highly intelligent and adeptly skilled.. and i dont need nor WANT to live up to the expectations of others who seem to think i need to DO more to be thought of as worthy and not "JUST A HOUSEWIFE" i never want to hear that because i dont follow the bibles teachings that im going to burn for all eternity in a fiery pit made just for sinners like me. that im evil for following the Old Ways. MY Gods are just as dear to me as yers are to you, and i wont turn my back on Them due to fear tactics and threats from the holier than thou sect of self righteous hypocrits that cant even be bothered to practice that which they preach. being a heathen isnt a hobby that i DO when it is convenient or i might gain something from it. it is simply who i am at the core of myself 24 hours a day 7 days a week. i respect life and the Earth we live on, i do not seek vengeance or harm others for my own amusements or benefit, and i teach my children the same ideals of honesty honor ethics and respect. i spend my free time helping others as much as i possibly can with what im given and do not seek accolades or recognition for it. if this be "evil" so be it..

This i a little different for me because I usually just dismiss any idiot that thinks he/ she has the right to demean anything about me or others that are different than them. I always thought that they have the right to be as stupid as they want to be. But here it goes. I am Jewish and I think that anyone who thinks that just because I am not a Christian I am going to hell or I am a candidate for " saving". They don't get that you can believe that Jesus did Everything He did and is/was who He say He is/was but Still don't want to follow His teachings. If I tried I would lose my essence. To be a true Christian I would have to love my enemies I will Never be able to do that. If that means I am going to hell so be it. I would rather go to hell for living the life I want than be " saved " and Never live my own life. Another thing that p*sses my off is when people think that being gay is a choice too.I am not gay but I am for full gay rights. Being gay isn't a sin or a crime . It is just a Slight difference.That's all.I always wish that all of those homophobic people out there find out that their favorite family member is gay. That is the perfect revenge.See I told you I couldn't love my enemies.

Great Discussion! Okay I guess I have a few "soapboxes" to stand on and rattle off. One..my religion. While I haven't forsaken completely my Christian upbringing I jokingly will say I'm a Born Again Pagan. I was baptized catholic, confirmed protestant, studied Buddhism, Hinduism, Rosicrucians, Unity and Science of Mind. When I decided to follow the Pagan/Wiccan path I felt though as I "came home" as many of the concepts were ones I believed in all my life without realizing at the time that in a sense I was a pagan/wiccan all along. I am however fed up with people who have absolutely no concept of what being a pagan/wiccan means and equates those of us who do follow this path that we are Satanic, Devil worshipers and stick pins in dolls--in other words the false imagery the Christian church has cooked up all these centuries and even perpetuated more by the film industry who, when they do, do movies on witchcraft related topics do the "evil" concept...I mean who would want to see a movie about "nice" witches or the way real witchcraft is..the only movie that comes close is Practical Magic. I'm fed up with people who think that witchcraft is like "harry potter" it isn't and can't stand the idea that people think that those books are making kids rush to become witches and wizards. Most of all I'm fed up with people who think because I don't believe the way they do, that I need my soul saved...it's fine thank you very much. Topic Two Among my many diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds (Mexican, American, and Canadian Indian bloods, also German, Dutch, French, Spanish, Irish, Welsh,Scottish, Irish, and English..yup all those)...I'm fed up with people's general attitudes against Mexican people...especially from the illegal immigrant issue. First of all, not all illegal aliens are Mexican, they just are more in the news I suppose. People tend to think Mexicans as lazy, criminals, freeloaders--they are NOT...IT wasn't all that long ago, that when the Irish came here in droves that no one cared for them either...my Irish great-grandfather remembered signs up saying "Irish need not apply" meaning if one were Irish, don't even think about applying for a job...he also said there were signs, "No Dogs, or Irish Allowed" in store windows...gee, how nice was that? My Mexican grandfather was a very proud person, he was part Mexican, part Spanish..his mother was born in Madrid, Spain and her father was a Baron. And the idea that circulates around about Mexicans is that they are taking away the jobs of native born, legal, citizens...bullcrap! Most of the jobs that ANY illegal (or legal) Mexican immigrant take are usually ones no anglo would want anyway....like the average citizen wouldn't dream of working in the fields getting way below minimum wage and work long, long hours --so it does tick me off when I hear these false generalizations of how lazy, and freeloading Mexican people are. What many people in general don't realize that it can take thousands of dollars to come into this country legally, one just doesn't "arrive" here and start a life--so is it any wonder why there are illegals in the first place? They all want the same "American Dream" we all yearn for Okay..off my soapbox

I never want to be called a p00f because i have a shite backswing at tennis. well, what way do you want me to swing? Sorry to lower the tone of a good discussion, but what did you expect from me?

Well lets see I am Gay. I am a practicing Norse Pagan. I am a socialist. I am into the goth punk scene. I may look different, vote different,worship different and love differently, but I can still be hurt by words, and actions of ignorance. I love my partner, and respect him, just as my parents taught me too love and respect by their actions. I try to show my love and respect of others by following a crede that I learned in my studies of religions. " Do as you will, harm none" In my home with my partner that one sentence guides our lives as humans.

I never want to hear that just because I am a stay at home mom that I should go out and get a real job. A "REAL JOB"?!? Being a childcare worker, housekeeper, laundry attendant, personal chef, gardner, teacher, nurse, etc (the list goes on and on) doesn't constitute as a real job, then what does??? Just because I don't get paid for what I do (don't think ANYONE could afford to pay me for what I do), does not give ANYONE the right to tell me this isn't a real job. I never want to hear (I am undecided if I should homeschool or not) that if we do decide to homeschool, that my child will be a social "freak". That my child(ren) will not be as "smart" as a child in public (or private) school. Or if we decide to send our child to public school, I do not want to hear that my child will grow up not knowing God or will fall away from God because of what he will be taught in school. My child will make his own decision. We will teach him what the bible says and what we know and he will have just as much freewill as we have had. The Lord ensures us that. Or if we decide to send our child to a private school I do not want to hear that we are "sheltering" our child from society. We want him to have the BEST education possible and if that means he goes to a private school, then that is what we will do. I never want to hear that I am hypocritical or that I am judgemental. I am neither. Just because I share my beliefs with someone or share with someone what the bible has taught me, does not make me judgemental. It does not make me a hypocrite when I tell someone what the bible says is a sin. I don't make the rules. I never said I wrote the bible either..... I'm sure I'll come back, cuz I am drawing a blank now hahaha.. Thanks - nice way to get stuff off your mind!

Someone already said much of what I'd like to say but it's worth repeating: I'm a liberal Democrat and proud of it! I never want to hear that I'm stupid, ignorant, dishonest, a hypocrite, anti-family, anti-American, that I don't love and support our troops or that I want to tell you how to live your life! I never want to hear that because I care about environment and believe in erring on the side of caution by trying to do what we can to save the planet that I'm some kind of a crazy nutcase, because I'm NOT! I never want to hear that because I care about animals and think they should be protected that I'm some crazy who puts animal welfare about human beings. I never want to hear that because I'm pro-choice I'm a baby killer or that I advocate murder. Thanks! I needed that! Annie

I read this earlier and wanted to come back and say something meaningful, but after reading everything else, I'm stuck. I don't know how to put myself into a group, or how to classify myself. Everyone has always called me a freak or a weirdo. I just don't think anyone has a right to tell another person how to live their life, unless maybe you ask them for advise. It may be nice to hear another opinion once in a while, but opinions are like a$$holes, everyones got one. #:)

Hey my TEE!! I have missed you and this is an awesome discussion... Here I go: I never want to hear you say: All Democrats are bleeding heart tree huggers. We aren't. Being thin means you have an eating disorder. Some of us are genetically thin even after kids and can eat what we want. Regulate your jealousy. The media, Hollywood, and Supermodels are to blame for the body image issues of young girls today. In fact, some parent along the line forgot to say that Hollywood and the media aren't real life. Parents are the ones who should be instilling body image issues in their children. Video games are to blame for kids that shoot up schools. Again, more parental responsibility that gets blamed on something other than the parents. Buddhists are weirdos who sit around and chant all day. That just isn't the case. We are concerned with working on ourselves and making our world and life a better place. I never want to hear you say that you disagree with my views without concrete evidence to back it up. For now, I think that's about it but I'm sure I can think of a million other things.

I couldn't agree with you more, nor could I have said it anymore succinctly or eloquently. Well written - a courageous post. California just overturned the ban on "Gay" Marriage. We are celebrating and making our plans...keep up the great writings and postings - I really appreciate them.

I never want to hear... people saying they belong to a group. Groups just create borders and people are arguing about borders all the time. And groups descriptions are also too generic to understand something about a person... for example, when you say to me "I belong to that group" you're saying "I belong to your idea of that group" and it just creates a lot of misunderstanding... so, talk more about your peculiar characteristics and less about these generic "groups" :P

Thanks for sharing.