Today is Throat Punch Thursday but I am in gorgeous San Diego and I just can’t make myself throat punch anyone.
I mean seriously haven’t I been throat punching Robin Thicke pretty much all week? My arms are exhausted.
So I leave you with a beautiful view. I’ll tell you all about it next week!
Today I want to introduce you to a real life hero Antoinette Tuff because I decided that the world needs one less Throat Punch today. In light of recent events, I feel the need to clarify that you all know that my Throat Punches are not literal, right? I mean, I am not some caped, unitard wearing crusader running around the streets of the world LITERALLY throat punching bad guys.It.is.Hyperbole. Most of you are writers, you know what this means. I am not the Throat Punching Dexter of the Midwest. It’s a figure of speech people. Okay, now that that’s been clarified, let’s move along to some hero-worship.
I looked at my list and there are plenty of people in the world who deserve to be called out for their bullshit. But today, a common thread in all of these stories is that none of them would exist if there were just a little bit of compassion and human kindness in the world. Today, I am highlighting the caring and compassion of Antoinette Tuff.
Yesterday, a 20-year-old man in need of a mental health intervention, Michael Brandon Hill, allegedly slipped into a Georgia elementary school, Ronald E. McNair Discovery Learning Academy, with a high-powered rifle and nearly five hundred rounds of ammunition. A terrified but colossally brave, Antoinette Tuff, the bookkeeper in the front office, physically positioned herself between him and the 800 innocent children inside. Then, Tuff called 911 and for 25 minutes, spoke to Hill, like a person not a criminal, and saved the day. I have no idea how she kept her cool but I think she is amazing for doing so.
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“He said he don’t care if he dies, he don’t have nothing to live for,” Tuff told the operator. “He said he’s not mentally stable.”
“should have just went to the mental hospital instead of doing this because he is not on his medication”
She bravely spoke openly about her own struggles with depression over the past year and convinced him to remove his weapons and turn himself in. She was the negotiator between the shooter and the police. She never belittled him or tried to run, she showed human compassion and saved a school full of children from being injured or killed. She saved his life too.
I am in awe of Antoinette Tuff’s bravery. I can’t say what many of us would do in that same situation; probably run unless it was one of our own children locked inside in harms way. I’d like to think I’d be able to stand my ground and show some compassion and protect the children, maybe even stop the situation from going any further. But I don’t know that many of us would. I think most of us would run out of sheer terror our legs would be going before our brain could stop them.
This could very easily have been another Sandy Hook. Thank God for good people like Antoinette Tuff. She stopped what could have been a massacre by simply extending some human compassion and quick thinking. This Thursday, Antoinette Tuff is my hero.
We are all human; black, white, brown, gay, straight, single, married, parent, childless or childfree, Christian, Jew, man, woman, pretty, ugly, able, disabled, mentally ill, genius, educated, uneducated, democrat or republican. We share the same fears and insecurities and we all have to get up, live in this world and try to find happiness within our own heart. We all deserve respect and human kindness because we are all just trying to survive the day.
I was going to write a Throat Punch Thursday but I already wrote a post on Tuesday about the asshole neighbor who wrote an anonymous letter to the family of an autistic teen suggesting his parents euthanize him and you all know that I am not the violent type. I’m a hugger not a mean girl. Every Thursday, I just like to call out those who are worthy.
Then I considered giving Forbes Magazine my Throat Punch because honestly, they deserve it. Forbes either thinks very little of women to think that GOMI is a top site for women, they didn’t research at all or they think all women are mean girls. We all know GOMI and choose to, for the most part, ignore it because come on people, we can switch the channel. I believe in freedom of speech. I just hate that Forbes listed it as a great site for women with its success built on reducing women to a punch line. But I won’t write that post because my friend Morgan at the 818 already wrote NO, YOU GET OFF MY INTERNET .
So, what do you think? Do I offend you with my use of the term Throat Punch Thursday? Have you been living in fear that I might show up at a blog conference and karate chop you to the neck? Rest assured. I will not. I promise.Who knew people who lived in glass houses were so sensitive? Let’s move on, my unitard is starting to itch.
Did you know that a wireless baby monitor could be hacked? Did you use audio monitors when your children were babies? I did. In fact, I couldn’t have slept at all in the past 8 years without mine; sleeping in the same room was getting old. Now, video monitors and wireless cams are all the rage, the norm even, in baby monitoring. Technology has come so far, why wouldn’t we take advantage of the opportunity to go wireless and high-tech? Well, here is the reason and it might have you completely freaked the fuck out.
Talk about creepy and Throat Punch worthy, some freak hacked an Internet-based wireless video baby monitor of a young family with two small children in Houston. In the last two years, Marc Gilbert and his wife, Lauren, have come to depend on their Internet-based video monitors to watch over their two toddlers when they are in their bedrooms but over last weekend someone else was watching the little girls in their rooms too. This is truly the shit all parents’ nightmares are made of.
Marc Gilbert says he and his wife heard a detached voiced saying sexual things to their two-year-old daughter and it was coming from her room. What the ….????
The couple, like most, have come so dependent on the monitors that they feel like they can’t live without it but they may have changed their mind after what happened. I would imagine it would leave you feeling vulnerable and exposed; unsafe in your own home.
“It felt like somebody broke into our house,” Gilbert said.
Gilbert says he heard a voice in his daughter’s room from down the hall. As he and his wife got closer, what was being said got more explicit and more vulgar. Can you imagine hearing a man’s voice with a British accent coming from within your toddler girl’s bedroom, knowing damn well that no one should be in there and definitely not a Brit with an X-rated vocabulary shouting obscenities at your baby!
“The voice said, ‘Wake up Allyson, you little (expletive),'” Gilbert said.
And he knew it was coming from the camera. CREEPY! Worse still, when he walked in the room the camera followed him, obviously controlled by the pedophile pervert who snuck into his toddler’s bedroom via the camera and was harassing his daughter.
Gilbert immediately pulled the plug on the camera and started doing research. I personally would have ripped that sucker out of the wall and moved. Oddly enough, he did NOT call the police. He believes someone hacked his router and the camera. The assumption by Marc Gilbert is that the person could see Allyson’s name on the bedroom wall and that’s how he called her by her name. Myself, I would be paranoid that the freak knows where we live; where we go and has maybe even been in proximity of the house and the child.
The only saving grace is that Allyson never heard a thing. She was born deaf. She has cochlear implants but has them off at night and slept through the whole disgusting ordeal.
I don’t know about you but the whole idea of wireless Internet cameras has left a bad taste in my mouth after this story. We have daughters and were thinking of installing wireless cameras in the house as a security measure but hell; this makes it sound more like a liability. Instead of protecting our children from outside intruders, these wireless cameras are an open window for any pedophile with basic hacking knowledge. Secure your networks as much as you can; your children’s lives may depend on it.
So this weeks Throat Punch goes to the creepy ass Brit pedophile who was verbally abusing a deaf toddler.
Now, that I have sufficiently scared you to death. Here is something to make you smile!
It’s Thursday and do I have a throat punch for you; a Philadelphia fundamentalist Christian couple, Herbert and Catherine Schaible, are being charged with third degree murder for refusing to seek medical attention for their baby who had pneumonia and died.
Catherine and Herbert Schaible are being charged in the faith-healing death of their 8-month-old son, Brandon, who died in April of pneumonia after his parents refused to take him to the doctor opting instead to pray over him. Leaving their sick child, helpless and resigned to his fate. This is unacceptable!
Maybe you think the judges are being too hard on the Schaibles. I mean, after all, they are Christian fundamentalist and they have a strong faith in God and they made a mistake. Aren’t they being punished enough by losing their baby?
The answer would be NO! In fact, it would be HELL NO!! Because, you see, this is not the first time that the Schaibles have let one of their children die before seeking medical attention. Four years ago, they let their 2 and a half year old son, Kent, die of pneumonia because they refused to take him to the doctor and decided to pray over him and leave his fate in God’s hands. He died and they were put on probation for 20 years. The judge stipulating that if any of their children were to ever become sick again, they were to seek immediate medical attention. In April, they ignored that court order and now little baby Brandon lies in a small-unmarked grave next to his brother who died four years ago. Apparently, these assholes think their children are disposable.
The Schaibles’ defense lawyer, Bobby Hoof, argued that Brandon died within 3 days of becoming ill and there was no evidence of malice, which is required for a third-degree murder charge. The judge disagreed and the murder charges still stand.
Catherine Schaible was released into the care of her parents, Herbert Schaible is still incarcerated and their remaining, living, 7 children have been taken into protective state custody.
Look, I get it. I believe in God too. I was raised believing that God can do anything; make the blind see, heal the sick, etc. I was also raised knowing that God helps those who help themselves. People, he gave us the intelligence to develop the medicine to cure the sickness, to keep our children alive. Choosing to ignore that was a willful act of malice. They had the option to treat their child or let them die. The Schaibles have let not one but two of their children die. I am not a judge, but as a parent, I think they are guilty. Guilty of being really shitty parents.
I would do anything and everything necessary to help my children get well if they were sick. Sure, I would pray because I have a faith in God and I believe he can do anything but damn, people, maybe he’s busy saving someone else. Help yourself. Help your children. These people are a menace to society and dangerous to their children. They need to be locked up so their children can survive childhood. They face the possibility of 20-40 years in prison if found guilty. I say, good; Great! Don’t let them out until their youngest is at least 18-years-old.
What do you think? Should the Schaibles be held accountable for the death of their son or are they just victims of their own naïveté? You know my answer. I want to hear yours.
What would you have done if you were Catherine and Herbert Schaible?
Rolling Stone Magazine has got it’s August 1 issue all wrong by plastering a glammed up photo of 19-year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the Boston Bomber, on the cover of it’s latest issue.
At first glance, you might mistake the young murderer for a cool devil may care attitude rock musician. He’s attractive with tousled hair, five o’clock shadow and a come hither stare and then you realize that you are being seduced by a man who, pardon my french but I don’t give a flying fuck how nice or religious he was, is a murderer of three innocents, one being a child, responsible for injuring 260 people and taking the American people’s sense of security hostage on April 15 in Boston.
Contributing editor Jane Reitman curated the story after 2 months of in depth interviews with all those people who knew Dzhokhar Tsarneav. She was trying to get to the bottom of the story and she may very well have done a fantastic job of telling us the whole story but to put a murderer on the cover of a magazine that glamorizes the lives of rock stars is sending the wrong message. It is making him into a hero. It is making murder sexy.
There is nothing glamorous or remotely cool about what Dzhokhar Tsarnaev did. He wreaked havoc on a nation and no matter what his reason was, he was wrong. Rolling Stone magazine is wrong. The title beneath his photo reads,
The Bomber
How a Popular, Promising Student was Failed by his Family, fell into Radical Islam and Became a Monster
To me, this title is dripping with sympathy; placing the blame on his parents. I don’t care how nice he was or great a kid or kind heart he had, the moment he decided to participate in an act of terrorism that changed the fabric of our country forever he forfeited his right to sympathy or understanding. The moment he killed another human being, he forfeited his right to being a hero. And by running his photo in this manner on the cover, Rolling Stone magazine has forfeited its right to my money. Not only did they have the audacity to glorify a murderer, they then stood behind their cover and defended it.
But Mayor Menino of Boston got it all right.
Mr. Menino said what had to be said in a way that it should be said. He was not seething with anger or dripping with hatred. He was disappointed and saddened. I am too but I am not so politically correct. Hey Rolling Stone, Fuck you!
Throat Punch to Rolling Stone Magazine. What do you think of Rolling Stone putting Dzhokhar Tsarnaev on the cover of next month’s issue?
You’re crazy! Oh My God, she is acting so bipolar! I can’t go shopping this afternoon, I am so depressed! Get over it. Take a chill pill! Don’t have a panic attack.
We hear these statements made almost daily. For some, they may seem harmless but to those of us who suffer from these diagnoses, it’s far from funny. It’s serious.
My chemical imbalance is not your bad mood. My battle with eating disorders is not you trying to lose 5 vanity pounds. Someone’s deep depression is not the same as you having a bad day or being sad because things didn’t go your way at the game tonight. My inability to see myself as I am in the mirror is definitely not the same as being slightly concerned with the way your ass looks in your jeans. Someone’s PPD is not the same as you being overwhelmed because you took on too many things. Somebody’s OCD is not the same as you wanting to wash your hands before meals. Being afraid to take a risk is not the same as being so terrified to be in a room with people that your heart races so fast that you are sure you are having a heart attack.
Abercrombie & Fitch CEO, Mike Jeffries, very un- Abercrombie & Fitch like himself, has gone on record saying that he does not want to market his product to the fat kids or the unattractive masses. He wants the thin, cool, popular kids. He’s kind of a bully. There should be a sign out front: Send me your thin, cool, waif-like huddled masses. Keep your fat, unpopular and poor. We fat shame. Welcome!
So, I read this Wall Street Journal article this morning about “Mommy Business Trip” basically mocking moms who go to conferences because mommies don’t work, right? I will put you out of your misery now and tell you that the deserving recipient of today’s throat punch is the woman, Katherine Rosman, who wrote this article.
The jist of the article is that moms go to conferences and conventions just so they can guilt-free ( as if there is such a damn thing) jet off and leave their “responsibilities” i.e kids and husband to have a girls weekend because what could we moms possibly need “business trips” for?
I don’t know about you but I am the hardest working mommy I know. I clean my house, I cook meals, I fold the fucking laundry, I’m room mother for both classes, I run my kids to all of their classes, school functions and occasions plus I work from home full-time and I am the mother fucking bomb.com. I work and then I work some more and I have the bags under my eyes and fatigue to prove it. I don’t need an excuse to get away. I need an insane asylum for not doing it sooner.
I have not been to any conferences yet because of this very mentality. I can’t leave my family because then what kind of “mom” would I be? What will people think? I’ll tell you what kind of mom I would be…a human one. Man cannot live on bread alone and Moms cannot live on wiping snotty noses, folding laundry and wiping asses alone. It’s lonely at the top and we need a break. And to be fair, I hear a lot of moms bring their kids with them! Yeah, loads of partying goes on when you have a wee one suckling from your teet.
Okay, so I went on my first overnight without my family in January. My oldest is 8, I’ve not been alone in 8 years. 8. YEARS!! Is that even natural? And no, I don’t get to be alone when I shower or pee. I am chaperoned by little people at all hours of the day and night. NO, I don’t even get to sleep without tiny feet kicking me in the back or headbutting me in the face.
I am going to two conferences this year and leaving on my second Press trip in a couple of weeks, during the busiest month of the year for me. I have a daughter getting her first communion, a daughter turning 6, a husband celebrating his 38th birthday, a 14th wedding anniversary to celebrate, Mother’s day, end of the year ballet performances, end of the year violin recitals, the annual neighborhood garage sale, not to mention all of my household chores and my work obligations. I have a lot of shit to get done. Why am I going on this press trip? Because I need some fucking sleep and to talk to adults and maybe, more likely, it will be beneficial to my career in some small way.
I will go to the conferences this year to further my career, to reactivate my brain cells, to make some connections, to better myself and to let my husband have some alone time with our girls. He is just as capable and a lot more patient than me and a better cook and a whole lot more fun. I am going to kick my blog up a notch and yes, to meet some of the wonderful women who I have been friends with for years online. You know, the women who sent my children books to help them through the loss of their beloved dog, the women who cried with me and sent me their condolences when I miscarried last May, the same women who have helped me to learn and grow as a mother and a writer, in my life and in my career; my friends. Is it so wrong that I look forward to seeing them while attending a conference for my work?
I don’t think it’s an excuse to act like an asshole, get drunk and pretend I am single but I also don’t think that I should be punished for choosing to have a family. Why should I be a shut in and not be able to have a career and be with me kids too? Motherhood is not a prison sentence and we are not being punished, we are not on lock down so if we can afford it and our husbands are okay with it, what’s the fucking problem with women ( who happen to have children) attending conferences to better themselves and their careers? I’m sick of these self-imposed guilt trips we adhere to and I am especially sickened when another woman is the chauvinist pig by whose pen the blow is delivered.
The writer of the piece Katherine Rosman, well, I wonder if she’s ever spent any actual time at home with children? My guess is that only a person who has never spent years loving a child and giving their everything to keep them safe and alive and thriving could speak about moms going to blogging conferences or conventions of any sort with such disdain. Dad’s go to conferences and business trips and yes, even guys trips and that is perfectly acceptable but the moment a woman does the same thing, it must be under the guise of some convoluted excuse to escape her family.
Shame on you Ms. Rosman for throwing your sex under the bus for a headline. You receive a well-deserved throat punch. I hope it was worth it to mock moms and make them feel like failures for being human.
What do you think of moms attending conferences and conventions? Are they JUST an excuse to get away from their families and life or are they actually trying to learn something, grow themselves, become better? What do you think of “Mommy Business Trips”?
Photo: WSJ
The Westboro Baptist Church has, not surprisingly earned this week’s Throat Punch. On Monday, shortly after the explosions in Boston when death and mayhem were permeating the atmosphere as victims were still fighting for their lives, Westboro Baptist Church vowed to protest the funerals of those who were killed in the bombings at the Boston Marathon. I’m not worried, I am sure that the good samaritans of Boston will form a human wall of protection just like they did for the Newtown Funerals.
Did you know that Mattel has a new Mexico Barbie coming out? At first I thought, hell yeah! I was so excited. I grew up on Barbie. I love her and so do my girls. Now, I’ll have a Mexican Barbie to share with my little girls. A Barbie that represents their culture, their heritage, their mother and themselves. Thank you Mattel!
Then I saw Mexico Barbie.
Mexican Barbie is dressed in a traditional Mexican folkloric dress; a fluorescent pink dress with multicolored ribbons. She comes with a Chihuahua dog under her arm and in the box is also a passport, you know so she’s documented. After all, we don’t want Mexico Barbie in “our” country unless she is here legally with up to date papers.Something about Mexico Barbie does not sit well with this Mexican.