dahlia

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Everything posted by dahlia

  1. "Scratch a liberal, find a racist." I have found that to be true on a number of levels. Even when they think they are being your friend and looking out for your interests (because they think you are too stupid, too poor, too uneducated or too whatever to look after your own interests), racism is at the core of their behavior.
  2. I'm reading this after reading the thread about calling women 'ladies' and still sorting out my thoughts. No time needed for this one, tho - what a sexist pig! I can't imagine being a woman in a STEM field in college, and having to sit in class with men while the professor made fun of women and weight. This reminds me of a radio interview I heard regarding the first space shuttle flight. The interviewee was talking about the large cargo area, which was necessary because they were planning to have women astronauts. WT flying F? Thankfully, the reporter pulled it back and said something about the women not having anymore luggage than the men, but jeez Louise.... If they guy had said there would be hydroponic gardens to grow watermelons for the black astronauts, I wouldn't have been more shocked. I was in a criminal law class where the prof's examples were always rape or a crime against women, with a lot of detail. Folks went right to the dean on that one - and that was decades ago. No one wants to sit in class and be the butt of some sexist's or racist's 'jokes.' Of course, their response to complaints is that they were just joking and that (insert name of offended group) are just too sensitive, but to heck with them. Complain anyway; otherwise nothing changes.
  3. Whoa - I'm a Huskie! PhD 2007. Of course, the degrees that really count are the 2 I have from Michigan. Go Blue!
  4. Do people think that tithing only goes to the Church schools? While I'm happy to support these schools, I also know that my tithing supports Helping Hands, the water projects, the farms and food projects, pays to build temples and keep the lights on at existing temples - what is the problem? So your kid didn't get into a Church school. S/he'll live. And depending on what the kids wants to do in life, there are better educational choices elsewhere. I've been a member long enough to learn that having gone to BYU-wherever is no guarantee that the person will stay in the Church or even do a mission. So there's that. When I learn somebody's going to BYU, I always wonder, 'Didn't you want something different? You're 18 and have lived in Utah or Idaho your whole life - don't you want to see what the rest of the world is like?'
  5. Whoa. Way too early for me to see the white stuff. Meanwhile - we had a tornado warning yesterday afternoon, right when I got off from work. Do you know what they do on campus when there's a tornado warning (of the 'take shelter' variety)? The ##($$ campus bus drivers pull over and find shelter. That means that the HUNDREDS of people waiting for a campus bus to get home or to their cars in far away commuter lots, are just standing there. Watching the storm clouds. I was out there for thirty minutes and there were already people piled up at the bus stop when I got there, so some folks must have been waiting almost an hour. Because I'm at the curmudgeon stage of life, the first thing I did this morning was to send the bus system a 'note' with my feelings about being left waiting. I was told it's their policy to make the buses stop. We're on our own - tho we might want to find shelter, too. Gee, really? Not so easy at some stops... Oh - and do you know what happens when people have been waiting an hour for a bus? The bus gets crowded as heck. Some people can't get on and have to wait even longer as you guys get your act together. Yes, we all got an alert telling us to take shelter, but nobody does - especially when the tornado was nowhere near campus. Talk to me when Dorothy is flying over the main library.
  6. I am a family history person in my ward (I think it has a new name, but ...). When I was first about to be called, the bishop gave me a heads up because it would include going to people's houses and helping them on the computer. No. Not gonna happen. I don't want to be travelling at night after work, I don't want to deal with people's pets, etc. No. I realize a lot of people here would never refuse a calling, but it was either be straight up about it or not do it and have the bishopric wonder why I'm not. We reached a compromise that I would go to the activities at church, help show the youth stuff, talk to people on the phone, etc., but not go to people's houses. I do try to keep up with the messages from the Church re this calling and learn what I can, but we have sisters who apparently do this all day everyday. I'm just not as familiar with a lot of the tools and am not sure if I'm worth people's time, but I give it a shot. I don't think we're supposed to suffer or put ourselves in danger for a calling. I don't mind being stretched, learning something new, etc., but there's a difference, in my mind, between that and doing something that completely disrupts your life or that of your family.
  7. I found I had to ask the sisters not to fall over themselves to sit next to me. Yes, the sisters could probably do better with their fellowship and talk to you more, but I doubt no one will sit next to you in RS. Or - here's a thought. You could plop yourself next to some sister and save her from sitting by herself. The other issue I have is why, as a grown woman, you feel you don't feel safe in a room full of women if you end up sitting by yourself? If you sit by yourself for a bit until people get to know you, is that so bad? Speak up in the discussion, so that people get to know who you are and your ideas. You may always seem like a stranger if you sit by yourself and don't say anything for the whole hour. As an aside: Maybe it's an east coast thing with me, needing a bit more personal space, maybe it's a ward full of young women who are home with kids all day and anxious to speak to other adults on Sunday, but this need to sit next to people is kinda weird. Doesn't anybody want to sit alone and contemplate?
  8. Still waiting for the controversial comments. C'mon. Don't keep us in suspense. Some of us live for that stuff. As I have to tell people sometimes, "You don't know who you are messing with." Bring it.
  9. I was just speaking to my non-member sister about some LDS folks giving the side eye to anyone who came out for a 2 hr meeting before it was announced; as if you couldn't be a good Mormon if you weren't willing to go to 3 hrs of church every Sunday, and do your calling, and do visiting teaching (before they changed it), and do the service projects that come up each month, and help clean the church. I frequently found it hard to go to all 3 hours - and I used to love doing so as a new convert. But, back then I was faculty with some free time during the week and my son living with me. Now that I am by myself and in a demanding 40 hr job, I just can't hack it every week. I try to go to Sacrament meeting because I think I need it, but there are Sundays when it is just too much after a full week, the house, and another full week coming up. It seems so much easier for people with more time (we have a lot of students and stay at home moms) or at least two adults to share the load. Maybe I'm just getting older. I didn't like leaving after Sacrament Meeting, but I did. Now I hope I can attend the full block more faithfully.
  10. I missed that part. I really enjoyed GP when I was investigating, but then, we had a wonderful teacher. There were days when I didn't want to go to church, but I did want to hear what was next in GP. I think it's useful for investigators to be in class together, with a few seasoned members. Even though I've been a member for a few years, I don't know the Scriptures in depth the way a lot of members do. It is easy to get lost in a discussion where names from Scripture are being tossed back and forth and you don't know the story that goes with the names. I hope investigators and their questions will be welcomed in the new classes.
  11. This may be a small thing, but I am glad to see 'Individual' along with 'Family' in the title of the new guide. We aren't all in families and it only takes a little bit to exclude someone - or a little bit to include them. As a single person, I look forward to the new guide, just to see what the Church is focusing on. This is exciting news. I'm waiting for tomorrow when I'm sure they will announce 20 new temples and a new missionary age of 16.
  12. Personally, I'd be happy if they just changed the garment seams from running up the middle to on the side.
  13. I wonder how long it will take for the change to actually stick? https://www.thetabernaclechoir.org/content/dam/motab/newsroom/press-release/Choir Name Change News Release and FAQs 18-10-03.pdf
  14. I forgot why I came here in the first place tonight ... My office mate frequently asks me questions about the Church. For some reason, today we talked about Conference (yes, I know it's coming, I just don't know why the topic came up at work). He's a young guy, around 30 or so. He's pretty open to stuff and has never said anything negative in response to anything I've said. And yeah, I should probably invite him to church, but we are in close quarters and I don't want to make it difficult for either of us to come in every day. Anyway, I thought I might give him a Conference talk, but have no clue what would be a good choice (or, I don't want to spend 2 hours looking for an appropriate talk). I think I'd like to give him something meant for young men or something about being a priesthood holder that doesn't start from the assumption that the listener knows a lot of LDS theology. Maybe something that focuses on the manly man aspects of the priesthood - family leadership, provident living, and just being a goodly man. Any suggestions? Any favorite talks that you like to give to young men? Thanks.
  15. It's good to know that people don't need to stitch up their earlobes if they want to be baptized. ๐Ÿ˜Š
  16. As a proud holder of two Michigan degrees, I can say with certainty that all Michigan grad should be addressed as Majesty. We are, after all, "the leaders and the best." btw - Michigan's recent giving campaign raised 5 BILLION dollars. Even I'm impressed, and I always expect great things from Michigan. Go Blue!
  17. I know that people can join the Church if they have tattoos. I know the Church lets South Pacific Islanders who are already members get tattoos because it's part of their culture. My questions are - do people have to remove piercings, do males have to remove earrings, and do both sexes have to remove ear plugs? I can imagine that even a medium sized plug leaves quite a stretched earlobe, requiring some kind of cosmetic surgery or at least some stitches (read - expense) for a convert. Personally, tattoos don't bother me, but the eyebrow piercings and lip rings just make me wonder 'why???'
  18. Doing some batch cooking today and watched the 1945 version of 'And Then There were None.' I'm not a huge Agatha Christie fan, and had seen the 1965 version called 'Ten Little Indians' in the theater, so I wasn't planning on watching it, but darned YT kept recommending it... I normally watch a lot of documentaries on prime and Netflix, but I forgot I just came off of a Basil Rathbone Sherlock Holmes binge (which is probably why Agatha Christie was recommended). I enjoy Rathbone; he's my 2nd favorite Holmes after Jeremy Brett and I do like the idea of Sherlock Holmes fighting Nazis during WW2.
  19. I dunno. I was a young teen and came across market research on soda in the mall. I had to drink some of both and see if I could tell which was which. I knew right away which was Pepsi. Didn't even have to think about it twice.
  20. I'm not drinking Coke. I really dislike the taste. I bring my own Diet Pepsi to work as the campus is a Coke campus unless you go to the convenience store in the hospital (where the soda costs double what it does in the store). I'm not perfect. A little caffeine in the afternoon is often appreciated, but I'd rather drink Crystal Lite with caffeine if I've forgotten my Diet Pepsi than Coke. Gross.
  21. Our little rabbit died after 8 years with us and some health scares in her last year. I had to leave early to help my son with the funeral arrangements. I had an obligation at work and asked if someone could take over for me - several volunteered and those who couldn't apologized for not being able to! A little later, a co-worker whose wife passed away a few years ago gave me a little rabbit pin of hers. I thought his daughters might want it, but he wanted to give it to me. We have a daily status update email that usually has motivational or funny pictures. The next day when I came back, the update had several bunny pictures to honor our little bun bun. I was overwhelmed by the outpouring of sympathy, probably because they did see pets as family. Regarding chickens - my sister moved to a small town in NC. The house across from her has chickens, which get out frequently and hang out in my sister's yard. As a former big-city girl, where the chickens are dead and stay in the grocery store, she finds this both fascinating and terrifying.
  22. Fair enough. I've always heard that if you 'can' get married in the temple and don't, people wonder why. Just like if you don't take the Sacrament. There may be a purely innocuous reason, but people don't tend to think toward the innocuous. ๐Ÿ˜ƒ
  23. I'm an academic, working at a university. It is not unusual to have people's email signature lines mention their preferred pronouns. I don't know if I've had any transgender people in my classes (I have known them in 'real life,' tho), but I have had many gay people. None of this is new. I don't care what you do, or what you want me to call you. If your name is Mary and you want to be called 'he,' fine. But here's the thing - people have gotten in trouble for not calling others by their preferred pronoun. Lots of times it's just custom - you see what looks like a woman in front of you and you use female pronouns. Newsflash, snowflakes - if you are going to lead a movement, maybe you need to toughen up and not let every slip of the tongue drive you to HR or the student diversity office. Maybe it was just a momentary lapse because when people look at you, you look like Mary, not like Mark. I think there are 2 things going on: 1) there are a very few 'real' transgender people. This must be awful for them (not because they are trans, but because life is just hard with that status). I'm not going to make their life harder by disrespecting them. I have no problem calling them whatever makes them comfortable; and 2) most of these 'choose a pronoun' folks just think it is cool and are following a momentary fad, supported by liberalism in general and by the mental health community, which is willing to let young people just go down whatever path they get in their heads at the moment, without even suggesting that they think through whether this is who they really are (especially in terms of gender reassignment surgery and giving younger and younger people hormone therapy) and wait a few years before doing anything that may be impossible to reverse. I just resent having to buy into all of this in order to somehow 'prove' to the administration that I'm not a bigot. btw - I get ticked off all kinds of ways when trans want to equate their problems with those of blacks in this country. Don't even go there with me.
  24. Thanks. I get the picture now - especially regarding the push to legally make all denominations perform homosexual marriages or lose tax benefits, etc. I also understand about the rift a sealing can cause when many family and friends can't attend and don't really understand why. My understanding is that if you are LDS, the Church looks askance at getting married outside of the temple - there needs to be a reason why you aren't getting sealed, so, people get sealed, even though it causes bad feelings. Before people go crazy, I'm not saying the Church has to change in order to avoid causing bad feelings, I'm OK with keeping things the way they are, but I can see why Church leaders may want to examine this issue, especially since they allow differences in other countries.