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I Do Not Want My Daughter to Be ‘Nice’
New York Times ^ | July 31, 2013 | Catherine Newman

Posted on 07/31/2013 1:05:05 PM PDT by nickcarraway

click here to read article


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To: nickcarraway
"...and the ex-boyfriend who cheated on me."

Wow, can't imagine why.

21 posted on 07/31/2013 1:27:14 PM PDT by thefactor (yes, as a matter of fact, i DID only read the excerpt)
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To: nickcarraway

“I want her to be a total raving b**ch. Look how well that’s paid off for Hillary!”


22 posted on 07/31/2013 1:28:18 PM PDT by Buckeye McFrog
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To: JCBreckenridge; bboop
You don’t get credit for being a pleasant, caring man.

Welllllll..... I do! But Mrs WBill has a built-in bias. :-)

23 posted on 07/31/2013 1:28:27 PM PDT by wbill
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To: GOP_Party_Animal

24 posted on 07/31/2013 1:28:38 PM PDT by Salamander (.......Uber Alice!.......)
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To: wbill

You’re fortunate. You got one of the good ones. Good women are hard to find!


25 posted on 07/31/2013 1:29:03 PM PDT by JCBreckenridge ("we are pilgrims in an unholy land")
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To: Jack of all Trades
Note to the author - if you’re nice to people out of an expectation of some direct reward, then you’re not really a nice person.

Yes, that was my take-away as well. What a manipulative beyotch.

26 posted on 07/31/2013 1:30:36 PM PDT by Cyber Liberty (Justice for Trayvon: Dig up his body and shoot him again.)
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To: nickcarraway
Years ago my mother used to say to me, she'd say, "In this world, Elwood, you must be" – she always called me Elwood – "In this world, Elwood, you must be oh so smart or oh so pleasant." Well, for years I was smart. I recommend pleasant. You may quote me.

—James Stewart as Elwood P. Dowd

27 posted on 07/31/2013 1:31:37 PM PDT by Sherman Logan
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To: nickcarraway

This is a waste of electrons. I’ve seen junior high submissions written better.


28 posted on 07/31/2013 1:33:09 PM PDT by IronJack (=)
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To: JCBreckenridge
I’ve been hearing more and more that ‘nice’ is something that’s expected by women of men. You don’t get credit for being a pleasant, caring man.

Not with shallow, stupid women you don't. They confuse rudeness and meanness with masculinity and are attracted to it.

They also confuse politeness with weakness. As do quite a few men, who have abruptly discovered their error when the "nice, polite" man suddenly knocks them cold or kills them dead.

29 posted on 07/31/2013 1:34:29 PM PDT by Sherman Logan
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To: proxy_user

I never thought about it like that. For our family, this is very encouraging. My teen’s true character is getting better all the time. (That could change, because she is only 14.) She still lies and takes moral “shortcuts”, but less frequently, and takes her consequences more calmly. She has also discovered some forms of responsibility, like being punctual, and taking better care of the cat, and doing most chores without making a fuss. She has also defended people who were being picked on, and gone out of her way once or twice to make conversation with shy kids.

Thanks for your post. You gave me some good food for thought.


30 posted on 07/31/2013 1:41:19 PM PDT by married21
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To: Sherman Logan

Been there. Had more than one person try that hypothesis out. So far I’m 2/2 for assault convictions without significant injury on my part.

One dude went so far as to jump out of his car and sucker punch me. On camera. 2 minutes from the police station.

I did get a nice ride with a cute lady cop after. :D She thought it was hilarious that the tiny dude just took the punch. :)


31 posted on 07/31/2013 1:41:28 PM PDT by JCBreckenridge ("we are pilgrims in an unholy land")
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To: nickcarraway

It’s from a parenting blog.Who knew?

That says it all for me.

.


32 posted on 07/31/2013 1:45:54 PM PDT by Mears
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To: nickcarraway

January 14, 2013, 2:31 pm

Emetophobia, Vomiting Children and Me

By CATHERINE NEWMAN

If you are a child in my family feeling your very rottenest, your tender mother (me) is likely to bolt out of the room with her fingers in her ears.


May 14, 2012, 5:22 pm

My Son Looks Like a Girl. So What?

By CATHERINE NEWMAN

My 12-year-old son has long, half-pink hair, and everyone, everywhere assumes he’s a girl. Why is that such a problem?


33 posted on 07/31/2013 1:48:09 PM PDT by kcvl
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To: nickcarraway

Response to Catherine Newman’s “I Do. Not.:Why I Won’t Marry”

October 24, 2012

Catherine Newman’s odd essay “I Do. Not.: Why I Won’t Marry” explains why she is against the life-long commitment of marriage. Asked over and over again why she isn’t married to the man she lives with and the father of her child, Newman is used to explaining herself to the simple minded. But she claims “there are so many reasons, and they’re all only partly true and shot through with contradiction”, and that is why she can’t explain them to common folk (61). A reason she begins with is “because marriage is about handing the woman off, like a baton, from her father to her husband” (61). Men are continually thinking about owning the greatest “possessions” (wives, money, etc.) and Newman refuses to be viewed in such a way. She also brings up the fact that she has a form of attraction for other women, so she has a hard time deciding her sexual identity. Another reason is “because not being married means we get to keep choosing each other” (65).

In her eyes, if two are married, they have already “choose” one another, and they feel committed to stay together. Because her and her partner, Michael, are not married, everyday they get to “fall in love” again. She claims “for us, there’s something psychically liberating about that little bit of unmarried space that allows us to move forward, to come toward each other, over and over again.” (65). A very important reason to Newman is “because we have a kid together” (65). I find this paragraph to be extremely contradictory to her previous paragraph, because with her child, she has a serious commitment to her partner. I believe they both want the best life they can offer to their child, so staying together will provide their child with a supportive, stable home-life and environment. At the end of her essay, Newman says she will stay with Michael through thick and thin because he takes care of her and “he is the father of her child” (66).

I found myself puzzled by the end of her essay, because towards the end, it sounds like she really loves her partner and plans to be with him for the rest of her life. But throughout the majority of her essay, she seemed to be trying to prove to her audience that she is completely against monogamy. I believe in marriage and spending your life with that one person, so I found it hard to relate to this essay and Newman’s opinions.

1. How do you think Newman ended up answering the drunk man’s question at the wedding? She probably told him getting married is against her beliefs, and that her and Michael are perfectly content with the way their life is with their son. It sounds like she did not go into detail about her beliefs, because what she said is true: “there are so many reasons, and they’re all only partly true and shot through with contradiction, and I can’t say any of them out loud” (61).

2. From the details of this essay, what do you think Newman’s religious beliefs are? Toward the beginning of her essay, she says “marriage is, of course, a supremely natural and God-given institution and a naturally and God-givenly straight one” (62). To me, it seems as if she is mocking this commonly known Christian belief, and does not really seem to have any respect for those who believe it. If she knows this is true, why does she continue to worship her beliefs on nonmonogamy? I do not find the assumption that she is Christian or believes in traditionalism.

http://amandacaldwellgcsu.wordpress.com/2012/10/24/response-to-catherine-newmans-i-do-not-why-i-wont-marry/


34 posted on 07/31/2013 1:52:02 PM PDT by kcvl
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To: JCBreckenridge

Actually, with a lot of women, it can work to your detriment. If you come off as “too nice”, then you are seen as a pushover, someone to be taken advantage of. Treat them poorly, and they see you as “strong and decisive”. Go figure.


35 posted on 07/31/2013 1:54:18 PM PDT by Boogieman
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To: Boogieman

Yep, that’s the attitude I’m seeing quite a lot of these days. I was raised that you treat a lady like a lady which means you go out of your way to make them feel special. It gets tiresome being told that you’re too nice!


36 posted on 07/31/2013 1:57:49 PM PDT by JCBreckenridge ("we are pilgrims in an unholy land")
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To: nickcarraway

This essay has 971 words. 43 of them are “I,” “me,” “mine” or “my.”


37 posted on 07/31/2013 2:00:45 PM PDT by untenured
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To: Boogieman

I like nice guys, but I am well aware that far too many women like bad boys. They often become “battered women”, or end up having children with worthless men who will never even look for a job. An attraction to bad men can ruin a woman’s whole life - and her children’s lives. But some women don’t learn.


38 posted on 07/31/2013 2:10:08 PM PDT by Irish Rose (Will work for chocolate.)
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To: kcvl

Perhaps she could benefit from some counseling to get over her obvious psychological issues.


39 posted on 07/31/2013 2:13:43 PM PDT by darkangel82
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To: nickcarraway

What the hell’s wrong with smiling at people, for goodness’ sake? Jeez...


40 posted on 07/31/2013 2:28:38 PM PDT by jagusafr (the American Trinity (Liberty, In G0D We Trust, E Pluribus Unum))
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