General Musings, Part 31

The drama that is my life continues. My husband told me outright to go to a therapist & after more things happened (let's just say the chickens have come home to roost on something millions of Americans face but wouldn't really want to admit to), it felt like even the most anti-therapy person out there would hear of my experiences & tell me I ought to see a therapist. Let's face it: once you've had your entire life shift so dramatically in such a short time, you either see a therapist or go on a shooting spree. I'm too enraged as a person to commit suicide without taking some deadbeats down with me for the good of society. My last noble act, if you will.

Also, meet my friend Lindsay Lowe. She told me she admired me for going through the things I have but I feel like she's far more worthy of admiration than me. She's an awesome, talented & creative person who simply deserves recognition for her awesomeness. See her site if you want to know more about her.

Noticed a few stories in various places it's definitely time to comment on. Here goes.

This is a verdict that makes me happy. Maybe part of it is the constant rebellion I had against the Mr. Bones of the world. You know that school administrator: the one who acted irrationally & seemed better suited for running the Taliban than being responsible for the care of school children. A classic authoritarian through & through.

I hated authoritarian types back to my high school years. See earlier entries if you want to read about some of those antics. Defending someone's right to wear a bracelet like that would be right up my alley for multiple reasons.

This was also an eternal question I had myself. My mother even asked this when we were in school. I remember her thinking it was a stupid concept as far back as middle school. She may have even remarked on the non-punishment aspect of it when we were in elementary school. From this answer, it sounds like good old fashioned laziness is to blame.

I fully agree with this sentiment. I'm not just saying that because I can find my size at Victoria's Secret in both clothing & bras (you try doing that when you're naturally underweight, have a little height & vanity sizing is favoring the fat girls among us). I wish they'd sell more of their clothing in the stores since they have some nice dresses, shirts, leggings & the like (the shipping costs bother me on a deep level & I'm not wild about the regular prices but the sales are good). I also can't stand the whole puritanical sentiment that permeates through the comments of the detractors. Perhaps modeling has just made me even more rebellious against that whole puritanical culture since I had to deal with it so much as a child.

For now, I've resumed communication with my mother but I'm done with my sister. My sister even dared to tell me how I feel like she resides in my brain & knows my thought processes then tried to pull the "I won't let you have a relationship with my kids b/c I don't agree with your life philosophies" card. I wonder how I'd be treated if I were a web cam model or posing in Playboy or doing adult films. I figure I'd be all alone in life if I were doing that, even if I had to do that stuff to keep from being homeless or having everything I worked for go down the toilet. Incredible that some people have treated me like I have been doing such things.

I refuse to play that little game; if I played it, I know I'd eventually end up in a burka figuratively & maybe even literally. My sister claims my nephew was asking about sexual stuff & if he could see things.

Is it just me or should someone say, "Try being a PARENT & explaining that stuff to your kids without making sex a dirty, evil thing." I feel like that's the appropriate response (a discussion on appropriate sexuality), not telling that kid's aunt to dress like a nun when she doesn't even dress like a stripper getting ready to go on stage in modern times. It's also telling my sister got the same message I did growing up about how sex was this bad, shameful thing you should never do unless you're married. You later learn your parents aren't saints & are actually flawed people (some much more flawed than others). If I hadn't gotten out of NC, I'd probably still be screwed up on that point & definitely far less happy than I am today (oh, not just on THAT front; get your mind out of the gutter!).

You know, maybe I've overcome gender bias on cleaning. I don't really give a damn what people think about such things when it comes to my house. I'm not even close to a slob. In fact, I'm probably more of a neat freak than anyone in my childhood family is or was. I have a lot of organized clutter but I can account for most things. My husband once worked as a custodian so he knows a lot more about cleaning than I do. In fact, I think he has higher standards of cleanliness than me when it comes to some things. I'm just not interested in killing myself to make my home so clean you could eat off the floor. I hate doing dishes & I refuse to spend my days cleaning since I've got a life but I won't leave anything that will attract bugs, stinks or makes it impossible for me to clean up later.

Being childfree might also have something to do with it but my basic attitude is if you think my house is a mess, then don't come over. I'd rather not be subjected to the white glove test when someone visits. I also don't tolerate drop ins, implying that if you do you might see things you didn't want to see (and you just might; I've heard stories about parents seeing their kids in the middle of things no one wants to see their kid engage in & the kid not stopping).

I'm still shocked MSN did a story on this. Are you?

Then there's this question. I don't definitely know why lawyers are hated. I haven't really experienced that in my career since people in entertainment generally like & respect lawyers. I can only tell you what I dislike about particular lawyers or the stereotypical groups.

I wonder if these people ever reneged on this. Honestly, I didn't follow the whole "lean in" stuff & really don't view myself as following a formula for doing things in my career (at least not consciously). I adamantly refuse to read the book or give this woman press. I also agree with people's comments that Slate is just as hypocritical as anyone else. Considering the whole stepped up enforcement on unpaid internships, I hope anyone doing it who could actually afford to pay folks & doesn't gets slammed for it. They just make all organizations look crappy & classist by continuing that system. I know I view them as being classist.

At least there are upsides and good things going on in my life, especially on the business end. Let's just say I've gotten 100% definitive signs that there's no good reason for me to throw in the towel on the entertainment career or anything I've worked many years to develop as part of my brand & identity. The day is definitely coming & the people who weren't there will certainly not get any kindness from me. The haters have already gotten their walking papers & the fakes have been replaced.

Just remember that even if you're in your darkest moments, you should never change who you are or be something you're not to please some jerk who could care less if you lived or died or if you were happy or sad. Average employers (the ones who seem to populate the majority of Corporate America), I'm looking at you. There are plenty of employers out there who would take you for who you are & even view that as a plus. Life's also too damn short as I can verify with this shitty summer; why spend your time being miserable?

General Musings, Part 30

Wow, I've hit 30 now. Okay. A lot of general things have irked me lately. I also have far too many things I bookmarked & have thoughts on that need to be dealt with.

I was very happy to read this yesterday. Thank you, Amanda Marcotte for saying something I've been thinking for years but didn't put into those words.

Even in high school, I thought the dress code was extremely sexist against women & I believe I actually said this to people. Great thought on why it's so; the puritanical culture in this country has always bothered me & sorry, fuckers I'm not going to be ashamed of being who I am. You can fuck off if you expect me to dress like a Muslim woman because I have a figure. Maybe some people ought to examine just what they're teaching young women with oppressive dress codes that never punish the young men for not controlling themselves. It's not like young ladies don't have hormones. Self-respect isn't being ashamed of who you are or what you look like, okay?

This also really infuriated me, in the second instance of banning on hair color. This family had better sue. I'm sure they can find some natural redhead like me who's an attorney to take that case, shove their pictures of themselves at that age in the face of the principal and school administrators & ask them if they are bigoted toward natural redheads. I know I would. I read this & immediately claimed it was discrimination against redheads.

Think about this: you have a kid transfer in whose hair is quite bright. My own natural hair color is much brighter than this picture. Is a kid with my shade required to do a strip search for this principal to see if the curtain matches the drapes? Does the principal get to override a parent's order that the kid can't dye his/her hair? My mother told me & my sister (whose hair was brighter than mine when she was in school) we could not dye our hair until we were 18. Does Principal Bigot get to override parental authority here?

I also read a comment in the Yahoo link where someone claimed their workplace said their naturally red hair was too bright & told them to dye it a "natural" color.

You know what would happen if I were your employee & you told me that? I would tell you to go fuck yourself & that you obviously got dumped by a natural redhead or felt inadequate compared to them. I would also tell you not to take your shit out on me & that it's not my fault you're not as cool or sexy as everyone thinks natural redheads are (at least, naturally redhaired women). Or that you are sexually inadequate & your naturally redhaired girlfriend dumped you.

Neither of those are MY problem & you're not going to make them my problem, capise? I will take your ass to court in a heartbeat and see if I can't get a discrimination lawsuit going if you try it.

What next? Telling a dark black person they have to bleach their skin to be more light-skinned? Telling an Asian person to get cosmetic surgery for their eyes? We wouldn't let that stand in society so why should I be required to dye my hair? By the way, if I did dye my hair I'd never get my precise natural color again as any hairstylist would affirm so it's not a zero consequence act.

Anyone tries that with my niece, I'll be kicking ass & taking names. She's my mini-me, after all.

I also read this story and thought "More discrimination to natural redheads." I hope these people alerted the local Scottish groups & they got in their faces. I certainly would & had you tried this with me or mine in high school, I'd have made that happen. I'd have contacted every single Scottish association and found the legal defense leagues they dealt with to take the case & raise holy Hell.

Seriously, I'd be shocked if any high school ever asked me to speak there. No high school administrator would want me anywhere near their kids since I don't believe in being some docile little sheep & will tell you truth instead of garbage like the grand majority of them espouse.

After the "idiot school administrators" series, let's turn our attention to the "idiot politicians" series.

Here's a duh consideration. You can't legislate morality & no party or candidate is God. To try is a lesson in futility & stupidity. Plus, I think you should have to live by the same restrictions you place on everyone else if you want to get all high handed & tell others what to do. It doesn't work to ban abortion if YOUR kid gets to have one or YOUR wife can get one regardless of the reason. It just makes you an asshole who deserves to hang by his private parts in the public square & worse.

This also ticks me off & epitomizes why anyone in favor of surrendering their guns to the government is an idiot. You should be outraged. Remember that whole "First they came for the gays, but I didn't speak up since I wasn't gay. Then they came for the pageant queens, but I didn't speak up since I wasn't a pageant queen," and so on and so on. Pretty soon, not speaking up means you have no rights at all & don't think "they" won't come for yours sooner or later.

Then, there's this if you think trusting authority is such a hunky dory idea.

I most certainly agree with this, by the way. More people might actually bother with voting & caring if politicians didn't get to grow roots and become the living equivalent of fungus or black mold. Do we really need senile people in office? Attorneys don't get to keep their licenses if they can't do the job, even if they've got the best team in town.

And this is just disgusting. Apparently, Christine Quinn just wants everyone in NYC to get sick and for sanitation grades to be worthless. I know Bloomberg does since he's pretty much evil incarnate.

Oh, and if you haven't already heard USPS will soon stop Saturday service. Not a big thing to me since I don't think my post office even delivers mail to us on Saturday half the time. If you believe this, though, there is one bright spot to that choice.

This is a total disincentive to help anyone with anything. If you're going to be nasty to someone who returns something you lost, well you deserve not to get it back at all. You also deserve to die from choking on your own vomit but if you don't get what you lost back, I'll consider that a partial win. Anyone else? Kudos to the owners of the hardware store for rewarding this guy's generosity even though the guy who lost his money didn't.

This and that recent story I saw about how the BBC is censoring a famous episode of Fawlty Towers really annoys me. The censorship cheerleaders should be beaten upside the head & taken away from any positions of power since they are clearly too stupid to have authority over anything. Better yet, let's also take their pets away even if they are imaginary. A living creature doesn't deserve the tyranny of their rule.

Finally, I read this recently along with this story on why businesses shouldn't be total pricks to job applicants. Would someone pass these memos on to the business people who act like that?

I also find it interesting that we can be at a "too many years at the same job" situation. I guess the exception is if it's your company or you own a share in it. There's a life lesson: don't be loyal to anyone other than yourself since you're just going to be shit on sooner or later. Maybe not literally but plenty of people will do it figuratively. Frankly, I'm not going to spend my resources trying to work with anyone who demands absolutely fealty to the company above all else including my self-respect and my family. No one else should either.

If everyone refused, companies would have to adjust their requirements & expectations for staff or go under. I'd be happy to see some places go down like a lead balloon. They deserve it & should be moved out for competent, well run companies where the staff aren't treated like slaves. If you work at some company & don't get why someone who's got zero ownership interest or executive level work gives a damn like you do, you need a clue and fast. You're also an idiot if you're working off the clock, defending illegality and selling yourself out for some employer. No one is worth that & you'll get tossed under the bus in about 5 seconds if the police come knocking.

General Musings, Part 28

Ahhh...so many things I want to write & so little time to do it (yeah, if you're one of those people constantly employing "Tl;dr" [too long, didn't read] you have no business reading this blog; morons can go for entertainment in plenty of other places).

So, some life updates first. I decided to buy my own domain name for this blog so now you can also get here by typing www.theangryredheadedlawyer.com

Makes it more official. After all, humanity will piss me off in some fashion probably even after I'm dead. No one will let me dye my hair or change it around. Those of you who get to dye your red have the luxury of changing it; I don't. I'll have to stick to wearing wigs if I want to change my hair color without screwing up the natural one I have. As for the lawyer part, people thought I acted like one long before I was officially licensed as one.

First off, I started a basic intermediate level acting class. It's been something else I've been meaning to do & felt that if I was going to build up training on my acting/performance resume, it would be a must have. Seeing a Living Social deal for one made the choice of where to go much easier, though talking to one of the instructors clinched the choice to buy.

In my entertainment experiences, I've also seen that whole circle start to overlap in my networking efforts. In fact, I was talking to an acting coach recently who said my name was familiar to him. People seem to know my business partners or someone I had a conversation with at a networking event or even people I know from networking groups. This particular article definitely rings true. If you think networking is a waste of time in entertainment, you either haven't been in this business very long or you're a moron.

I started noticing this maybe a year ago but it's become even more blatant & obvious to me now. Does that mean you've arrived or that your reputation is proceeding you in a profound way?

On that note, let's also point out for the hundredth millionth time that you need to behave like a civilized person to everyone you encounter. I take notes on who did what to me or mine & if someone says to me "Don't deal with that person b/c (s)he did X,Y & Z" I will take it seriously if it's coming from one of my contacts or someone like a producer, agent, director, etc. whose job consists of screening out the BS & making the creation of art as easy + painless as possible. This also holds true in the legal field & among lawyers. If one of my lawyer contacts says you're a prick, that's enough for me to not give you a chance.

One discovery in my day job: there are quite a few lawyers who don't answer the knocking door of opportunity or consider networking. With all you hear about networking in the legal community & how important it is (it's probably more important than a high GPA or what law school you attend), you'd think no one would be hanging up on me or not listening to what I had to say in that job. Some people desperately need to get out of their self-important bubbles.

Second, I need friends with money. Not to borrow any, mind you. I need friends with money so they WON'T ask me for it. They'd also understand people bugging them to borrow money. I've been in that boat quite recently & in a family situation to boot. Friends who understand families trying to guilt you after you've gotten injured trying to help them & then want to weasel out of paying you on time. If people have said you should be a loan shark, I could use the company. The irony here is that these same family members call other ones "takers"; I may end up saying "Look in the mirror. You're trying to take from ME!"

I have a little less attitude toward my aunt who got burned by them & hasn't been paid back but I still think she was a bitch when calling up my sister right after her first husband died & being completely insincere about it (at least in her tone of voice when she left her message). I said at the time that my father should have confronted her on her shit. I now totally understand people who say they don't loan money to friends or family. I get it! I also wondered if that was my future: getting pestered for money all the time, especially one I really have it.

Finally, my foot's been better but I'm now using a cane for crowded moments. Do you think most people are decent to you on public transit when you have a cane? Ha! I've come close to knocking people upside the head in the morning commute for being in my face or daring to get attitude with me when I don't move in (since I can't do that holding of the top poles even when I have 2 good legs & very little on me). Hubby says I should be off it soon but my foot will be sore for a while & the 1% of healing takes the longest. I wonder what will it be. Days? Weeks? Months? Years? Or will it just be something that makes me an old lady even quicker?

So, now for those general musings:

Some of these are late but welcome to more stupidity among school authorities. You can see it here, here, here & here.

Here's my take on all this.

1. The cerebral palsy thing is just wrong, period. I don't think you have to say much more than that.

2. The "lesbian picture" story reminded me of a photo my mom saw in my senior yearbook of this lesbian couple in my class (who, by the way, I didn't know was a couple since I didn't keep track of them & wasn't friends with either of them plus I had my own shit to deal with). Nobody banned that one & my mother complained about it to us privately but didn't call the school, file a lawsuit or act like my little virgin eyes would explode from seeing it.

Are school administrators these days total pussies or should I blame the parents for not waking up to the realities of the real world? If my very strict, religious mother isn't naive to the realities of our modern times, why the hell can't these people get it together? I'll bet THEIR kids got to watch "The Simpsons" & "In Living Color" in reruns or when they were originally on.

3. The "no hugging" thing is also stupid. I'll guarantee this school doesn't have a drama department or their actors suck if they do. Touching people is part of the whole acting experience & being able to trust your fellow actors/truly do better work on stage. Not graphic touch but hugging would certainly be included.

Even my religious private school where you couldn't say "butt" & the cheerleaders had to wear knee length skirts didn't have such a rule!

4. The prom dress thing: personally, I have a more nuanced view here.

First off, you have to consider that in my prom going days longer dresses were in vogue. No one wore cocktail dresses. That's what most of these short dresses are: cocktail dresses.

I'm totally prejudiced to a long dress. Think about it: how many times are you ever going to get to wear one? You can wear cocktail dresses to clubs. You can wear them to networking events in bars or film screenings or other entertainment/cultural events. They're also perfect for bachelorette parties & if you have ugly legs or a fat waist, the right style of long gown will cover some of that. Some women have no business in a cocktail dress & should spare the rest of us. Hell, if you want to be an adult star or take your clothes off you could also wear one to Hugh Hefner's mansion.

I think short dresses are too casual for a prom or a formal. Plus, with so many other places you can wear them (unless you're going to be a teen mommy, not have a bachelorette party & never go out again) why the hell would you pick a cocktail dress for a prom? To me, it's gauche. It's like wearing your workout clothes or something.

Hell, if you're going to flaunt your wares go do it at some club where guys with money hang out or even in a college party! Go score a sugar daddy or at least a guy who might have some real skills if you want to get laid that badly. I doubt most of these kids go to school with the sons of multimillionaires so it's just going to waste, ladies. Plus, college doesn't have that dress code crap. No one ever turned us away from frat parties for short dresses.

However, that being said I do know the shorter dresses were the rage in the '80s. Did schools do this then? If they didn't, doesn't anyone else think it's needless bitching & whining? I do favor the long formal gown since you'll look like a princess but I also think it's pathetic to institute a "no cleavage at all" rule & think the "inappropriate" dresses aren't exactly porn star wear. I just think it's too casual. Aren't we also talking about 18 year olds? They could easily just go to a college party & to some clubs as well as sleep with adult men without the law being concerned unless it was rape.

I also find high school dress codes for women horribly sexist for the most part as well as not enforced consistently. I'll bet if some cheerleader showed up in one of these verboten dresses, she'd not have any problems.

Things like this just tells me more school administrators need to get laid. Maybe if they were having fulfilling sex lives, they'd stop being such pills to the students & the community at large. Same for some of these parents.

Finally, it's CHILDFREE bitch! This has pissed me off as well for reasons that have been explained a million times already here. Yes, I'm childfree. Now get over it.

Who's the Bully Here and Other Life Stuff

First off, check out this Change.org petition & go sign it (especially if you really hate the MPAA). Those who've read this blog know that I don't take kindly to bullying. I was once bullied myself. Lucky for the perpetrators, they didn't make physical contact with me or cause me these kinds of injuries since I'd have snapped & killed them. If I didn't have a vision of a future away from my hometown and the little shits who lived in it, I'd have been a one woman killing machine long before Columbine ever happened.

I truly think the MPAA did this because the ones who voted against it are bullies themselves. How many filmmakers have they pissed off with their arbitrary ratings process, their secrecy & rules against using their prior decisions to argue for why THIS film in front of them should get a particular rating? It pisses me off as a lawyer who saw "This Film is Not Yet Rated" as well as a person working in the entertainment industry. This doesn't even match with the MPAA's objective of protecting the little children from harm. Morons. Kids aren't little angels! They use profanity. They watch online porn, they do drugs, they have sex.

This sounds like a film teens should be seeing & one that should be mandatory viewing for middle school kids among others. If you disagree, you need to join us in 2012 since the world's changed since your 1950's utopia & by the way, I'd bet a million dollars that these same people are encouraging their kids to bully others or being ineffectual teachers and administrators. I've got no sympathy for these do nothing saps if they're sitting around doing zip about bullies and end up being taken out by some bullied kid's weapon. That's called karma & getting what you deserve. Now, note that I'm speaking of teachers & administrators who have been told about bullying situations and do NOTHING to help the bullied kid (not even separating the problem kid & gang from the bullied). Actual notice vs. suspicion.

Maybe we should stick them with bullies & see how THEY like it. I'm sure these are the same people who think kids who defend themselves should be punished for hitting back instead of being a chump and letting some asshole injure them so badly they need a trip to the hospital. I tell you, if anyone had struck me we'd have been going for death. I was never the sort to screw around; I'd do much worse than simply pull your hair. I'd want to rip your beating heart out of your chest & lift it up for the world to see as an example of why you'd better not fuck with me unless you have a death wish.

I was watching an episode of "Dateline" where they had these hidden cameras & set up bullying situations to see what the kids involved in the program would do (their parents were watching this scene as it unfolded). There was one scenario where these girls were having to pick out clothes & making fun of one girl. Eviscerating is probably the right word for it.

This one girl gets right in the Queen Bee's face, calls her out & basically goes all Terminator on her. My husband was like "That's YOU!" This girl goes so far as to say "So we should all bow down to you?!" then gets on her knees & does this exaggerated bow yelling about her greatness in this sarcastic way. I'd have been proud to be related to her since it seems like something I'd do if you made me mad enough. When they talked to her, she said she herself had been bullied & later learned to stand up for herself, that she was worth something, etc. And she wasn't even a redhead.

I also made it a point to tell my filmmaker contacts about this since if they're censoring the Weinstein Company today, the MPAA could be censoring you or me tomorrow. I'd like to see the MPAA dismantled since I think it's outdated in the age of You Tube, online porn & smartphones for kids.

Parents need to act like parents instead of friends (and you wonder why I think the recent attacks on women's rights are made by chauvinistic men who are asking to be raped by big, angry convicts). That would solve so many problems & we'd see less bullying if kids got the message at home that it's not cool or acceptable. I'd kick my underage relatives' butts myself if they were bullying anyone.

Another lesson about bullied people: they develop a lot of rage. Some people turn it inward while others turn it outward. Bad home lives & personal circumstances don't help matters either. You never know which one you're going to be dealing with.

Generally, things have been better for me. I just finished that improv class & signed up for the 102 level. I'm also starting a full time freelance temp job soon (lasting a few months). Same thing I was doing last year for a few months: I guess they liked my work. It's that perfect job that doesn't require me to take it home or break out in cold sweats at night over it. Those jobs aren't easy to come by if you're a lawyer; most people think you want those high stress situations but with me knowing what I want to do already, that sort of job is the last thing I want.

I also decided to sign up for an acting class I saw advertised through one of those deal websites after talking to someone at the school & getting my questions answered (for one thing, I was told I didn't have to want to be a full time actor & give up everything else I do to be there). When you're nice to me, answer my questions & understand my concerns, that's good business. Oh, and it seems I'm at the intermediate level & not a beginner b/c I have actually done stuff. Nor do I have to worry about anyone trying to teach the business side of acting, which I already know about thank you very much. Another school apparently does this & I was like "Uh, I'm a lawyer & have my own film company. Plus, I interned with an agent. I have a pretty good idea of that stuff." Only idiots cross lawyers, no matter what they look like or their years of experience. This acting class was also something else I wanted to do: a general class where I could sort of get a refresher, some refining & technically have real training outside of my high school drama class or actual participation in shows.

My improv classmates were also cool & I'd like to get some of their resumes for our files since I saw some talent + range. It was also a great atmosphere & I even heard one person comment on how the atmosphere was so much better than it was at one place where she was taking a class. The question, though is professionalism. I don't recommend people unless I know they can be professional & not cause problems.

I have to say I've definitely been happier with this new "don't stress over stuff" outlook on life. I even had to deal with what I've since nicknamed "the case that wouldn't die." Just so you know, if you get pissed at your former attorney you can't get your friend to call the person up & demand documents from your case. We can only give that stuff to the court, your attorney or you. Not my problem if you lost my termination letter. If you don't have your attorney or the judge contact me directly & I can't get anyone after I've told the court I'm not involved, that's it. I've done my part. If we can't even deal with people's parents or spouses, we certainly can't deal with friends (especially when they don't even have a writing from the client saying it's okay for the former lawyer to deal with that person). Attorney-client privilege, for God's sake!

That whole experience helped lessened my tolerance for BS & drained my altruism.

In other news, my husband saw an ad for his dream job. It's at an employer that he already spends a significant amount of money on in terms of their main product (and it's in my general industry). He's got over twice the minimum years of experience they asked for & all the stuff they asked about, including a downright scary encyclopedic knowledge of their industry. He prefers this particular large company for his product to the other big name company for it, which is apparently a plus since many people prefer the other big company. Networking by me helped us clear one hurdle: the name & contact info of the HR person collecting this stuff. I'm giving them 2 weeks; if we hear nothing, I will be following up (though it will be my first day of working, you bet I'll be doing this).

As the unofficial HR head myself & having sorted out intern applications, being an owner in an entertainment company & knowing that any moron could see that my husband should be working at this job if they talked to him for about 10 minutes (probably less), I will have to call the person a moron if they don't even offer him an interview (not just as a wife but as a business owner). I'll also be publicly shaming the place & holding a very long, prolific grudge against them if he's not at least interviewed (if not hired). They certainly won't be getting favors from me or my company & though my husband won't be boycotting them, I certainly will.

Trust me, if you knew all the details, knew my husband's background & what he's been doing in his free time for NO money for the benefit of that industry & helping further it, you'd feel the same way. You'd want to see that place suffer as well & would do you best not to help it if they were doing something to mess up your home life.

For those of you not in relationships with someone you care about & live with, their happiness is your happiness. Their joy is your joy & their tragedy is your tragedy. You have to live with that person; I don't want to live with a husband who's become a shattered, broken person because some asshole refused to give him the chance he deserved. And yes, that person/entity/group would be an asshole considering my networking contacts who helped us clear that hurdle clearly believe in my husband as well based on the facts given.

Now my husband isn't super happy at his current job but does have some prospects he didn't have at his old location. However, "dream job" does trump anything else in writing a letter. I probably got into this business because even a total idiot could see that I had a passion for it & should get a chance. I tried to make sure my husband's cover letter for this was that crystal clear in terms of highlighting passion, interest, experience & just the fact that this would actually be his dream job vs. some platitude he was making to someone. You can't call everything you apply for a "dream job" & the standards for them are different for everyone.

I have an intuitive sense that the HR people there do have some brain cells that work & will love his resume but I've had life let me down (as has he). This means I'm keeping my cynical shell up & am prepared to fight as hard as I need to to make sure my husband gets that fair shake. Otherwise, he may not have a wife to talk about that product with anymore since I'll just be angry over the whole thing & bring it up all the time. I don't support people who ruin my flow or interfere with my opportunities (messing with my husband is messing with me since you're affecting MY life & the entire fabric of my household in multiple ways). Remember, I chewed out that hiring person at the law firm in New Haven who didn't bother telling me anything & who I had to call to learn that they hired someone else with no word to anyone who'd gotten interviewed.

I suppose it creates a cycle. Life does something to disappoint me or let me down & I come out fighting. Some people get super taken aback by my initial reaction, which then means I explain my case & usually things work out. I've just seen & heard about some harsh BS in the workplace, especially in major companies. If they did fulfill my dumbass theory (essentially, it says that employers don't want to hire anyone competent or intelligent & just want to hire the dumbasses since they won't challenge anything, will happily eat all the shit you feed them & lie prostrate before you if you ask them to; this is my theory as to why I never got considered for jobs I was very qualified for & was devised long before I ever worked at the Atlanta law firm), I wouldn't be shocked. I vowed years ago that if I ever had a business, I'd never run it that way. I also think the dumbass theory makes no sense but it does apparently exist under a different name & is in fact a real thing.

The name of this company will only be revealed if they cross us or bother to recognize actual talent when it's staring them right in the face. Being a moron also doesn't encourage or inspire me to do you any favors.

When Laws Become Asinine

Yes, laws/regulations/rules CAN be asinine. If you think they are not or that it never happens, then you're an idiot who needs a good punch of common sense. Thankfully, I don't have to deal with such mental midgets in real life; I just have to read their rantings & realize they do exist.

Consider this situation. I say "Go Anonymous." There are crybabies who seem to think it's perfectly okay to demand people to have permits to feed the homeless, using the rationale of poisoning or community aesthetics as an excuse. I also hear the one about lawsuits as it relates to poisoning.

Okay, morons! Go back to the entry I wrote about how retailers waste things such as clothing and food.

When I hear such arguments, my brain hears "I'm an idiot who has no clue how the legal system works nor has ever been anywhere near hard times."

Let me clue you in on a basic reality: poor people don't have the resources to file lawsuits. If you think poor people (who do have roofs over their heads) have a hard time commencing legal action, how likely do you think it would be that a homeless person will be able to do it & win??? Filing a lawsuit costs MONEY! Getting a lawyer costs MONEY; most of us won't work for free & probably don't want smelly homeless folk in our offices. Legal aid might help you but they have waiting lists a mile long & budget cuts have consistently made need for legal services far greater than the resources they can provide. It's a very old & well documented problem. You may as well start banning convenience stores from selling lottery tickets to the homeless for fear they will get a paper cut & sue.

I've said it before but it bears repeating: the lawsuit argument is stupid!!! I've not once heard a credible attorney make that argument b/c we all know that homeless people don't have the resources to sue anyone, much less some mega-corporation or even a non-profit that has some form of legal representation.

Normal, thinking people aren't stupid. We know political games when we see them. Apparently, so does Anonymous.

The scum trying to defend the status quo or saying "use the legal system" would be better served & respected by admitting they are naive or elitists who are part of the problem. I don't see these people trying to help anyone or do a damn thing that isn't self-serving in some way. Granted, there is the theory that there's no such thing as an altruistic deed. That may very well be true but the ones whining the appearance of homeless people or shooing them to the country aren't exactly helping as much as living in a state of denial.

Maybe you should rethink your support for foreign aid spending & the politicians you vote for when there's blight in your own backyard. Ever consider that? Or are you just so stupid we have to pray evolution will take care of you in due time?

I think arresting people for doing a good deed is disgusting & if you're defending it, I have to wonder if you're a school administrator since doing so sounds an awful lot like that type of logic (especially high school administrators). The ridiculous acts of school administrators are so well cataloged and known that further comment on my part isn't necessary. This blog & mainstream media have covered these acts quite nicely.

Another thing: corporations lie. Consider this.

Me personally, I'd have demanded these bitches be fired publicly and loudly but maybe that's because I worked in retail for so many years and experienced public airing of private events myself. It might also be the fact that I would NEVER tolerate it in my own business & think these wastes of life are far too immature to be in authority over anyone. I certainly hope they don't have full time custody over any children or animals because I can't imagine what that home environment must be like. Nor do I have compassion for scum or trust anything from a corporation's PR team. The PR team is SUPPOSED to issue bright shiny statements when unflattering incidents arise.

I've heard people talk to me about everything under the sun & seen things fall apart in an instant. Plus, I know a thing or two about how a business operates. Call me cynical but action is the only thing I care about; talk is cheap & doesn't impress me as far as big companies are concerned.

I'd definitely never set foot in that location & believe Starbucks deserves everything it has coming to it, especially for being hypocrites. Some people are smart enough to recall things & hold life-long grudges (like yours truly).

Kind of makes me glad there is no Starbucks in my neighborhood. Heck, I might protest even harder against it & use this story as an example of why you should not support them. Inaction means you're condoning the behavior.

I also know enough people who hated Starbucks for other reasons & this is just icing on the cake.

The Auntie Wrath Has Been Triggered

So I learn yesterday that my nephew, the sweetest, cutest 7 year old I know, is the victim of some school bullies. I did a post covering this issue before & like the typical bullying story, the school personnel are being ignorant chuckleheads who apparently want to become victims of gunshots when a bullied kid finally snaps and engages in his/her own little Columbine.

I already have a zero tolerance policy on bullying & at least my sister did the right thing by telling him not to let any little brat push him down without giving the little prick what for. I'll be teaching this kid some self-defense tactics when I'm down there if he needs it. Hell, I lived bullying more than my sister so if anyone's the authority on it, I have to be right up there. My husband also faced serious bullying & could be of help. My sister constantly remarks that living with him is like living with me all over again & that he's also a shy kid so who better to address it?

That leads to another thought: why is it that shy people are almost never appreciated for who they are? Why do we have to cater to the agenda and prejudice of the social butterflies of the world? Even the Queens County Bar Association did this. I can tell you from my sorority recruiting days that you'd never get away with passing the buck like this if you didn't make some shy potential member feel welcome in your house. Not in my chapter, at least where diversity of thought and personality were praised just as much as any in skin color or ethnicity.

Today, I don't consider myself outgoing though I can network like a fiend. I'm just someone who's passionate, knows the game & tries to focus on creating genuine relationships with others. I don't contribute to conversations unless I have something useful to say & I need time to warm up to a social setting where I don't know anyone. That or you can start talking to me. After that, I'll respond.

These school admins better get their act together. The parents of these little brats better start handing out discipline before I roll into town or, oh boy. One of my exes once told me I had the capacity to be like Livia Soprano; people don't tell you that if you're some docile wimp that the world at large can walk on.

I will happily remind them of the lawsuit potential, about Columbine and inform my nephew that he'll be doing far better than these assholes if he keeps his eyes on the prize & realizes that there's a great big world far away from the redneck enclave he's being forced to live in. The jockos will just become Al Bundy anyway. My detractors also have a way of suffering misfortune after getting on my bad side though I had no personal hand in it. Call it karma or turnabout. I have the last laugh anyway since I'm getting to live my dreams and I'll bet 99% of them aren't.

If he wanted to go to boarding school & I had the money, I'd make it happen for him in a second because God knows I wanted to do that at his age. If you'd offered me that as a kid, you wouldn't have had to ask me twice. A place where you can create your own identity & be away from your dysfunctional family while learning truly useful lessons? Hell yeah!

So hopefully, I'll get to impart some of my knowledge & world savvy onto him so he doesn't suffer the emotional shit I and others had to.

If you're a bullied person or know someone who is, a little tip. Your detractors are nothing & not worth impressing.

They are shitheads, pricks, scumbags, whatever insult you have to call them to put them back in the gutter where they belong. They aren't better than you and if they dare to belittle you, they aren't even as good as you. They are nothing, end of story.

If you belittle others, you aren't special. Your shit smells just as bad as everyone else's (probably worse, in fact) and you bleed, die, get sick and eat like anyone else. Get over yourself if you believe otherwise.

When I stopped worrying about what people thought of me, I had a much better life complete with self-esteem. I think eventually, the popular kids & so forth respected me because I respected myself. That realization didn't kick in until very late in high school and it didn't really hit until I was doing stage work and people applauded for me. No one booed or heckled me when I sang or acted; I even got compliments and standing ovations. People mess w/you, remember these sage words from The Angry Redheaded Lawyer: fuck 'em.

That philosophy is probably why I'd never work in a mega-law firm. I've just long evolved from the 7th grade clique shit mentality (which I call it b/c I had to face the worst bullying when I was in 7th grade & from the smart girls clique).

General Musings Part 12

More stories falling into various categories. Here goes.

Bravo to these flight attendants. They're doing what they have to in order to survive. Anyone finding fault in them doing a sexy calendar to raise $ is just some ugly woman who's insecure about her appearance or someone who's never faced hard times; neither group is one I feel particular sympathy towards.

Speaking of another group of people I have no sympathy for, check this out.

Doesn't this mother sound like a micromanaging harpy out to sue anyone she can? Her child is 17 years old & she wants to dictate policy on perfume scents. What will this child do in college or at a job? Going to sue the company because people aren't catering to your sensitivities??? Mommy going in & doing that will sure make things better! I'm not big on overpowering scents myself but why stop there? Let's get rid of people w/BO, the kids so fat they qualify as blobs, those with overly cheery dispositions early in the morning and perform strip searches complete with searches of lunch bags before anyone enters school.

In case you can't tell, I feel the same about peanut bans. Make the allergy suffers go elsewhere instead of demanding everyone else to accommodate to them since the real world doesn't have "peanut free" zones. If you want to get all bitchy about finding an alternative to peanut butter, I suggest you foot the bill for the extra food costs the parents who can't afford alternatives are being forced to pay because of YOUR child's problem. Until then, keep your big mouth shut. I'd like to ban cole slaw & mayonnaise since I don't care for the smells, but I don't think I'd have much success on that one.

If this kid doesn't want to be known as the henpecked offspring of "that controlling mega-bitch", he might want to talk Mommie Dearest out of this public spectacle. Even Vinton Harper had more of a backbone than this kid seems to have(Mama's Family reference; if you haven't seen the show, go look it up online since that crew makes most people's families look adorable by comparison)! Could you imagine dating someone like this? I couldn't & I was quite willful at that age; in fact, I was pretty saucy by about 6 or so.

Now for more stupid school administration policy.

Yes, because some child can successfully murder a group of school children with some Chapstick. Quick, let's put on the haz-mat suits & hide under our desks! Kids in the old days ate stuff that was in dirt, covered in snot, in fact I once saw a kid on the bus eat a live bee.

If you're that worried about school children sharing lip balm, then it's time for you to start a long vacation at your nearest mental facility. No one should release you without some sessions of shock treatment & perhaps a lobotomy if electric shock doesn't calm you down.

Apparently, text messaging is a new distraction in schools.

Well, where have you been for the past 5 years? This same argument comes up in law schools with the use of laptops. Students use the laptops to play computer games, chat on AIM, catch up on the sports game, anything but do school work. At least, this was the case at my law school. You'd think in college you'd just do that courtesy of the free WiFi instead of wasting your $ paying for text messaging service. Personally, I don't care for texting & while it may come in handy at times I just don't want to pay for it.

Putting your phone at the teacher's desk & getting it after class is over seems fair. It prevents cheating, theft by leaving the phone in a locker & you can call the police if some errant school shooter happens by. To me, leaving your life in the hands of others is stupid as a matter of general common sense. Instead of hoping someone does something for you, you're better off trying to make things happen for yourself like protecting your own safety. Too many stories about the MTA doing nothing while people were hurt in the subway stations & not being held liable under the law support my views on taking care of yourself since no one else will.

This MSN article is another dating advice one that annoyed me.

Ah, Glamour magazine. Basically encouraging women to be dishonest. Be a little helpless doormat & don't consider that maybe men shouldn't do this stuff either. I actually had a boyfriend tell me about wanting to date a friend of mine who was dating his frat brother, expressing regret that he didn't "get to her first." Gee, thanks for taking me as sloppy seconds!

If you can't be personal or honest with someone, then you certainly can't live with him/her. That house of cards falls apart the minute you are in close quarters. For the record, the cat is #1 over some asshole guy who'd just leave in 2 seconds. In a functional relationship, there's no competition b/t your significant other & the pet(s). They are equal. My husband & my kitty are equal: they have different roles & importance to the family. The cat kills vermin that intrude on our peace, warns us about bad people & snuggles up on us at night. Plus, my husband got our cat w/the animal abusing bitch. The cat simply claimed me later on.

Hey, Glamour magazine! Do you think I liked my ex telling me to shave my girly areas so I'd look like a 10 year girl? See, a lot of that goes both ways.

Finally, I was reading entries in this online childfree group I used to belong to but after seeing too many child-hating jerks decided to leave. One of them was discussing an initiative among some companies to allow babies in the workplace.

Not babies in a day care facility at the workplace but putting babies into the workplace of people trying to do jobs.

Could you imagine that in the entertainment field? In some agent's or lawyer's office, that baby would be exposed to so much swearing & vulgar language it would start talking like Tony Soprano when it got old enough. Putting them in some spaces is just downright torture for the baby & everyone within a 2 mile radius such as a CLE course.

I'm all for day care in a separate area in the workplace with qualified caregivers supervising the kids but actual babies in the workspace of others??? Hell, no!!! Who is that stupid? Who cares so little about productivity and the bottom line to approve that one?

I think a better solution would be more generous pregnancy leave for both genders such as in Canada, France & the like, day care in more workplaces (so kids can also socialize with peers & see their parents on lunch breaks) and some compromise on both sides of the table. I don't have all the answers there but I think those are better than just letting babies come into the office with you to rest in your cubicle.

Finally, I've not heard about whether people actually diverted the TSA enhanced search nonsense last week. I hope there was a TON of it. That whole thing bothers me & is just another good reason for me not to fly. I had enough bad experiences with missing luggage, bad landings & total incompetence leading to flight delays, long before the 2006 liquid ban that sounds like just another attempt to extort money from working people by making them buy overpriced beverages at airport shops. Until I know a competent pilot with a private plane & can fly first class, I'm not getting onto an airplane if I can help it.

Stay tuned tomorrow for the contest announcement.

Bullying in School

I was reading this MSN story today as well as the comments.

To continue on the stupidity of school administrators, I'm right there with you on the whole punishing a kid for defending himself/herself issue. I was also tormented myself & my father didn't always threaten to murder the little shit. I really identified w/Dawn in Welcome to the Dollhouse because I was similar in many ways, though I had much more of a backbone and by 8th grade, I had had enough. You have to thank the friends I had at that time for it; they probably saved most of these people from a deadly rampage later on & certainly improved life for me. They told me point blank I'd have to stand up for myself but that they'd have my back if needed.

When I got insulting notes from people, I'd just retaliate & put the kids in situations where the teachers heard them torment me during class or saw them writing notes. I was also a smart kid so there was no favorites contest going on. I probably hurt the self-esteem of this one girl who tormented me by saying that nobody liked her (which was true, people said she was a snobby bitch). Later on, I had older friends & that probably helped lessen problems I had.

I'll say this right now. If my nephews were bullies, no one in my family would let them get away with it. If they got bullied and defended themselves only to get in trouble, I'd had plenty of words for the school administrator/principal/teacher trying that one. I'd ask if they would allow someone to hit their person & not fight back or allow someone to bully THEM. In case you can't tell, I'm not an advocate of turning the other cheek in most situations.

I also have a problem w/the "I didn't see it so I can't do anything" logic. That just means I can kill someone in cold blood but b/c you didn't see me do it, you can't punish me. Do you want to live in that world? I sure hope not.

I also hope my nephews take some self-defense classes or something w/a fighting component; I just got done taking a self-defense class for women and found it extremely useful to real life. I hated gym class but I actually did well at this & if I have the $, would consider pursuing Jiu Jitsu training.

I loved the suggestion some of these comment writers had of having a bullied child take self-defense & use those skills when needed to teach the bully a lesson. You know what they say, some of the cutest kittens have the sharpest claws.

That little rule needs to change & start with having the aggressors get punished. Perhaps it should become a social services issue w/the parents who refuse to accept any responsibility or control their little hellion offspring. Maybe if you can't handle your own child, then you shouldn't have had him/her to start with. My parents never took mess from us or though we were perfect. People like that should also never hire babysitters since if your child is never doing something wrong, you obviously trust that child to be alone.

Don't even get me started on administrator's kids or teacher's kids getting away w/things b/c these grownups didn't bother to put the discipline where it needed to go. I had a friend who was the daughter of the school board president & she was the sweetest person in the school. She never walked around with an entitlement complex or thought she was exempt from the rules. In fact, she even defied the cliche of the bitchy cheerleader by being nice to people who weren't popular.

Maybe the people who brush off bullying should become bully targets themselves. I'd bet they'd take action after that. Same principle as making the heads of the MTA take public transit themselves for a few months; I'll bet you things would shape up really quickly after that.

General Musings Part 9 & Why I Don't Follow Random Celebrities

Well, a few things have been going on. First off, no more comedy opportunity. I don't wish harm onto this person or ill will but if you think an attorney is doing anything without a writing, you must be insane. Especially if you have worked in the legal field yourself and KNOW how attorneys feel about it.

Not a big concern to me because I'll always find something to occupy myself. Now I have a story to mention & some links to share thoughts on.

First off, have you heard about the school administrators who are banning "I Love Boobies" bracelets? Apparently, these bracelets are from a company attempting to promote breast cancer awareness & encourage young people to care about it (especially young men since the heterosexuals don't care to wear pink). It's national news & I didn't save any links so feel free to look this one up on your own.

In my opinion, most school administrators are the stuffiest, most boring people on this Earth. They epitomize the cliche of the out of touch adult & never remember what it was like to be young themselves. You'd think these people popped out of the womb as stuffy 60 year olds.

I think their talents are wasted as school administrators; they need to be running prisons and working in the military. Perhaps be used to torture national enemies. Some politician should probably enlist a school administrator who behaves like this on his/her cabinet just to get people to bend to the politician's will. I've found the term "Little Hitler" to sum these people up to a T.

Let's also talk about the eggshell sensibilities of those daring to get offended by the term "boobies." I heard far worse language in public elementary school (lots of cursing) & this ban didn't happen in a religious private school or even in an elementary school; this is happening in a high school. HIGH SCHOOL, ladies and gentlemen!! Where sex and drinking run rampant for plenty of kids and the Internet will give you access to far nastier content than you'd ever see in the most inspired, creative professional porn film any professional film creator could hope to come up with. You people are a laugh riot; take these sensibilities to an Amish school or a fundamentalist Christian school. Otherwise, wake up and join us in 2010!

Or maybe you should tell us all what drugs you're taking since they apparently do a very good job of allowing you to block out reality. I'm sure others would like some.

Finally, Anthony Heald who played the assistant principal in Boston Public captured this asshole perfectly. I was reminded of the bitchy assistant principal in my high school who was just like this. Rational people hate little Hitlers. So I'm not shocked at school administrators being stupid but I am shocked at this ban in a public high school.

Now to links I'm shocked about.

Let's just call this what it is: employer greed. Maybe some of you fucktards seeking candidates should get the hint if you can't fill these positions; no one is willing to work for the same wage & do 100 extra things. Would you like to do that, especially if it's not YOUR company & your contribution won't mean shit to the people in charge? You'll simply get rewarded by being laid off or fired for not learning Cantonese fast enough while developing advanced computer programming skills, feeding the nation's poor out of your own pocket and studying for 3 states' bar exams.

Maybe, big shot employer, YOU need to re-evaluate compensation schemes or prepare for a massive revolt where people harm YOUR secure spaces and any security you hire turns against you for ripping them and others off. I'm rooting for that revolt; if I had to face that stuff head on like the average laid off person who's no longer qualified for their old job, I'd probably be trying to organize it.

Who the hell do you think you are to think the laws of economics don't apply to you? We should start trimming CEO pay if the CEO isn't willing to do all this since if you're going to demand people to wear 1,000 hats, it's only fair that you do the same if you haven't already been doing it.

This just scares me. I also find it incredibly tacky. It's the ultimate white trash thing to do. I may have had a smaller, cheaper wedding but I insisted on tastefulness & not going to a reception at any location that has peanut shells on the floor. My sister might get a laugh from it, though. Can you imagine your wedding photos?

At least if you're going to joke about the whole institution, try an abandoned shack or something a little more creative + artistic than a McDonalds. Why not just get the McDonald's logo tattooed on your butt while you're at it?

I heavily disagree that being an attorney is worth the stress. The wage information is also total bunk, inflated for those working in the mega-firms. Those with jobs far below six figures can vouch for me on that. I'd also hate just doing attorney stuff; that would kill me. I just see being an attorney as something extra I bring to the table, not my life's work.

Oh, and Bob Saget apparently posted footage online with an annoying brat on a six hour plane flight.

I wondered initially how many people probably pestered him with "It's Danny Tanner! Can I get an autograph?" Then, I was almost compelled to break my "no following famous people I don't know" rule. Almost, though.

So, why won't The Angry Redheaded Lawyer follow famous people if she doesn't know them & they didn't follow her first? Here goes:

* The famous person might well be an asshole. I hate assholes & will not be shy about telling anyone off. God help you if you piss off an entertainment lawyer. You can also ask about this one. You won't find sucking up w/me & expecting me to give a shit when you didn't earn it will just elicit a good old fashioned NYer response.

* I'm not a "fan" of anyone. I'm not going to root in the garbage, pay a bunch of money for things or generally debase myself for anyone. You'll find that I maintain a sense of decorum and can act normally around anyone. If you think otherwise, you can arrange a $ bet on that but you'd better have a chance of making that meeting happen if you want to see action. I'll expect your payment if you see me acting normally.

No one is special to me b/c of being famous. If I hear you're an asshole, I'll likely ask about it. I don't like anyone unless I get to know them personally & make that judgment for myself; there are plenty of people I can't stand who did one or two things I like or share an opinion I agree with. Don't lump me into the "fan" category unless you know me by name or at least could remember me as "that redhead who's a lawyer."

* I don't like intruding on people. I don't want people intruding on me. Do unto others, you know?

* I don't want to be thought of as some gate crashing wannabe trying to use anyone to get ahead in life. Help because you want to, not because I asked.

* I generally expect people to be nasty to me & I remember slights as well as anyone else in the business. So why go out & experience the nastiness that I already figure will happen? Argue self-fulfilling prophecy all you want but I'm more shocked when someone does something nice for me than when they do something shitty.

* Finally, it's a vouching thing. If people I know had good conversation or weren't treated like crap by the famous person, I'll be more likely to take notice & care. If you've met some of these people, that means you'll eventually be dealing w/me on some level so I'm a business colleague & not "some fan."

I think that's fair. What about you?

Workers Wising Up & Crazy Stories from Mississippi

This is a sight for sore eyes.

It's no wonder, when you're making the remaining employees do the work of 2-3 people you've laid off & didn't replace without any promotions or salary increases. So seems this flies in the face of the "50 hours is the new normal & we'll just have to suck it up" crowd, doesn't it?

That makes me happy. Finally, some people are wising up & saying "Enough is enough." If this happened on a mass scale & people started using common sense again, I'd be even happier.

And this just makes me laugh.

Sorry but if you believe this, then I've got a bridge to sell you in Alaska. I saw Prom Night in Mississippi & I have to say that while there may be some intelligent, decent people in the state of Mississippi it's not been my experience that intelligent, decent people exist in the average county school district anywhere in the country.

If anything, I hear more about school administrators who lack any kind of capacity for rational thought based on news headlines & stories from family, friends, acquaintances, etc. Stories about denying diplomas to people whose guests applauded at their graduation, teachers trying to ban words, principals exercising double standards & even in my own high school days, we had some teachers who conducted themselves so poorly that a hobo deserved more respect than they did.

When your own mother says that a particular teacher doesn't deserve respect from students, it's a sign. Granted, my high school was known as Thug High when I went there but if a teacher can't even bother to do some basic things to earn respect from his/her students, it's time for that teacher to find a new profession.