Seriously these are kids. Do you expect them to have an idealogical debate with an adult? You don't see an adult telling some kids that they are what's wrong with America as a harangue or offensive? I am not going to have an ideological discussion with my 8 and 6 year old cousins and neither should any adult. If so random adult were to do so as I said "jackass" would be at the mild end of my response to them. Seriously Giddyup if you don't see what is wrong with this you have essentially surrendered common decency just to defend ideology. Would you accept it if some stranger did this to your kids? FYI that was my second hypothetical question which you have not answered.
I'm not trying to pick a fight but trying to find out exactly to what extent you will go to defend this type of situation. As I told Giddyup, seriously these are kids. As adults we can have our ideological fights but lets leave the kids out of it.
So it was my turn to babysit, and my niece is playing Barbies. I'm mostly just high and watching tv, and she's quiet somewhere else in the house, but at one point I need a microwave burrito and run into her on the kitchen floor. And Betsy (that's my niece), and Betsy's got Barbie & Ken in the pink dreamtastic convertible on the linoleum, and my niece is making kissing noises. Needless to say, I put a stop to that immoral ---- right away. "How much is she charging?" "How much is Barbie charging?" I demanded again. "What do you mean? Love? Love!? Ken's not paying?" We live in a free market society, and that means that nothing is free, I told her, and set her the f--- straight. $20 in Monopoly money for the front seat, an orange $500 for the back. Straight cash transaction. An hour later, she comes crying to me upstairs. I think she's come to apologize, but NO, she wants to play tea party now. I'm kinda impressed she could even reach, much less work, the stove, but then, there she goes again. "How much for the tea?" I ask, but chatty Betsy's too busy giving away imaginary scones to her imaginary friends to pay attention, just like some wack barista, always gossiping in the back instead of taking my order. As my regular readers know, I was obviously (and rightfully) enraged. I slammed my plate down on the table, and the tea kettle went flying. Betsy ended up with some bruises, and some pretty bad burns. She was crying up a storm, but those'll heal soon enough. What's really important is that she finally learned a lesson about capitalism. The customer is always right. And there's always a customer. Her tea wasn't even as good as Starbucks, anyway. True story.
Yes I did. My answer was that when you set up any kind of lemonade stand, you are going to encounter the public. Therefore people are going to engage you. Period. End of story.
Wait I thought you said she didn't engage them? You never answered the question about if the ideological position had been reversed and a liberal writer was chastising kids for a pay lemonade stand. You never answered the question about if you are fine with random strangers doing the samething to your kids.
I think what I said was that the brother engaged them more than she did. She was just offering opinions from the back-seat. I answered both questions. I did answer the question by saying that if you allow your kids to do something like that, they are going to meet the public... and who knows what the public will do? I would never isolate my kids and let them do something like this but neither did the parents in this story; they sent the nanny. That was why I asked you the question about what you would do about a (my) daughter's lost tatoos. I could easily have protected her from disappointment by just buying more. Instead I helped her look for them and talked her through her responsibility for what happened when she wanted to somehow blame the store and expected the store to make it right. My idea of good parenting is to protect my kids from DANGER but not DISAPPOINTMENT-- when personal responsibility is involved. I also answered the question about a role reversal by saying that I would never call the "critic" the kind of names that have been thrown around here. The whole episode has been over-dramatized. It was a bare exchange which has been turned into the Nuremberg Trials.
While our kids are giving out handouts the rest of the world teaches their's to be soccer stars - no wonder we are getting our butts kicked in math and science!
This is an exciting double-bill, with giddyup and thumbs combining their intellectually dishonest skills in the most incredible display of pretzel logic since Steely Dan.
hyperbolize much? you seem to be of the opinion that when people spout stupid opinions, they shouldn't be called out for them.
Aren't you being a bit harsh and judgmental there? For-profit lemonade stands are almost an institution. Did you see the link to the annual nationwide events in early May? Expressing an opinion which supports that kind of enterprise can hardly be called stupid.
Not one bit of pretzel was used in the construction of my argument.... Look at the insults hurled just on page one and ask yourself again who is contorting.
i can support that kind of enterprise without being a jerk to some kids who are doing something different. i didn't realize there were by-laws for kids to follow when setting up lemonade stands to fend off boredom on a summer day. can you send me a link, please?
My gawd, those children are defiling the American institution of the lemonade stand. I bet they don't even send a bill when they play doctor.
