Exchanges with People that Make Your Brain Hurt

[lady_disdain]

From a column in today's San Francisco Chronicle. It's a tale that wags the dogma

It's the first item in the column. It's a little convoluted & I had to read it a couple of times to get it. A parent has found a great private school, however, "the website seems to stress the Catholic dogma," which as the columnist notes, shouldn't be too surprising, since it's a Catholic school. The parent wonders if there will be enough agnostics involved with the school to "make us feel comfortable."

I'm an agnostic myself, and I'll be the first to say: what a twit.  Seriously, you don't send your child to Our Lady Of Everlasting Catholicism and expect a secular education!

As an atheist, daughter of an agnostic and an atheist, I understand perfectly. Here, many of the best schools are either religious or focused on test taking (which would be a disaster for me). However, not all religious schools view religion the same way. One school I went (very traditional, founded by a quite famous monk) was very liberal, stressing personal responsibility and showing religion as something one actively chose to participate in. There was quite a large portion of the school that was either agnostic, atheist or of a completely different religion. There was no problem with us sitting out during school Masses, even though there was a crucifix in every classroom. Another school I went to, however, was much more conservative. I was one of the few students who wasn't actively Catholic and that was a problem (despite what the director - a priest - told us before I enrolled). I was not allowed to sit out Masses, I was reprimanded for not praying before class and presenting views opposing the dogma was not well received. Both are Catholic schools but offered completely different experiences. I don't think a parent is at all amiss for inquiring into a school's view.

[Diane AKA Traska]

From a column in today's San Francisco Chronicle. It's a tale that wags the dogma

It's the first item in the column. It's a little convoluted & I had to read it a couple of times to get it. A parent has found a great private school, however, "the website seems to stress the Catholic dogma," which as the columnist notes, shouldn't be too surprising, since it's a Catholic school. The parent wonders if there will be enough agnostics involved with the school to "make us feel comfortable."

I'm an agnostic myself, and I'll be the first to say: what a twit.  Seriously, you don't send your child to Our Lady Of Everlasting Catholicism and expect a secular education!

As an atheist, daughter of an agnostic and an atheist, I understand perfectly. Here, many of the best schools are either religious or focused on test taking (which would be a disaster for me). However, not all religious schools view religion the same way. One school I went (very traditional, founded by a quite famous monk) was very liberal, stressing personal responsibility and showing religion as something one actively chose to participate in. There was quite a large portion of the school that was either agnostic, atheist or of a completely different religion. There was no problem with us sitting out during school Masses, even though there was a crucifix in every classroom. Another school I went to, however, was much more conservative. I was one of the few students who wasn't actively Catholic and that was a problem (despite what the director - a priest - told us before I enrolled). I was not allowed to sit out Masses, I was reprimanded for not praying before class and presenting views opposing the dogma was not well received. Both are Catholic schools but offered completely different experiences. I don't think a parent is at all amiss for inquiring into a school's view.

Personally, I just think it would be wiser to take for granted that it's going to be religiously oriented.  But then, I live in an area with a lot of Catholic schools and a large public school system.

[nutraxfornerves]

I don't think a parent is at all amiss for inquiring into a school's view.

True. However, this parent had already done so, before asking if there would be a lot of agnostics there.

I looked at the website of the school in question, which the parent had checked. Prominently displayed at the top of the home page are statements that indicate that the school is dedicated to providing a Catholic education and that they have a strong religious program. The Catholic focus of the school is mentioned everywhere.

[blue2000]

This was a brain hurt that happened years ago but I was reminded of it today.

Every once in a while, our store changes the set-up of a department, usually for a reason. Two of the managers were setting up barbecues one year for the spring season and were having quite a bit of trouble.

I looked at the sheet they were having problems with and realised that the manufacturer had put letter codes on all their items for easier set-up and ordering. Big huge letters on the front of the box that you could not miss, and all the shelves went in alphabetical order. So item A went on the first shelf, item B was next to it, etc.

I think I came by when the managers were arguing about which item came after F. Total head-desk moment...

[TootsNYC]

From a column in today's San Francisco Chronicle. It's a tale that wags the dogma

It's the first item in the column. It's a little convoluted & I had to read it a couple of times to get it. A parent has found a great private school, however, "the website seems to stress the Catholic dogma," which as the columnist notes, shouldn't be too surprising, since it's a Catholic school. The parent wonders if there will be enough agnostics involved with the school to "make us feel comfortable."

I'm an agnostic myself, and I'll be the first to say: what a twit.  Seriously, you don't send your child to Our Lady Of Everlasting Catholicism and expect a secular education!

My kids attended a Lutheran school. Not a lot of Lutherans in Queens anymore; me and about 6,000 other people, total (made that up). So there were lots of people from other Christian sects, and the school said, officially, "people of all faiths welcome."

At the Christmas program I overheard a mother whose skin tone and hair made me think she might be Middle Eastern say to another similarly-complexioned mother, "I thought they were going to include Abraham!" I thought, "Lady, we pay attention to Abraham, but not at Christmas, when his BOSS was being born!"

There was an overtone of "they told me" to her comment, so I actually was concerned that they would dumb-down the Christian aspects that I valued. Especially since they were trying to raise their enrollment. So I mentioned it to the principle and our pastor (a board member).

[gentlebutterfly]

I just had a brain-hurty moment I had to share. DH and I are looking to get a loan, so we called several places asking about interest rates, etc. One place was slightly higher than the others, so we told them that the rate was a little high, and thanked them for their time. They had all of our information. This was Thursday.

Today, I get a call from them, and a guy asked me why they didn't get our business, and I again explained about the interest rate. Remember, they called me. He then transferred me to someone who could take a second look, I figured it couldn't hurt. The next person gets on the line and says "Oh, you shouldn't have been transferred to me, I'm not qualified to do loans in that state." She offered to have someone call me in my state, but since I really didn't want to wait for another call, I said "No, thank you". I was kind of bemused that they called me and couldn't figure out what they were doing, but thought nothing more of it.

Just now, the same woman calls me again, and asks if anyone followed up with me on the loan information. I said that they hadn't, because I thought we were done. And she says (again) how someone can call me with more information. I just told her we decided to go with someone else.

This whole thing wouldn't be so brain-hurty if they hadn't called me! They already had all of my info and they transfer me to someone not qualified in my state, who apparently doesn't have the ability to just transfer me to someone who is.

[wonderfullyanonymous]

In our store, only registers 19 and 20 can sell tobacco products, today I had a customer come and ask me where he could buy cigarettes. I told him, registers 19 or 20.

He seemed satisfied with the answer he got, and went on his merry way. A little while later, same customer came back and asked if there was anywhere else he could buy his cigarettes in the store. Again I told him, only registers 19 and 20 are able to sell. Off he goes again.

He comes back one last time, can you just walk them to another register? Again, I answer him, only registers 19 and 20.

Why do some people think that if they ask a question several different ways, they will get the answer they want?

[Elfmama]

In our store, only registers 19 and 20 can sell tobacco products, today I had a customer come and ask me where he could buy cigarettes. I told him, registers 19 or 20.

He seemed satisfied with the answer he got, and went on his merry way. A little while later, same customer came back and asked if there was anywhere else he could buy his cigarettes in the store. Again I told him, only registers 19 and 20 are able to sell. Off he goes again.

He comes back one last time, can you just walk them to another register? Again, I answer him, only registers 19 and 20.

Why do some people think that if they ask a question several different ways, they will get the answer they want?

Perhaps there were no cashiers at either of those?

[marcel]

From a column in today's San Francisco Chronicle. It's a tale that wags the dogma

It's the first item in the column. It's a little convoluted & I had to read it a couple of times to get it. A parent has found a great private school, however, "the website seems to stress the Catholic dogma," which as the columnist notes, shouldn't be too surprising, since it's a Catholic school. The parent wonders if there will be enough agnostics involved with the school to "make us feel comfortable."

There could be a quite few agnostic Catholics involved with the school off course, though they would support the Catholic program as much as a gnostic Catholic.

(I think this person forgot that agnosticism says nothing about a persons theism.)

[Kate]

Her reply? " I guess you don't pick people up from airport very often most people call first  to check if flight arrived"....!!!!!!

I understand Kate's brain-hurt on this one, but this line makes my brain hurt. Maybe because it's about 1½-2 hrs drive between my house and the nearest commercial airport, 1hr to my mum's house (from her nearest airport) and 4hrs to my SIL's; but surely almost anywhere if you (generic) waited for the flight to land before going to pick up a passenger, the passenger would be waiting around?

Yep...I am only ten minutes from the airport and its a small airport too so it only takes passengers about 15 or 20 minutes max to get their luggage and get out to the pick up area. It never would occur to me to call the airport first unless there was obviously bad weather  or something. And in this case it would have done no good as her flight arrived right on time ....without her.

[Yvaine]

Her reply? " I guess you don't pick people up from airport very often most people call first  to check if flight arrived"....!!!!!!

I understand Kate's brain-hurt on this one, but this line makes my brain hurt. Maybe because it's about 1½-2 hrs drive between my house and the nearest commercial airport, 1hr to my mum's house (from her nearest airport) and 4hrs to my SIL's; but surely almost anywhere if you (generic) waited for the flight to land before going to pick up a passenger, the passenger would be waiting around?

Yep...I am only ten minutes from the airport and its a small airport too so it only takes passengers about 15 or 20 minutes max to get their luggage and get out to the pick up area. It never would occur to me to call the airport first unless there was obviously bad weather  or something. And in this case it would have done no good as her flight arrived right on time ....without her.

Is there any chance she meant call her, rather than the airport?

[greencat]

Her reply? " I guess you don't pick people up from airport very often most people call first  to check if flight arrived"....!!!!!!

I understand Kate's brain-hurt on this one, but this line makes my brain hurt. Maybe because it's about 1½-2 hrs drive between my house and the nearest commercial airport, 1hr to my mum's house (from her nearest airport) and 4hrs to my SIL's; but surely almost anywhere if you (generic) waited for the flight to land before going to pick up a passenger, the passenger would be waiting around?

Yep...I am only ten minutes from the airport and its a small airport too so it only takes passengers about 15 or 20 minutes max to get their luggage and get out to the pick up area. It never would occur to me to call the airport first unless there was obviously bad weather  or something. And in this case it would have done no good as her flight arrived right on time ....without her.

Is there any chance she meant call her, rather than the airport?

As per the OP, the errant passenger didn't carry her cellphone ever.

[Piratelvr1121]

This is an old brain hurt but it still makes me shake my head when I think of it.

When DH was in the Marines and we lived on base, we had some very nice next door neighbors who were very religious.   We went to church too, actually even the same services at the chapel, but our spiritual ideals didn't always match up.

For instance, when it came to Halloween, they would not do the door to door thing because they didn't agree with the whole Halloween thing.  Or so they said, because they all dressed up in costume and went to a "harvest festival" at the base chapel where the children would be walking around and getting candy in their bags from various volunteers and having parties. 

From what I've learned from people who do not celebrate Halloween for religious reasons, it's because they don't agree with the holiday's pagan origins, the dressing up to repel the evil spirits who pass between the living and the dead on that one night before All Saint's Day when that veil is lifted?

Now that's fine, to each their own, but doesn't it defeat the purpose of objecting to dressing up in costumes and going door to door for candy when you dress up in costume and go from one person to the next who will drop candy in your bags?  It's doing  basically the same thing but at a church/chapel and calling it something different. 

I didn't say anything about it to our neighbors, partly cause I was impressed by the husband's awesome MIB costume and how he'd rigged up a neuroblaster that looked like the one in the movies.   But it didn't quite make sense to me.

I have known of organizations that will do that sort of thing for children who do not live in safe neighborhoods, like a Trunk Or Treat, so that they can still participate, but this was a base neighborhood we lived in that was really safe. 

[hermanne]

Going through a brain-hurty right now. DS is asking every 10-30 seconds for the past 20 minutes if it's time to go to swim class yet. 

ETA: He's 3 years old.

[Twik]

(Eyeroll at Kate's friend, not DaisyG!)  Since we only live a few miles from the airport, DH calls me as soon as his plane lands.  By the time I get there, he's already collected his luggage and is standing outside waiting.  And if he's delayed at any point, he calls me.

What you can do, if you live farther away, is call and find out if the plane left on time.  Say your friend was flying from Dallas-Fort Worth to JFK.  You call or go online to find out if United Flight 1234 from DFW to JFK left on time.  If it didn't, you know approximately how long it was delayed.

Leaving on time is a good hint, but it's still not a guarantee that the flight will land on time. Weather, air traffic, or mechanical difficulties can all play a part.