So it occurred to me that the grumpiest of Bernie Sanders’ supporters remind me of little girls fantasizing about a prince on a white horse. And before you bring it up: I know that’s not fair.
It’s not fair to lump people together and make assumptions like that. And I don’t want the assumptions to be true. I sincerely hope there are not many young girls fantasizing about princes on white horses. Any color horses, really. I just get confused because you can’t go anywhere without seeing young girls all done up in frothy pink tulle and sequins because apparently everybody gets to be a princess now, and what the hell is that all about? As a girl, I couldn’t have imagined getting all dolled up like that, voluntarily. It was like your wretched Easter finest, squared. Polished shoes and anklets and petticoats. Honestly. The female condition, writ in starch.
I’m hoping for the best. I’m assuming the current princesses are some new variety that has special powers and interesting kingdoms and they’re not all waiting for their princes to ride up on their horses and save them from something. Everybody seems to know which princess is which because they represent particular movie franchises and although, yes, they’re still adorable and have big eyes and pert noses and trim bodies, they also have special skills and worthy aspirations, or something. I guess.
It’s all so different. We each roll out of the chute different, and I’ll just say for the record, the Murr seed sprang true from the get-go. I had no interest in dolls, let alone princesses. All I wanted was stuffed animals. I had 46 of them. Gronk the brontosaur was the largest, and Webster the ladybug was the smallest. Here’s the interesting thing. They were all males. Every one of them, except Mrs. Teddy Bear, who was a hand-me-down with a handed-down name and a rubber face and eyelashes painted on. I never played with her at all. I even called the whole collection “The Guys.”
Why were they all guys? Because girls never did anything interesting. Girls ended up being mommies. My own mommy was the best person ever, but I didn’t want to be one. In fact, I couldn’t even imagine what I would ever be. There wasn’t any choice but mommy or teacher or secretary or nurse. The Guys had business to run and things to do. Trumpet was President, Oashmeal was Vice President, Glump was Secretary, and there was no need for a treasurer. Funkhauser had a grocery store, Borgward published a newspaper, and Gronk was an accomplished poet. I left my own future casually unvisualized and blundered into adulthood during the Women’s Liberation Movement. I still didn’t know what I might do but at least nothing seemed off limits.
Anyway I can hardly believe that today’s girls feel so constrained, so I’m assuming the best of the princess thing. I’d like to think the best of the Bernie thing too. You can’t hang onto that prince on the white horse. I’m not saying Bernie’s not right. He’s 100% right. What he’s not is magical. He would have no power at all as President beyond the power he still has, the power to move us in the right direction, and try to get this ship turned around. And he can’t do that without us. He is us.
I groan inwardly whenever I see Bernie bumper stickers. Yes, of course he is right. But he hasn't a chance of winning as a third party in a two-party system. The only thing he can actually accomplish is to take votes away from Biden (you KNOW that Trumpers wouldn't vote for him). So essentially, people who vote for Bernie, "because I must vote my conscience" are giving the vote to Trump.
Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good!
Also, Murr, I want to caution people against relying on mail-in voting. The USPS has said that it does not have the resources to insure the ballots all being counted in time. Keeping that in mind, I've heard that of Trump supporters, only 17% plan to vote by mail. 67% of Democrats plan to. Do the math.
I'm begging you, people: no matter how scared you are about going out amongst people, go OUT to vote! It's THAT important!
Oh, I think it's plenty of precaution to request and receive your ballot early, and then either give it 8 days to make it back or trot it over to a ballot drop box. Neither of which would require you being in a line or in a small room with a bunch of other people. But it does require some planning, and getting-around-to-it-ing.
You can also hand-deliver it at the polls.
Murr, Oregon is one of 4 states not included in the USPS cautionary letter about mail-in ballot timelines. Most states have just finished their state primary elections; some still haven't occurred (NH's isn't until 9/8). Ballots can't be printed until results are finalized. There are hard deadlines for all the steps to general election which include printing a gazillion more absentee ballots. One other thing that's key is that in states that don't have 100% vote by mail is that we don't have drop boxes for ballots. There are already states not getting timely delivery of mail. It's all a gigantic cluster.
Yeah, this! Ordering something online, I'm told repeatedly that it will take much longer than usual, not only due to Covid, but to the storms we have been experiencing in the east. Covid is not suddenly going to go away, and they are predicting a hellatious year for hurricanes. That being said, I will walk the two blocks to my local polling place and vote in person. I can only HOPE that there will be a line; usually there is no one else.
People who think in black-and-white terms don't recognize goodness in anyone Less Than.
Our county (Sedgwick County KS) has announced that they will be sprinkling drop boxes about the county. I'm thinking that our little city (25,000 people) will surely have one of its own.
I took husband's and my ballot requests to our local post office two or three weeks ago.
These days a lot of kids (and adults) get their concept of princesses from Frozen. It is a little different.
Yeah, has to be. I haven't seen it. Or Star Trek. Or Star Wars. Or Harry Potter. Or Tiger Whatever It Is. It's amazing how much Culture I've missed out on. (And I'm not bragging–I just seem to have been out to lunch.)
You had 45 stuffed animals? Wow, I only had about 12. One of them was a red velvet sheep, named "Mr. Nash". I think I named him that because his posture and face looked just like a 1950 Nash — https://www.macsmotorcitygarage.com/video-introducing-the-1950-nash-airflyte/
But the relevant issue here is that I would always tell people (in a conspiratorial whisper) that "Mr. Nash is really a girl." So much for early gender confusion. I guess he had to 'pass' as a real guy, just to avoid being kicked out of the flock?
And yeah, this forced slowdown of the Post Office does seem like some cheap trick that would be pulled by a desperate 3rd-world dictator…which makes it even more frightening…
46. And don't it, though?
Trumpet was president? Wow. That was pretty prescient of you!
Only today was it pointed out to me that Trumpet was quite the name for the president of the Guys. I was into the instrument at the time. When Dad asked me what instrument I might want to learn, I said trumpet. He wasn't going for that.
Princesses/dolls were a very, very minor part of my childhood. I valued neither. I do find myself longing for a magic wand now though. A wand to smite people with…
I think you need a sword for proper smiting…
I am pretty certain that any half decent magic wand could double as a sword if circumstances demanded it.
I loved dolls as a child! I’d cut into them with knives, practicing various operations so I would be a fine surgeon when I grew up. I also knew I was really a boy and so could actually BE a doctor when I grew up. Some things didn’t go as planned, needless to say. I also don’t get this rampant princess thing…
They've just got to be different princesses these days. I think I'll have to switch my pique to the fact that the outfits and sequins are just more shitty plastic.
I wasn't much on dolls & I don't recall having a stuffed animal until in my 50s or 60s when our daughter made me a white bear with pink roses. (At the same time, Hunky Husband, HH, was gifted with a tan bear in Scot plaid with a bag of golf clubs.) Since then, HH has given me a couple of Beanie Babies – since, passed on to our great-grandsons.
A few years ago, our next-door neighbor had 1 daughter amid 3 sons. Her favorite play outfit was a princess dress which she wore when tearing about the woods or bouncing on the trampoline. I'm not sure what connotation "princess" carried for her.
I will admit that most of the princesses I see out there are sort of soiled by now.
I think the princesses nowadays get to wear the pretty, sparkly things, but they're also fiercely independent – like Infidel said, they're the Frozen kind of princesses.
I loved pretty clothing and dolls and always wanted to be a mom. Like you said, we all come out of the chute different. And my understanding of women's liberation is that all the iterations are okay.
They'd better be, cuz here we are!
I like seeing little Princesses everywhere, although not lately, since they are all staying home and being carefully safe. If my own grand daughter is anything to go by, these little girls are wearing these frills and flounces by personal choice and it makes them happy. It makes me happy too to see them all smiling and twirling. I hope that when the restrictions are lifted and we can all get about freely again I will still see Princesses helping with the shopping and just out playing. With supervision of course.
Gotta agree they look happy about the getup.
Modern princesses that kick butt are in She-ra and the Princesses of Power on netflix.
"Butt-kicking princesses" is a phrase we never heard growing up.
I like the line about Bernie being right but not magical. And the implication that he can't save us. We have to save us.
And he'd say the same thing.
I have three granddaughters and the parents and I agreed early on there would be no slavish adoration of the "little princess" type. They have dress ups but the three year old twins are obsessed with stuffed animals and the favourite game of the moment is Doctor Pol. (American vet show) Yesterday there was a complicated giraffe delivery in the middle of the lounge room floor and they argued over who was going to pull the calf out. Hysterical to watch. It may be a bit weird but they are more likely to grow up to be vets than marry into royalty.
I remember seeing a sign in a childs bedroom that said "I get prettier every day" and it struck me as the most vapid sentiment to fill a girls head with.
I love Bernie and applaud his campaign for Medicare for all. In Australia and every other developed nation we're not going to go bankrupt from covid 19 bills but who knows how the insurance companies will add to the suffering. It seems a corrupt system.
It is. We all, mostly, applaud Bernie. But a lot of us are beyond dismayed at the petulance of some of his supporters who intend to take their ball and go home. BTW, it's hellish hard to get into vet school The royalty gig might be a better bet.
Wow, boy howdy. Late to the party here, as usual. There are a ton of gender ironies about my life, like deciding not to be a doctor and becoming a nurse because I wanted to have kids and didn't think I could do them justice being a doctor. And then not having kids. I am mystified by the whole princess thing too, especially since that was the very last damn thing I would have ever wanted to dress up as when I was a kid. But my favorite color WAS pink. So I'm thinking that's a genetic thing. I'm hoping that the whole prince coming to save you thing is pretty much over. But I have my doubts. With Kamala for Veep and a historic amount of women in Congress, I'm hoping we've turned some kind of page and never look back. We women need to understand once and for all that our greatest value isn't perfect eyebrows and a tiara but that gray vulnerable thing sitting protected below that crown. That is the thing that can really take us places.