February 28, 2009

Give love, get love?

Listen - if you are easily offended by Christian perspective - please do us both a favor and click that little "x" in the top right corner. Go ahead, do it now. Save us both the drama of huffing and puffing when you cannot resist the urge to comment by the end of this post.

Anyone still there?

Whew. Two of you. Well, grandma always said to give it your all, even if only one person stuck around to hear it.


Do you like that window display? Isn't it cute? It was taken at a mall near our home on Valentines Day. Actually, if you read along the bottom, you can see what store it's from. Big name, eh? We weren't in the store. AB was waiting outside of the store while I used the ladies room. When I came out - he had a pondering look on his face. Conversation went like this:

AB "Look at that window...tell me what you see"

CB "Aww...a heart...."

AB "Keep looking, babe"

CB "Ummm...clothes...that I can't fit into...ummm....a heart...whatamImissinghere....ummm, mannequins..."

AB "The heart"

CB "k....what about it?"

AB "those are condoms"

CB "WHAT? SHUT UP YOUR MOUTH!?!?!?" squinting to take a closer look. Can't see so jumps down off the bench and walks over to the window.

AB "see. told you."

CB "What in the FRIG? Who in the... What in the wild, wild... Are they...did they....seriously? Seriously?

AB Eyebrows raised. Chagrin on face says it all.

CB "I'm gonna have to take a picture of that. Because I can't believe it." Whips out camera and takes several pictures until employees start giving me the stink eye - probably thinking I'm admiring/stealing their idea for another store window.

Need a better look? (click to enlarge)



Practice safe love, everyone. That's right...YOU. Practice it. Aren't you so freaking glad that they were there to tell you that? Doesn't it just warm your heart, through and through (in case it didn't, they have created a "heart" for you) to know that the Ar***mani company wants you to practice "safe love". Not only you - your 14 year old impressionable son needs to know too - while he's shopping. For clothes. At the mall. He needs a heart of CONDOMS hanging in a store window in the mall and a little note from a billionaire reminding him to have some safe "love". Not just you, but your 12 year old and her 11 year old friends who are walking through the mall shopping. What about your little 7 year old in 2nd grade.? Sounding it out on the window - she can read, you know?

"Praaackkktiss ss-aaa-fu ll-uuu-vvv. Mommy, what does that mean?"

"ummm, it means to...uhhh....be careful...who...I mean, errr....what you...I mean...be safe when you love someone a lot...a whole lot".

"Oh. Like I love you, Mommy?"

"No sweetie...like...umm....well...like Mommy loves Daddy."

"Are you praktissing saafe luv?"

"No honey...not anymore...I mean, yes but, well no. I mean, that's why we have you. Because we're not practicing anymore"

"Huh?"

"Do you want ice cream?"


You know what...I'm sick of this crap. No wonder people freaking home school their kids. You can't get away from this stuff. It's on the street, it's all over TV, it's in books, magazines, nightly news...and apparently now it's in the store window of the mall.

Things I don't want to hear:
  • Without safe sex practices we would have unwanted children, more disease, more problems, more issues, etc. (Don't get me started...couldn't we avoid this by not having casual sex?)
  • You're kids will find out eventually. (Yes, and I'd like some say in when and how that happens, if it's alright with the media!!)
  • You're burying your head in the sand. (No, I'm trying to raise children with values and morals - seeming more and more impossible in this culture)
  • If you don't like it, don't shop there. (Thank you, we don't)
  • Why would you discourage safe sex? (I wouldn't....I would discourage stupid sex.)
This is not a case of me not realizing that my children will be exposed to and completely saturated in an oversexed society. This is not a case of me wanting people to die of Aids. This is not a case of me burying my head and not wanting people to practice safe sex.

This is a mother who would like to find AN OUNCE of redeemable innocence that I can pour into my children. If you want to have sex, fine. If you want to have safe sex. Fine. If you want to talk about it, fine.

But could you avoid dumping your over-sexualized crap all over my kids when their still playing with dolls and playing hide and seek? Could you avoid putting sex in my kids faces when their 11 and 12 and figuring out who they are?

Could you please have the decency to respect that MANY OF US would like to be able to walk down the mall and not have to be visually smacked with 100 condoms hanging from the rafters of a store window. I mean, where is the sense of ANY propriety?

You can argue with me until your blue in the face. But don't bother. It would never change my perspective on this.

We've killed off a whole generation of innocence with our overt propaganda and stupid agendas.

What have we done??

To your kids and mine...


8 comments :

Anonymous said...

I totally agree with you...

I wish there would be more people out there who would read the bible and live with the values and morale the bible gives us...

the world would be so much better...

Instead "no christian" people belittle "us" and don't see what they do with their lives...

Thumbs up for your posting...

warmest regards from Germany

Andrea

Paula said...

Well said - a GREAT post! There's something to be said about the innocence of a child. Why is society, as a whole, willing to throw it away all too soon?!? We live most of our lives as adults so PLEASE let kids be kids! It's rather scary and sad to see where society is headed. People like you make this world a much better place. Thanks for that!

meme said...

AMEN !! you said it all and I totally agree. From your Kentucky friend, Linda

Anonymous said...

Amen, sista. I wholeheartedly agree! I am the only one I know that doesn't let their 4 yr. old daughter watch Hannah Montana. Does my preschool daughter really need to worry about boyfriends, gossiping, and high school drama?

Christy said...

Holy cow and AMEN!!!

Totally agree with everything you said. IT disgusts me what our kids have to deal with and that it is just totally acceptable and somehow we have become the crazy (narrow minded) ones. What the heck is up with all this? It makes me sick. I just showed my hubby the pic and he was horrified as well.

Our son Ethan is going into 6th grade next year which inour district is middle school. All year long we have been struggling with the idea of public or private school and finally over this past weekend we finally made the decision that we are going private. We have no idea how we are going to pay for it but I cannot have my cute innocent boy be totally corrupted by the things that kids are doing and hearing in 6th, 7th adn 8th grades. I know private chiristian school will not keep all this totally away but it will help. We will find the funds and maybe I can trade some of my psych services for tuition, but we as parents get one shot at this and one time to get it right. I am not going to screw my one chance at gowing up loving, sweet, kind and moral kids with great values. I just dont think public is the way to go at this point and if you keep up on california politics you will know the CA public schools are getting cut in a big way so this is a good year to make the swith for both my boys.

anyway, I totally get what you are saying and it frustrtes and pisses me off. I cant belive this is the world we live in!

Christy :)

Anonymous said...

I had to do a double-take when I was at the mall. I asked my friend, "Is that heart made out of what I think it is?"
"Yes."
I asked my 10-year old, "Do you know what that heart is made of?"
"Candy."
"No, but thank goodness!"
I don't appreciate a store that prompts a sex talk right there in the mall.
Bless you and everything you said in your blog. I hope everyone will take the time to write an angry letter to that store.

Eloise said...

I agree completely with everything you said and am disgusted by the "medium" the store used to express its message.

We watch very little TV at our house for the reasons you mention. When we do turn on the TV it's usually for a sporting event, and I am appalled at some of the commercials (the ones for Viagra come to mind) and the promotions for steamy prime-time shows that air then. And I used to be embarrassed when ad ad for Stayfree Maxi Pads came on when I was watching TV with my dad!

Kristy said...

Amen Sister to every bit of what you said!!!

Love, Kristy