I shall say no more, because enough has been said

Fun fact kids, freedom of speech does not mean that you have the right to say whatever you want without consequences. If you say something that reveals you to be a bigot, that is your legal right. It is MY legal right to disagree with you, and express that in my actions, such as not purchasing your product. Conversely, if you reveal yourself as someone with more liberal views, other people have the right to disagree with you, and express that in their actions. IT WORKS BOTH WAYS. That's the beauty of this wild and wacky country we live in.

Why does it have to be black or white...

Have I mentioned that I very much do not enjoy the new back end of blogger? I keep almost starting new blogs when I just want to start a new blog post. It is fairly annoying. Of course, if I posted more often, some of you may be saying, I would be used to it by now and shush up.

For the record, I have been blogging, but I've been doing it with paper and pencil, retro style. Eventually I will probably share some of those things over here, but they are not all about me being cranky, although they sort of are, because let's face it: inevitable.

I will tell you what I am cranky about right now: people's inability to use common sense when reading articles. I came across this article about teens and physical activity versus technology this morning.   These sorts of articles are published constantly, either condemning technology or promoting it and the reactions are always extreme and I find it so irritating. Here's the thing that I don't understand. Why does it never seem to occur to people that the answer is not "we must take our children away fro the internet because otherwise they will be fat and sad" or "we must let our children use technology or they will fall behind and be stupid and the whole country will fall into ruin" but "maybe we should strive to find a balance for our children that includes technology and activity."

I mean, is it that complicated? Am I naive to believe that children can do sports AND use a computer? It seems simple enough. I've seen it happen. My niece can shoot a basketball and use the remote. I don't understand the problem.

Or maybe I do understand the problem and it goes back to the people who want to ban books from libraries because they don't think their children should read them. Rather than making sure they know what their kids a r reading, they just want those books taken away from everyone. If you put your kid in a sport, then that's all you have to worry about. If you plunk them down in front of a computer, you're good to go. If you need to try and find a balance for your kid (or for yourself) that takes a little more effort.

Of course this is not just to pick on parents, because I know some great parents and some terrible parents. This seems to be a wide spread problem where people are unwilling or unable to realize that the world is not made up of absolutes. You CAN eat cookies and carrots.  You CAN exercise and take naps. You CAN dress nicely and comfortably. Sometimes you can do these things at the same time (granted, that does not include exercising and napping). You don't have to pick one or the other and then live your life, sometimes miserably that way, forever. I wish that the people who read (and sometimes, those who write) articles would acknowledge that.

When did they put that speed bump in?

So, a kid got hit on my campus today. Apparently, he walked away from it, but his leg later swelled up.

That is a real, serious bummer and I feel bad for the kid.

HOWEVER

(You knew there was going to be a however, right?)

The driver stopped to check on him and the kid admitted that it was his fault for walking out in front of the car. THAT makes me cranky. I get that in a pedestrian heavy area like a college campus that drivers need to be aware, drive slowly and stop at crosswalks. That does not relieve the pedestrians of the responsibility to think! There is a lot of on street parking, which means there are cars blocking the view for drivers, buildings, etc. If I can't see you, I can't stop for you. You HAVE TO STOP AND LOOK. PERIOD.

I feel like a lot of things that make me cranky should be common sense and this is definitely one of those issues. Did you make it through kindergarten? Did you watch Sesame St.? Mr. Rogers? Then you really should know better. And if you do things you know you shouldn't and get hurt? Then you need to suck it. That's not the driver's fault, that's yours. You made that BAD DECISION. And you need to suck it up and deal with the results. (This is, FYI, applicable to many things beyond crossing the street, so feel free to take it with you.)