Advice Columns

[kateln]

May 25, 2009 20:03:40 GMT -4 @spider said:

Yeah but they don't have "priests", that's a Catholic term. If she'd said pastor it would have been more believable.

I believe there are some Protestant denominations that use the term "Priest". I mean, admittedly they're "Catholic Lite (50% less guilt!) but I'm pretty sure that the Episcopalians do. So other denominations might as well.

I'm siding on "not a troll". Riding home on the metro in my Catholic School uniform, you wouldn't believe how many fundamentalists would tell me the following;

1. I, along with the other Catholics, am going to hell.
2. That the Bible should be taken literally (thank you Jewish Scriptures & New Testament classes for teaching me otherwise).

So the letter writer--totally strikes me as being along the same lines as the people above.

[newmanium]

Now Amy Alkon thinks all American women should dress like hookers:

www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2009/05/26/girls_who_know.html#comments


Apparently, if we don't want to go around dressed in coochie length dresses and hooker heels we're a bunch of frumps who don't deserve a boyfriend.

Also, once again, she doesn't hold men to the same grooming, weight and dress standards.

[satellite]

May 24, 2009 18:19:16 GMT -4 @huntergrayson said:

What exactly do these alleged "atheist clubs" do when they gather? Because I don't think NOT worshipping the imaginary dude in the sky and NOT reading the bible really is time-consuming.

First order of business: There is no God.

Second order of business: ? ! ? ??!??

I joined an atheist club in college and am part of a couple of organized atheist/secularist groups now. They provide a supportive environment, especially for those whose families are religious. There's quite a bit of political and social discussion and some lobby for separation of church and state issues. I'm not attacking you, but that kind of blase attitude is exactly why we have only one open atheist in the House of Representatives last I checked. Hops off soapbox.

Apparently, if we don't want to go around dressed in coochie length dresses and hooker heels we're a bunch of frumps who don't deserve a boyfriend.

I liked this comment:

I never show that much skin because I still get catcalls at age 44, and that's not "quality male attention", sorry. I'm not there to please yobboes on the street, and I've never met a boyfriend at a bus stop or a bar.

You know, I've never heard that particular complaint about women's attire from guys who actually have decent relationships. I'm sure everyone notices a nice body, but the whole "all women should display themselves for my viewing pleasure" attitude highly skews toward the douchebags of the world. I'm not surprised at the "American women suck" comments either- read: pretty girls with resources won't give me the time of day because I'm an asshole, so I'll lord my higher socio-economic status over someone who's needy.

[newmanium]

I'm not surprised at the "American women suck" comments either- read: pretty girls with resources won't give me the time of day because I'm an asshole, so I'll lord my higher socio-economic status over someone who's needy.

Yup. Whenever I read comments along the lines of "Asian women are so feminine and love to please men" I think, "sure they are buddy, it has nothing to do with their poverty and your relative affluence." I really doubt they'd be so submissive and feminine if they had money and you were living in a slum.

Amy is one of those women who routinely denigrates other women and sides with men in an attempt to be accepted by the boy's club.

It's ironic that she slams feminists when her entire lifestyle (college degree, unmarried, childfree, supporting herself at a good wage, own home) is the result of the feminist movement. 40-50 years ago she'd be an unhappy housewife.

[Deleted]

Amy is one of those women who routinely denigrates other women and sides with men in an attempt to be accepted by the boy's club.

Yup. She and this one are peas in a pod. Disclaimer: don't click the link if you have high blood pressure. I found my way to one post in there about the poor modern male being treated like a servant in his own home and the comments are truly insane, dominated largely by one guy who is pissed that he's been divorced three times and it cost him money and another guy that seems to be a card-carrying misogynist. And they both LOVE Amy Alkon and Dr. Helen.

[lowercase]

Bumping this back up to ask an obscure, possibly off-topic question: Does anyone out there remember an advice column from 7 or so years ago, called Sweet and Sassy? It was linked to from the main page of threewayaction.com, and was written by three women who would all weigh in on the submitted questions. Each of them had an avatar that looked like it had been scanned in from 40s- or 50s-era ads or cookbooks.

I have no idea what made me think of this site, it's been down for years. I used to read it solely to annoy myself; the three women were all mean-spirited and ignorant, and would answer every question with some variation on "Your friend is stupid and you're stupid too, and you're probably fat." Readers would comment with "LOLLOLOL! you ladies are just too funny!"

I think I thought of it the other day after a bad night's sleep due in part to mr. case's snoring, which he refuses to even try to do anything about. A reader wrote to the "ladies" asking for input on a snoring spouse, and one of them cackled back, in essence, "I snore, and can't do anything about it, so fuck you and anyone else who doesn't like it. Get over it." In my sleep-deprived brain, I was annoyed anew just remembering it.

[Deleted]

lowercase, I've never heard of this column, but has your husband tried BreatheRight strips? For mild-moderate snoring, they are a godsend.

[Ripley]

I do remember Sweet and Sassy. Damn those women were harsh.

[lowercase]

They were just so senselessly angry from the outset. It's like they started from the premise that you probably sucked and should go fuck yourself. What was wrong with the people who decided that these were the people to give you advice on anything?

And bunny, yes, unfortunately he did try the Breathe Right strips, and decided that they didn't work and were a waste of money. He insists that he needs a c-pap machine (I think that's what it's called, it's the device that treats sleep apnea), and it's too expensive, intrusive, cumbersome, etc. I've tried gently suggesting that if he maybe worked out (i.e., lose the gut) or tried forgoing the 3-4 drinks he has most nights, that would help the situation, but he doesn't really want to pursue either of those options. But that is a topic for an entirely different thread!

[divasahm]

Okay, I give up. I hate Dear Abby now and I'm not going to read it any more.