Warning; ranting to follow
Why is it that on the day when you unwittingly step in dog mess outside and then enter your home1- you are wearing shoes with most ridges in the soles
2- your sense of smell is haywire so you don't notice
3- your beloved is far behind you, and you get all the way to the bedroom and pack before you see the awful footprints?
Why can't some people clear up the mess their dogs leave on the pavement? [thank you Steph for the Top Tip of scrubbing soles with lemon juice and bicarb to remove the stink]
But apparently a parent in Florida complained to the school board that her 12 year old child had been shown pornographic pictures when the class were studying art.[David, and also Botticelli's 'Birth Of Venus']
The principal of the college has had to resign [well, she was given the choice, "resign or we terminate your contract"]
Now I know the media do not always present all the facts...but I found this interview with the chair of the school board quite disturbing.
Given the choice, I would much rather spend time with my family in an art gallery looking at classical paintings and sculpture than seeing the hideous, ghoulish Hallowe'en costumes parading through the streets each October.
Steph had that beautiful Botticelli print in her bedroom throughout her teens - Liz worked at Tate Britain when she first graduated - and Rosie adores art galleries. I think our family have a pretty good relationship with art...
The dictionary defines pornography as "printed or visual material containing the explicit
description or display of sexual organs or activity, intended to stimulate sexual
excitement". This is not that.
I am strongly opposed to pornography, and the stuff which demeans women [or men], normalises violent or aggressive sexual activity, or besmirches loving relationships. This is not that.
I am honestly glad right now that I have retired from school teaching [don't even get me started on what I think of Ofsted]
It seems that there are unexpected minefields everywhere... in education, art. literature...
ReplyDeleteYou're right - so many people out there who want to "Bowdlerise" everything!
DeleteWhen one of my daughters was a Girl Guide there was a visit from a paramedic who taught them the basics of resuscitation. A parent made a complaint because the word nipple was used to describe the placing of hands on the patient's chest!
ReplyDeleteThat seems so trivial - especially when it is about teaching a genuine "life-skill"!
DeleteThat interview was awful!! What a crazy man that Chair was!
ReplyDeleteDog poo is so irritating! I always trod in it in new shoes as a child! I trod in a load in Lavenham last Autumn and my lasting memory of that village is trying to clean my shoes (which has a difficult ridged pattern on the sole. Tiresome.
Kezzie x
I keep a specific 'mud brush' for such cleaning activity. Steph's tip is very good
DeleteCould have written the part about the dog poo as it is probably my number 1 hate. I despair of the education system and feel so sorry that children will not be able to enjoy and learn from a wide and varied curriculum for fear of offending someone. How will tolerance, appreciation of beauty, and empathy be developed if teachers are strangled by people who seem intent on destroying good learning institutions full of able educators? Thank goodness my days in the system are over and I try my best to use my hard earned skills as a volunteer-although that’s another minefield! Catriona
ReplyDeleteVolunteering Experience is a whole other blogpost!
DeleteI really think you should have given your readers advanced written notice that you were going to post that photograph today, of David - the most admired and accomplished of all Renaissance sculptures by Michelangelo.
ReplyDeleteI did put "Porn" in the title, Philip!!! [I wonder if that will increase the hits on the post?] Florence is full of amazing sculptures, but that was the best of them, imho
DeleteSorry to hear about stepping in the dog poo; glad you were able to clean up the mess!
ReplyDeleteIt is so horrid- and quite unnecessary. We get a lot of dogwalkers passing the house every day. The majority are responsible.
DeleteI can't believe the level that 'woke-ism has reached. Only yesterday I was reading on a local FB page about one young Mum's concern that her child was being taught RE by the same teacher who was teaching them science!She feared that there was a danger that the teacher could use scientific proof that Jesus was a real person!! I'm not kidding. You couldn't make it up. As for the dog mess subject, it seems to be getting worse everywhere. I was standing talking to a neighbour the other day when another neighbour approached us with her dogs after their walk and she was dangling the poo bag from her free hand and waving it in the air as she continued her conversation!My stomach was churning!
ReplyDeleteI too find "swinging poo bags" rather nauseating
DeleteAgree with you on all counts x
ReplyDeleteAlison in Wales x
👍
DeleteDoggy poo is worthy of a good rant! I'll remember Steph's tip. As for the complaint about the statue of David, seems to me parents should be more worried about guns finding their way into schools than exposure to the artistic portrayal of genitalia.
ReplyDeleteI agree
DeleteAbout "David", whatever happened to common sense?
ReplyDeleteAs for fouling the footpath (as I read in a UK book!) is just wrong and arrogant. Sorry about your tracks to the bedroom and the mess that was to clean up.
Hugs!
Common sense has gone out the window in some places
ReplyDeleteI wonder if that Florida parent has a similar problem with Republican politicians sending Christmas cards of themselves with their families all holding deadly assault weapons ?
ReplyDeleteIt is very sad.
DeleteUgh....dog poo is the worst! Sorry about that. And I inwardly groaned and rolled my eyes about the statue. People have gone off the deep end! I was shocked to read somewhere that C.S. Lewis's book, The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe was on a list of banned books. WHAT????!!!! Insanity abounds!
ReplyDeleteThe L, W & W was banned in 1990 in some US states for "violence, mysticism and gore" Crazy!
DeleteOh wow! I didn't realize it was as long ago as that. It makes no sense to me.
DeleteHaha ... from poo to porn in one segue, you'll be vying with John Gray for click bait titles next. ;-)
ReplyDeleteAs a dog owner myself I get so angry when others do not pick up after their dogs, it's just disgusting.
As for the younger generations and their complaining attitudes to virtually everything that is classic or historical ... well just don't get me started!
I presume you mean John Gray of Going Gently? I try to make titles short and snappy if I can
DeleteThe sad thing is that the banning of images in fine art will never stop the abuse of women and girls that results from exposing young men and boys to actual pornography, of which there is plenty of availability. A healthy understanding of human anatomy and appreciation of physical beauty, along with the experience of normal loving relationships is what is needed.
ReplyDeleteAs for dog poo, I spend more time looking at the ground in front of me than appreciating the view these days. It's awful and as a dog owner myself it really annoys me that others don't pick up what their dog leaves behind!
Yes, I agree about actual porn vs. works of art. It is so sad that the availability of porn online has spoiled so many young lives. Loving relationships are precious - distorted ideas and images cause so much pain.
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