Love, Lust, and Lullabies

So, I'm going to rant today. Just a fair warning so you can tune out if you don't want to listen.





Still here?





Good. Here goes then. From the title of this blog, you're probably wondering where I could possible be going with this. But it really does all tie together, sort of. Those three L's pretty much are all stupid. Starting with the first, I'll explain why:



Love: As a hopeless romantic, and a believer in soulmates and true love, I'm really let down by the quality of the men in the world. True, there are stil good ones out there, but they're few and far between. But don't try to tell them that. They really believe that they're treating us right.
Let me explain what I mean by that. Let's say you just got into a relationship with a guy that seems great. He does all the little romantic things you want a guy to do for you, and you find yourself falling for him. This feeling gets deeper and deeper, and you think to yourself, "This must be love." So you tell him that you love him and, surprise of all surprises, he says it back. So you go along, and then things start to change. He begins to be jealous and he gets angry all the time, and you start fighting. It gets worse and worse, and finally you can't take it anymore, so you end it. Then he cleans up his act and wants you back. What do you do then? It depends on your feelings. If you still "love" him, then you go back. If the feeling's gone, you don't. Right?
Now tell me: does that sound like love? It's not. But guys don't seem to understand that love doesn't mean that you are exclusively his. No friends, no family: no one else is important. Not even your child.
Guys don't seem to get that. Either you're theirs completely, or they don't want you at all. It's a crazy situation, but it happens. That's how we end up on our own, with a baby. So, if a guy ever says they love you, make sure you explore what kind of love they have. Because love is work, not a feeling. It's a commitment, and it takes serious effort. They have to be able to let you be your own person, and have other friends. Otherwise, it's not healthy. Period.

Lust: This is kind of along the same lines at the Love rant, but a little different. This is pretty much specifically to all you single moms out there. Do guys assume you're an easy target?
Sexually, I mean. I work in an environment where I get to know people from all walks of life, guys and girls. And some of the guys that work with me seem to think nothing of walking up to me and offering their, ahem, "services". They seem to think that because I have a kid I'm going to fall at their feet and beg for them to take me. Is this your experience? I'd like to think it's not because I have self-confidence issues, but because guys are douchebags sometimes. I mentioned this to someone, and they told me it was because I was not confident enough in myself, and therefore seemed desperate. I'm not really sure what to think here, but I know that I don't like being thought of as easy. Because I'm very much not. And I don't like the fact that guys can look at a woman as something to use for their own pleasure and purpose. I am a human being, and not a piece of meat to be trampled underfoot. So there.

Lullabies: This is going off on a tangent, but still a problem. Have you ever actually listened to the words of some of the classic lullabies and children's songs? For example:

Rock-a-bye baby, on the treetop
When the wind blows, the cradle will rock.
When the bough breaks, the cradle will fall
And down will come baby, cradle and all.

Did you read that? It's talking about the baby falling from the top of a tree because the branch that some hapless mother placed the cradle on broke. This is too dark for a child to think of while they're going to sleep! What are we thinking? Who wrote this? It's creepy and morbid.
And what about Ring around the Rosy? Sure, on the superficial it seems harmless, but the meaning behind it makes it horrendous.
Let's break it down line by line:

Ring around the Rosy
In the Dark Ages, an epidemic occured that is now known as the Black Plague. This disease caused sores all over the body that had a ring of red around a dark red center.

Pocket full of posies
So many people died of this disease that the burials didn't occur fast enough, so living people carried posies in their pockets to ward of the smell of rotting flesh.

Ashes, ashes
The people in Europe were so afraid of this disease that they burned people who had died in an effort to keep the disease from spreading.

We all fall down!
Unfortunately, even the burning of disease-ridden corpses didn't stop the spread of the plague, and nearly 1/3 of the population of Europe died from this fearsome sickness.

...need I say more?


There you go. My rant is over. Agree with me or not, that's how I feel. I'll leave you to digest my thoughts for a while. :-) Peace.