Strollerderby : irony

Should Your Kids Be Your Personal Political Billboard?

Karen Murphy — Wed, 30 May 2007 17:53:00 GMT

Waaay back in '04 during the height of election season, my kids really got into it. Not having been particularly political myself until making a choice against something became almost as important as making a choice for, we found ourselves becoming increasingly excited by the sheer number of political signs posted everywhere. The kids began counting them on the way to school, keeping track of the tally. I figured it was a way to tell who'd win: whoever had the most signs up would obviously be the winner. It got a little ugly when it became clear that the Car Pool Girls who rode with us had a different political orientation than ours. I wanted to shriek,"How can you vote for HIM!"

Goodyblog has been thinking about this too, and asks the question, "Is it okay to proclaim your personal political orientation via your kid?" In other words, is slapping a Che Guevara onesie on your kid okay? What about "President Poopyhead"? Where do you draw the line between irony and gratuitous political pawnery? Or is there a line? Me, I figure that if they can't talk and can't proclaim preference for one shirt over another they're fair game, but once the kid starts making decisions about attire, it's a little weird until they're old enough to really understand what's on the shirt.

Dad Saves His Three Kids From House Fire, Then is Jailed For Drugs

Karen Murphy — Sun, 08 Apr 2007 14:21:00 GMT

Oh, the horrible irony: Chuck Talley of High Ridge, Missouri, raced through his burning house at 5 am Wednesday to grab his little girls (ages five and two) after handing his two-month old to wife Jessica, then got all of them safely out the door while the house was consumed by the fire. Not long afterward, Chuck was arrested and jailed for possession of a weapon, a sawed-off shotgun belonging to Jessica's father. (And for possession of some drug paraphernalia, but who's counting? The man saved his family, for crying out loud!)

I'm thinking that the High Ridge authorities could have cut the man a little slack, you know? After all, his house was destroyed (not to mention that whatever drugs he might have had probably also went up in flames). And he saved his little girls! Not many dads get the opportunity to do that. Chuck was released not long afterward, but still.

Tiny Revolutionary: Kid's Shirts With Something To Say

Patti — Sat, 07 Apr 2007 21:18:00 GMT

If there's one thing we've learned, it's that we love to dress our kids up in ironic teeshirts. Hell, entire books and Time Magazine articles have been devoted to the modern parents' pursuit of clever children's clothing.

But rather than let The Man bring us down, I'm thinking we should just indulge. And what oh-my-gosh-how-cute-is-that way to do it than with a shirt or onesie from Tiny Revolutionary? These aren't so much overtly political (for the most part) as they are subtle, pointing out that yes, we as parents are thinking about the future we're providing our kids, and yes, not all of us are traditional families. And graphically, they're really stunning. I'm particularly drawn to the adoption-themed shirt and to this anti-war design, and if Honda or Toyota would hurry up and launch a hybrid minivan for me to buy I'd snap up two of these in a hot second.

Now, normally I'm a little bit of a teeshirt hacker and the prices on these are why. But next time a baby gets born in my social circle, I think I know where I'm going to shop for gifts. And a dollar from each item goes to a worthy charity, plus you can submit your own ideas for future charitable giving.

Grups, Hipsters, Trendsters, Xers: Label Me, Label You, Uh Huh

Rachael Brownell (Redsy) — Mon, 05 Feb 2007 16:17:00 GMT

Z Recommends has a thoughtful post about Lisa Carver's review of Neal Pollack's Alternadad (you can read Neal's response here), in which he points out that blogs with an edgy, cynical, or ironic take on parenting seem to dominate the mommy and daddy blogosphere. Reading the sniping comments on the Pollack and Carver pieces, you'd have to conclude that parents today -- at least those who are blogging and commenting -- are a bunch of angry, labeling, cliquish malcontents.

The labels thrown around with the most vitriol seem to be those associated with the likes of Babble, including "hipster," "grup," and "trendy." Some of those labels are well-deserved, but as with all labels they tend to over-generalize and foreshorten real dialogue and debate.

In her piece summing up the Pollack/Carver debate, Babble editor Ada Calhoun concludes wisely that "the irony label (like "grup") is dismissive and cheap...and the rush to cry "hipster" undermines the opportunity to talk about what's thrilling and funny and lonely and scary about having kids."

I've been overwhelmed at times by pressure to be cool and clever while writing for Stroller Derby, but when I succumb to that, I miss the point. Babble contributors are everyday people experiencing parenting. If we swear and drink more than the average bear, than so be it. But if we could all drop the labels and get along, wouldn't this just be one hell of a lot more fun?