Thank you for your nice note in answer to my blog response to the Duck Frenzy. I don’t think it’s so unusual for moms to disagree politely but you are exactly right, people have responded with extremism, which is like inviting the Cosmos to whup you right upside your head (Texas phrase). And not to be too “Can’t we all just get along?” but can’t we? I never understand why we women (and I’m saying we because I don’t want a big ole can of whupass upside my head (another Texas phrase)) take it so personally when people make different choices than we do. Also, with the exception of, say, felonies including rape and murder, I’ve never met a person who could be condemned because of a single act. It’s been my experience that people are a leetle more complex than that.

I’m done with the duck now. But thanks again for being so civil and well-written. I think we’re probably more on the same page than we realize.

Barb

I don’t think it’s that big of a deal but the fact that it was on your mind enough for you to write about it might indicate that you’re not quite comfortable with your choice. Then again, maybe you just thought it was funny. At any rate, most of us have BTDT and MOST of us can be trusted not rat you out. –Barb

This statement demonstrates pretty clearly that you have no idea where your readers are coming from. You, in the example you cite above, made judgments about the motivations of other people without adequate information. (No assumptions here–that’s clear from your subsequent paragraph.)

The commenters here aren’t making assumptions about how the duck got in the stroller or whether or not the woman stole the duck on purpose–they’re reacting to the conscious decision not to remedy the mistake once it was discovered.

I’ve been just as surprised by the commentary as you claim above to be, but in an entirely different way. In my world, if you walk out of a store with something that doesn’t belong to you, you return it or you pay for it. There is no question to be answered. It’s not “holier than thou” to naively expect other people to do the right thing–it’s just the opposite. It’s an assumption about basic human character that, sadly, seems to have been disproven by the reaction to this story.

It’s not murder, it’s not worth the attention it’s gotten, but it’s not a big philosophical question, either. When you take stuff home from a store, you pay for it.

No reason to be a martyr every second of every day, is there. If it’s safe to turn, MAKE THE DAMN TURN.

A live duck, I’d even have kept that if it meant getting everyone back in the car and off to the store for round two. Screw that!

(Note to self: To get more traffic, steal a duck.)

Some of the people up on that high horse must be on crack!

I’ve been remiss in visiting your site over the last few days and I came back to quite a firestorm! I haven’t laughed so hard all week.