We live in a very rural and conservative county. The real election around here is the Republican primary...a candidate without an "R" by their name doesn't stand a chance. I say that just to put the rest of this into perspective.

My kids are homeschooled. We try to keep them involved in stuff outside the house on a pretty regular basis so that they don't become completely socially awkward and learn to interact in the real world.

My wife is an artist...she has a degree in graphic design, does pottery and stained glass amongst other things, and teaches classes at some local studios on a pretty regular basis. Our local library (traditionally very conservative) was putting on an art show and competition for 6-12th graders, complete with a reception and judging by local artists, so she had my two older kids enter.

The theme was "Friendship". My daughter did a very nice drawing of herself and her friend building a snowman. She put a lot of work into it, and it was quite good....maybe not the best thing in the category, but clearly technically superior to most.

My son was not interested, and my wife ended up entering this coat rack thing that he'd made out of a set of deer antlers for his entry. It was low effort and basically crap, and his explanation for how it met the "friendship" theme was quite a stretch, too, so I didn't expect it to go far.

Last night was the reception and judging. I should have known when we got there and were greeted by some hipster millennial chick with a ring through her nose like a bull that this was gonna be one of "those" events. It was definitely classy (apart from the bovine jewelry). Everybody was dressed up, the had hors-devours and live violin music in a nicely set up room.

Then I walked around and started looking at the art. Each piece had a written synopsis with it, and literally 90% of it was LGBTQ or BLM influenced hogwash. I guess maybe I've been living under a rock, but I guess I'm just appalled that when a bunch of kids are given the theme of "friendship" for a project, the vast majority of them jump directly to sexuality, gender identity, or racial issues. The judging went that way too, which was less of a surprise.

Needless to say, my kids did not win...my son because his entry was crap, and my daughter because her entry was too white and not gay enough. I told her I was proud of her for putting in a solid effort and making a nice picture. We'll hang it up in the house when she gets it back. I told my son I was proud of him for entering dead animal parts into a pretentious and woke art show, lol.

If this is what is happening with kids even in our ultra-conservative corner of the country, I'm pretty depressed about the future of this nation. I'm also extra glad today that we homeschool.

quote:

Originally posted by 92fstech:
. I told my son I was proud of him for entering dead animal parts into a pretentious and woke art show, lol.

Sorry your kids got the shaft on it.
The above part definitely gave me a chuckle

Please post pictures of both kids' art work, when you get them back from the show.

quote:

Originally posted by P250UA5:

quote:

Originally posted by 92fstech:
. I told my son I was proud of him for entering dead animal parts into a pretentious and woke art show, lol.

Sorry your kids got the shaft on it.
The above part definitely gave me a chuckle

Yeah, it's not so much that she lost that bothers me...learning to deal with stuff like that is just part of life, and she didn't seem too bothered by it. I was mainly just appalled at how incredibly prevalent all the woke stuff was throughout the show.

quote:

Please post pictures of both kids' art work, when you get them back from the show.

I'll try...I guess they're going to hang in the library for a few months, animal parts and all .

quote:

Originally posted by 92fstech:
...but I guess I'm just appalled that when a bunch of kids are given the theme of "friendship" for a project, the vast majority of them jump directly to sexuality, gender identity, or racial issues.

Problem is, that's all that they've been taught. I wish I could say that it surprises me.

Commie's playbook - Indoctrination a early as possible.

quote:

Originally posted by 92fstech:
when a bunch of kids are given the theme of "friendship" for a project, the vast majority of them jump directly to sexuality, gender identity, or racial issues. The judging went that way too, which was less of a surprise.

If the area is that conservative, do you think the kids really headed that direction, or did the teachers push it that way ?

quote:

did the teachers push it that way

That's probably at least what started it...the schools, the media, and entertainment in general. It leaves me very concerned about what this place will look like in 10-15 years. Granted, it was an art show, not a football game or county fair, so the demographic also likely factored into it somewhat.

Yeah I’d guess it’s the schools. I don’t know where you’re at in Indiana but I was born and raised in southern Indiana. My brother and a couple other family members are teachers and administrators at schools around the state and I know people all over Indiana. There are an unfortunate number of liberals in that state and especially in education. Good thing you are homeschooling. I know the school where my brother teaches isn’t a leftist loony bin, partially because the principal is an extreme conservative who doesn’t allow that shit, but I’m afraid not every school is like that.

Our kids have always gone to public school but my heir mom has always been involved in their education and in the school. She started as a volunteer then moved to an employee and has been able to move schools with them so she knows all of their teachers personally as coworkers which helps us monitor that nonsense. We also have always lived in extremely conservative areas so that helps. We thought about homeschooling but she wasn’t confident in herself so having her at the school seemed like a reasonable alternative.

quote:

Originally posted by 92fstech:
My daughter did a very nice drawing of herself and her friend building a snowman.

[snip]

Needless to say, my kids did not win...my son because his entry was crap, and my daughter because her entry was too white

Um... durr! Snowmen are white!

And I'll help give your son the bonus points for "entering dead animal parts into a pretentious and woke art show."

Good on ya for homeschooling your kids!

Although we have a few good public schools in the area, along with a couple outstanding charter schools, I still wish more parents would homeschool. It is a growing trend here, after what public school parents learned during the pandemic, and we've recently had a couple public schools shut down as parents have started homeschooling or shuffling their kids into a different school.

I live in a county and within the city limits of a population that is still predominantly and reliably Republican leaning, at the moment, although the state has gone off-the-deep-end deep blue . Unfortunately, with rising costs, there has been a huge influx of people migrating, both into the state, and escaping to our county/ city, from the capital @ 75 minutes away.

There is no missing the fact that, as our population increases, there is a trend within the county/ city moving towards Leftism/ Wokeism. City council now has several Democrats on it, and several Leftist agendas have been passed, including "lane dieting" and increased bike lanes downtown, that create traffic choke points, not to mention our first $1 billion + dollar city budget, and all the wasteful spending and taxing that comes with it. "Affordable housing" is now one of the key focuses in the city, along with all that entails.

I went to the local Walgreens this evening to pick up a prescription, located near the interstate and a major intersection, a hub for Urban Outdoorsman congregating in the store and parking lot, and the first thing I see after walking through the door are women with crew cuts, and various young people with purple and green hair, and fishing tackle stuck in their faces.

I've been there so many times before and seen the same thing so, on the one hand, I shouldn't be surprised to see it again, but at the same, it's still jarring to walk right smack out of my truck into that.

I've got a niece and her boyfriend in Illinois that are into all the facial fishing tackle. Interestingly, they come from a Christian home that attends church, so I can only assume that this practice is either common or accepted at the church. The niece's boyfriend has the ear gage tunnels, but runs a/v for church services. It's not the style of fashion that I'd choose, but if they are at least open to listening to messages from church, then I try not to let my judgement show, which isn't too difficult living several states away.

I spend a lot of time at our library and, like most public libraries, they are places for the Urban Outdoorsman to congregate, along with a mix of people, including the Woke crowd. Being there so often, I do try to keep tabs on the various library policies and programs, just to get a feel for just how Woke they've gone.

There was a bit of controversy in the library system last year that I missed until it was over. The previous director of the regional library had allowed some sort of drag queen event and, surprisingly, it ruffled enough feathers that there was a mild public backlash, and the director got a couple earfuls and decided, or was encouraged, to resign and seek employment elsewhere. As part of the behind the scenes deal, the city council drafted a memorandum celebrating his many accomplishments and wishing him well.

The new regional library director has been in the position for a few months now, so it's a little early in his tenure to know for sure, but I get the impression he has quietly implemented policies that walk back from complete Wokeism, to toeing the line now, although inclusivity is still a key tenet for the mission statement.

I did recently notice a copy of The 1619 Project being featured prominently in the Non-fiction section, so I thought I would help out the library staff by moving it over to the Fiction section.

There are now 2 libraries outside of greater Denver that have been shut down because the public bathroom ventilation systems were tested and came back positive for meth fumes. They will remain closed until the vent systems are cleaned.

I prefer to use paper towels to dry my hands in public restrooms, but noticed they no longer provide that option to the air dryer. Noticed this sign in the library bathroom a few months ago. I'll let you draw your own conclusions.




Our library system usually runs one or two surveys a year, getting input from library patrons, which directly influences their policies and programs. The surveys are key factors during years when the library is considering its 3 year Strategic Plan, and/ or when they need a tax increase from the voters to fund their plans.

Maybe your library system has a survey or public comment system where you could leave your feedback from the art show?

92fstech, always enjoy your posts. Sounds like you've got a great wife and kids.

They’ll probably tell us next that Aspirin is racist.

Aspirin is white. Aspirin works.

Grumble grumble. There is no end to this stuff.
.

quote:

I prefer to use paper towels to dry my hands in public restrooms, but noticed they no longer provide that option to the air dryer. Noticed this sign in the library bathroom a few months ago. I'll let you draw your own conclusions.

Oh, We see that here as well. Our library is in a very small community so it's not really an issue there, but the library in the "city" (That's what we call it because it's the biggest town around, and the county seat, but the population is only 15,000) has some of those same issues that you're seeing in your area. There's a heated lobby, and free wifi, so all the bums like to hang out there. It's not anything like what we're seeing out of Portland or SF, mind you, but it's become a definite hot spot for calls...fights, domestics, public intox, that kind of stuff. Not exactly what you want your wife and kids walking through to go pick out reading material for the week. We don't go to that one.

As to the facial piercings...I know it's not necessarily an indicator of people's beliefs or character, and as far as I'm concerned people can do what they want. But they also need to understand that appearance is the first impression others get, and when they do that stuff they've clearly and visually associated themselves with a certain social subset. If that wasn't their intent, it's now going to take some work to show through their actions that that's not the case...but my experience has shown that it's usually a pretty accurate indicator of what to expect.

quote:

Maybe your library system has a survey or public comment system where you could leave your feedback from the art show?

In talking to my wife, I learned that this event was a collaboration between our library and one from another small town, and it was actually organized and put on by an outside art group. My wife talked to the staff at our local place, and it sounds like their function was primarily to host and provide the food. She didn't get into any of my complaints with them, but knowing them they probably shared my feelings. Really my concern here isn't so much with our library, or even the art group specifically. In my mind there was nothing sexual or woke about the "Friendship" theme in itself. I was just shocked that when considering that theme, it went straight to sexuality and racial issues for a bunch of kids. This art show didn't do that...it was already there in their minds.

I'm only 37, so not a curmudgeon yet by any means, and I have a job that keeps me in contact with all types so it's not like I live under a rock...but I had no idea that this crap was so pervasive even here.

quote:

92fstech, always enjoy your posts. Sounds like you've got a great wife and kids.

Thanks. They're a good crew and I'm blessed to have them !

This much, I’ll say, because I grew up with this kind of stuff: there’s a difference between entering this kind of fluff because you believe in it, and entering it because you understand the assignment and what they’re looking for. If your teacher had a septum piercing and goes on about woke nonsense, do you enter some rainbow themed stuff if you want to win? Personally, I’d enter the dead animal parts because I’d love to see her blanch, but if you wanted to win….

In college, I had to take class I can’t recall the name of now. It was about social identities and was taught by an angry lesbian. It may have actually been called Social Identities. We had an assignment where we had to watch a classic Disney film and write a paper on it. I think she chose for us, but in any event, I did Snow White. I thought “what would an angry lesbian think?” as I watched it. I wrote a paper about how chauvinistic it was, how Snow White was essentially an indentured servant, fulfilling the empowered white man’s dreams of what a woman should be: beautiful, sonorous voice but soft-spoken, subservient, and happily cooking and cleaning while the men worked. They were horrible, a perfect analogy for the classic man: filthy, unwashed, unkempt, gross, angry, stupid, awkward, and entirely the opposite of everything a woman would actually want, and that the film was designed to brainwash little girls to believe this was their place in life and who they should aspire to be home makers for. Didn’t believe a word of it, got an A on that paper. I knew what the assignment was, and gave the professor exactly what she wanted.

One hopes the kids who entered in that contest are quietly being taught to the think for themselves at home.

quote:

Originally posted by OKCGene:

Aspirin is white.

My aspirin is yellow,

News flash, just because an area is affluent, don't think for a minute that it's going to be republican or conservative. The most woke and progressive areas are almost always affluent. Ever hear of white guilt??? Leftests infiltrated academia in the 60's, those students became professors. Those professors taught the k-12 teachers we have to deal with today. A couple of years ago a teacher in our school system was asking 6th graders their preferred pronouns the first day of school. Luckily for her she skipped my son, she wouldn't have liked his answer.

quote:

Originally posted by P220 Smudge:
This much, I’ll say, because I grew up with this kind of stuff: there’s a difference between entering this kind of fluff because you believe in it, and entering it because you understand the assignment and what they’re looking for. If your teacher had a septum piercing and goes on about woke nonsense, do you enter some rainbow themed stuff if you want to win? Personally, I’d enter the dead animal parts because I’d love to see her blanch, but if you wanted to win….

In college, I had to take class I can’t recall the name of now. It was about social identities and was taught by an angry lesbian. It may have actually been called Social Identities. We had an assignment where we had to watch a classic Disney film and write a paper on it. I think she chose for us, but in any event, I did Snow White. I thought “what would an angry lesbian think?” as I watched it. I wrote a paper about how chauvinistic it was, how Snow White was essentially an indentured servant, fulfilling the empowered white man’s dreams of what a woman should be: beautiful, sonorous voice but soft-spoken, subservient, and happily cooking and cleaning while the men worked. They were horrible, a perfect analogy for the classic man: filthy, unwashed, unkempt, gross, angry, stupid, awkward, and entirely the opposite of everything a woman would actually want, and that the film was designed to brainwash little girls to believe this was their place in life and who they should aspire to be home makers for. Didn’t believe a word of it, got an A on that paper. I knew what the assignment was, and gave the professor exactly what she wanted.

One hopes the kids who entered in that contest are quietly being taught to the think for themselves at home.

Angry lesbian??? What other kind is there?? You took Ben Shapiro's advice though. Tell her what she wanted to hear, get a good grade, then when the alumni association wants donations, send them zero.

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:

quote:

Originally posted by OKCGene:

Aspirin is white.

My aspirin is yellow,

Your Aspirin is made in China?

quote:

Originally posted by GWbiker:

Your Aspirin is made in China?

I don't know where it's made. I buy the house brand at Costco. It's definitely yellow.

quote:

Originally posted by 92fstech:


Then I walked around and started looking at the art. Each piece had a written synopsis with it, and literally 90% of it was LGBTQ or BLM influenced hogwash. I guess maybe I've been living under a rock, but I guess I'm just appalled that when a bunch of kids are given the theme of "friendship" for a project, the vast majority of them jump directly to sexuality, gender identity, or racial issues. The judging went that way too, which was less of a surprise.

I realized that the people pushing this stuff has been doing it on the sly for a long time even when I was in high school. I didn't know better but that was what was happening.