Hey Mr. Nobody!
You've made some great points, and brought up at least one thing that I should have thought to clarify; even though I live an "old fashioned" life, I understand there's plenty of people out there who choose to live differently. Or they have to. And that's awesome. I love seeing different lifestyles to my own, and seeing how people make their own lives and relationships work. Diversity that has learned how to coexist in harmony is beautiful to me.
But here's the dirty rotten truth. When it comes to these social wars, I'm clueless. I grew up under a proverbial rock, and seeing the things city people fight over just makes me laugh. We're talking about how women get paid less than men. My own personal experiences are different. I've always been paid the exact same as all my coworkers. And if they made more than me, it's because they were in management positions and had earned that extra pay. Quite often, the women made more than the men. But that was my own, small experience from the years that I was actually in the work force.
And as a wee lass, I was never allowed the excuse of "But I'm a girl!" to get out of anything. My stepfather raised me to work hard, be a perfectionist, and he never went easy on me just because I was a girl. I was expected to keep up with grown men, and I did. It was normal, and all the women in my little world were the same. No one was helpless, no one fell apart when something went wrong. Everyone in my youth, male or female, able-bodied or not, was expected to do their part and shoulder their own load. We were expected to be capable, hard working people. End of story. So now, seeing the wars men and women fight with each other, it just seems silly to me.
And because of my peculiar upbringing, I have always had the mentality that you get paid the money you work for. It never crossed my mind to think I'd get paid less just because I was a girl. And maybe I'm missing something, but these financial complaints don't seem to come up until you're making big money anyway; I lived off of $900 a month for two years. I had no government assistance, no help at all. I struggled, sure, but I always kept a roof over my head and food on the table. I got by. Then I read a story in Cosmo or something (I was at the doctors office and had forgotten to bring a book. Any port in a storm, right?) that told about the very topic we're discussing today. And I remember how the woman complained about not making enough, and she made
five figures a year! Big figures! I couldn't understand why someone who made so much would be complaining at all, and her complaints seemed so trivial.
So, there you go. I try to learn what's going on around me, but for the most part, this modern world is some confusing ****e.
(and I know I rambled, I'm sorry. I'm still half asleep in the head.
You've made some great points, and brought up at least one thing that I should have thought to clarify; even though I live an "old fashioned" life, I understand there's plenty of people out there who choose to live differently. Or they have to. And that's awesome. I love seeing different lifestyles to my own, and seeing how people make their own lives and relationships work. Diversity that has learned how to coexist in harmony is beautiful to me.
But here's the dirty rotten truth. When it comes to these social wars, I'm clueless. I grew up under a proverbial rock, and seeing the things city people fight over just makes me laugh. We're talking about how women get paid less than men. My own personal experiences are different. I've always been paid the exact same as all my coworkers. And if they made more than me, it's because they were in management positions and had earned that extra pay. Quite often, the women made more than the men. But that was my own, small experience from the years that I was actually in the work force.
And as a wee lass, I was never allowed the excuse of "But I'm a girl!" to get out of anything. My stepfather raised me to work hard, be a perfectionist, and he never went easy on me just because I was a girl. I was expected to keep up with grown men, and I did. It was normal, and all the women in my little world were the same. No one was helpless, no one fell apart when something went wrong. Everyone in my youth, male or female, able-bodied or not, was expected to do their part and shoulder their own load. We were expected to be capable, hard working people. End of story. So now, seeing the wars men and women fight with each other, it just seems silly to me.
And because of my peculiar upbringing, I have always had the mentality that you get paid the money you work for. It never crossed my mind to think I'd get paid less just because I was a girl. And maybe I'm missing something, but these financial complaints don't seem to come up until you're making big money anyway; I lived off of $900 a month for two years. I had no government assistance, no help at all. I struggled, sure, but I always kept a roof over my head and food on the table. I got by. Then I read a story in Cosmo or something (I was at the doctors office and had forgotten to bring a book. Any port in a storm, right?) that told about the very topic we're discussing today. And I remember how the woman complained about not making enough, and she made
five figures a year! Big figures! I couldn't understand why someone who made so much would be complaining at all, and her complaints seemed so trivial.
So, there you go. I try to learn what's going on around me, but for the most part, this modern world is some confusing ****e.
(and I know I rambled, I'm sorry. I'm still half asleep in the head.
