A Hug in Crime
A father reports his lawyer forbids him to say he loves his child in a court.
Victorian schools have not only banned fatty foods on their campuses, but are moving to ban any display of affection between students, especially hugs.
The Royal Children's Hospital is under pressure to end the contract with MacDonald's, and remove the restaurant from the hospital lobby.
We used to kid about this stuff. I remember when the talk first turned to banning smoking, someone would start trying to imagine other things - then considered normal social behavior - that would be banned.
No one thought MacDonald's would be banned from anywhere. It was too popular, and besides, the kids loved it.
And then there are the millions MacDonald's contributes to kids and hospitals every year all over the globe. They're one of the primary sponsors of the Royal Children's Hospital. Last year McDonald's was heralded for funding a whole specialty ward.
When the talk turned to hugging or kissing, no one really thought a ban even on school grounds was appropriate. Maybe a closer watch by more school officials and teachers, the withering stares of disapproval and stern looks, might be called for - or even a teacher assigned to watch certain areas of the school grounds, but no one thought it made sense to pass a law or even a school rule about it.
Do we need statistics to determine how many hugs on a schoolyard are 'inappropriate' and how many are socially acceptable? How many studies will it take? And .. well depending on who does the study, won't the results be different? Then there's always the folks who seem to see the same figures and come up with different answers (or just ignore the numbers that don't support their views.)
Leo Buscaglia, the 'Hug Doctor' of the 1970s, once announced that everyone needed 10 hugs a day just to maintain a stable mind.
We used to laugh at the idea, then hugged each other (just to be sure) and went back to work.
The success of Buscaglia's books though, kept the idea in conversation for a couple of years, and we would search for situations when a hug was inappropriate. You can't just walk into a room full of strangers and hug them, for instance. It's a kind gesture, but too familiar.
Hugging other people's kids will make them look at you funny - and maybe for good reason.
The question of kids hugging one another was controversial. For school friends, it never seemed wrong. Girls hugged each other when they parted, not just for a trip but often just for the day.
Boys would hug each other too, but not as often. Members of a football team would do a mass group hug after an important victory. That was considered part of the game really.
And certain male personalities seemed more inclined to hug. More a matter of personal choice or expression, and it was encouraged as Buscaglia's ideas become popular. Some very masculine types would joke, "I'm Californian. I hug everything." - joking a little about the nascent environmental movement, a 'tree hugger.'
It was a little disconcerting though to see two big hairy guys in black leathers grunting and hugging though.
Was it just the naivete of the day that prevented us from accepting the possible dark side to such things?
Or was it just that there really was no dark side to see?
The law seems ready to outlaw any politically expendable idea or section of society. So what makes these people politically expendible?
How does it come to the point that kids cannot hug each other, or even their parents, in public?
How far does it go? We're on the verge of outlawing some kinds of foods, along with the businesses that make them.
You don't see much of a move to outlaw booze though, or gambling. Those two activities are not politically expendable, obviously, but .. because they produce too many taxes? or fund too many political campaigns? - or is booze the only way even the politicians can deal daily life?
That may be it! - No wonder I'm crazy. I don't drink.
And all those hugs down through the years must've left me damaged somehow...
Victorian schools have not only banned fatty foods on their campuses, but are moving to ban any display of affection between students, especially hugs.
The Royal Children's Hospital is under pressure to end the contract with MacDonald's, and remove the restaurant from the hospital lobby.
We used to kid about this stuff. I remember when the talk first turned to banning smoking, someone would start trying to imagine other things - then considered normal social behavior - that would be banned.
No one thought MacDonald's would be banned from anywhere. It was too popular, and besides, the kids loved it.
And then there are the millions MacDonald's contributes to kids and hospitals every year all over the globe. They're one of the primary sponsors of the Royal Children's Hospital. Last year McDonald's was heralded for funding a whole specialty ward.
When the talk turned to hugging or kissing, no one really thought a ban even on school grounds was appropriate. Maybe a closer watch by more school officials and teachers, the withering stares of disapproval and stern looks, might be called for - or even a teacher assigned to watch certain areas of the school grounds, but no one thought it made sense to pass a law or even a school rule about it.
Do we need statistics to determine how many hugs on a schoolyard are 'inappropriate' and how many are socially acceptable? How many studies will it take? And .. well depending on who does the study, won't the results be different? Then there's always the folks who seem to see the same figures and come up with different answers (or just ignore the numbers that don't support their views.)
Leo Buscaglia, the 'Hug Doctor' of the 1970s, once announced that everyone needed 10 hugs a day just to maintain a stable mind.
We used to laugh at the idea, then hugged each other (just to be sure) and went back to work.
The success of Buscaglia's books though, kept the idea in conversation for a couple of years, and we would search for situations when a hug was inappropriate. You can't just walk into a room full of strangers and hug them, for instance. It's a kind gesture, but too familiar.
Hugging other people's kids will make them look at you funny - and maybe for good reason.
The question of kids hugging one another was controversial. For school friends, it never seemed wrong. Girls hugged each other when they parted, not just for a trip but often just for the day.
Boys would hug each other too, but not as often. Members of a football team would do a mass group hug after an important victory. That was considered part of the game really.
And certain male personalities seemed more inclined to hug. More a matter of personal choice or expression, and it was encouraged as Buscaglia's ideas become popular. Some very masculine types would joke, "I'm Californian. I hug everything." - joking a little about the nascent environmental movement, a 'tree hugger.'
It was a little disconcerting though to see two big hairy guys in black leathers grunting and hugging though.
Was it just the naivete of the day that prevented us from accepting the possible dark side to such things?
Or was it just that there really was no dark side to see?
The law seems ready to outlaw any politically expendable idea or section of society. So what makes these people politically expendible?
How does it come to the point that kids cannot hug each other, or even their parents, in public?
How far does it go? We're on the verge of outlawing some kinds of foods, along with the businesses that make them.
You don't see much of a move to outlaw booze though, or gambling. Those two activities are not politically expendable, obviously, but .. because they produce too many taxes? or fund too many political campaigns? - or is booze the only way even the politicians can deal daily life?
That may be it! - No wonder I'm crazy. I don't drink.
And all those hugs down through the years must've left me damaged somehow...
posted by Unknown at
11:33 AM
Social bookmark this
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home