So I am out of work again…. I objected to making children sit with out moving for 10 hours as being inhumane…. took a picture of the child must not play with toys note.. out of work…
Hmm alternate realties are said to be very possible. endless possiblities. so it is not impossible there is a world where Kindness is the strongest force in the universe.
And consider that if your mother was the type of person who would pour laundry soap into a child's eyes, that she very well could be lying about the garden and patchwork turtle never happening. Early memories can be fragmented (or a combination of different events). But they tend to be genuine simply because you weren't old enough to know how to imagine things and make stuff up. Another possibility is that a "garden" from your perspective back then may not have been something she thought of as a garden. I visited my childhood home a few years back, and the thing that struck me was how much smaller everything was than I remembered (which makes sense - I was physically a lot smaller back then). So it may simply be a matter of two people having different perspectives.
I debated posting this since it's so hard to fit into a few paragraphs. But here's what took me 20 years to figure out about money. Money isn't real - it's just a rank we (all of society) place on how much we value things. Stuff worth lots of money is something society values. Stuff not worth money is something society doesn't care about. Money is not antithetical to kindness. Well-directed kindness is worth money. I donated a laptop to your friend last year. It was old, but still usable enough that I knew someone could get a lot of value out of it. I estimated the value to your friend would exceed the work and effort I put into refurbishing it. So my act of kindness would have positive value (it was worth more money to your friend than its cost to me, if we were keeping score). OTOH, if I had donated it to a well-off relative, they would've just thrown it away because it was so old. My kindness would've had no value (it would've cost me more than the value they received).
In the same way, things you do have to produce value to be effective. This applies to both work and acts of kindness. In general, if your kindness is viewed as a weakness, it's because it's not effective. Your acts are not producing enough value among the recipients to justify the effort and resources you're putting into them. Meaning your kind act has net negative value - it cost you more value than the other person received. Society only improves when transactions (whether economic or charity) result in increased value. Now for the hard part: "Value" is not how much you think something is worth. It's what everyone else thinks it's worth. Their opinion matters more than yours. This is what makes life so hard for eccentric people. To do things which have value in the eyes of society, you have to put aside your ego and think like society does. You can still get stuff you like (in fact you should), but things you give (work, kindness) have to comply with the recipient's idea of value.
anonymous
at 10:37AM, Feb. 2, 2020
One of my foster homes had this built in desk/dresser combo. I could sit on it and look into the mirror. And I kept thinking that if I could just be that person in the mirror and turn and walk out of their door. I would be in a better place. The person in the mirror had a real family and friends. The person in the mirror was going to be okay.
I am a long way from that child, and the road has been hard. I have a cat instead of a child. Marriage didn't work. But that became okay too. I never got the mirror me's life. But I am somewhat okay with my life finally.
Keep fighting. One day enough of us will remember that we should love flowers more than coins.
Reminder for those who are just joining this webcomic. Riley's Patreon can be found here: https://www.patreon.com/Jrileymc ...Oh and don't forget to click the "You Like This" button in the lower right hand corner of the comic
you should report the place, not sure but with that age watching TV and not moving around for hours on end can be considered a health concern, thus you might have been unlawfully terminated at the very least they shouldnt have that many kids under their care if they cant have them all moving around and playing and they will be forced to cut back on the numbers or hire more teachers.
The risk in doing that is that you'll severely hurt your chances of ever being hired by anyone who hears that you reported your former employer. That's a risk all whistleblowers face. Some of the more notable ones have had to change careers because no company in their former profession would hire them anymore. The playground rule of being a tattletale is very much alive. It has to be a pretty obvious open-and-shut case of criminal neglect - *everyone* has to feel you did the right thing. Otherwise, employers fear you'll report them and cost them a lawsuit simply when your opinion differs from theirs. And if there's one thing employers hate, it's employees telling them how to run their company.
I remember the children's shows like Fraggle Rock that showed a positive view of the world to children, and how disappointed we are in the real world once we grow up. I guess fiction is made to remind us that the world as it is doesn't have to be the only possibility, and we can make reality better. It does seem like the most selfish people have the most power and control, and the kindest people are working in soup kitchens and other thankless low-influence positions. I'm not sure how to change this.
Mr Kaos at 11:51AM, Feb. 5, 2020
Hmm alternate realties are said to be very possible. endless possiblities. so it is not impossible there is a world where Kindness is the strongest force in the universe.
Makaira at 12:48PM, Feb. 2, 2020
And consider that if your mother was the type of person who would pour laundry soap into a child's eyes, that she very well could be lying about the garden and patchwork turtle never happening. Early memories can be fragmented (or a combination of different events). But they tend to be genuine simply because you weren't old enough to know how to imagine things and make stuff up. Another possibility is that a "garden" from your perspective back then may not have been something she thought of as a garden. I visited my childhood home a few years back, and the thing that struck me was how much smaller everything was than I remembered (which makes sense - I was physically a lot smaller back then). So it may simply be a matter of two people having different perspectives.
Makaira at 12:38PM, Feb. 2, 2020
I debated posting this since it's so hard to fit into a few paragraphs. But here's what took me 20 years to figure out about money. Money isn't real - it's just a rank we (all of society) place on how much we value things. Stuff worth lots of money is something society values. Stuff not worth money is something society doesn't care about. Money is not antithetical to kindness. Well-directed kindness is worth money. I donated a laptop to your friend last year. It was old, but still usable enough that I knew someone could get a lot of value out of it. I estimated the value to your friend would exceed the work and effort I put into refurbishing it. So my act of kindness would have positive value (it was worth more money to your friend than its cost to me, if we were keeping score). OTOH, if I had donated it to a well-off relative, they would've just thrown it away because it was so old. My kindness would've had no value (it would've cost me more than the value they received).
Makaira at 12:38PM, Feb. 2, 2020
In the same way, things you do have to produce value to be effective. This applies to both work and acts of kindness. In general, if your kindness is viewed as a weakness, it's because it's not effective. Your acts are not producing enough value among the recipients to justify the effort and resources you're putting into them. Meaning your kind act has net negative value - it cost you more value than the other person received. Society only improves when transactions (whether economic or charity) result in increased value. Now for the hard part: "Value" is not how much you think something is worth. It's what everyone else thinks it's worth. Their opinion matters more than yours. This is what makes life so hard for eccentric people. To do things which have value in the eyes of society, you have to put aside your ego and think like society does. You can still get stuff you like (in fact you should), but things you give (work, kindness) have to comply with the recipient's idea of value.
anonymous at 10:37AM, Feb. 2, 2020
One of my foster homes had this built in desk/dresser combo. I could sit on it and look into the mirror. And I kept thinking that if I could just be that person in the mirror and turn and walk out of their door. I would be in a better place. The person in the mirror had a real family and friends. The person in the mirror was going to be okay. I am a long way from that child, and the road has been hard. I have a cat instead of a child. Marriage didn't work. But that became okay too. I never got the mirror me's life. But I am somewhat okay with my life finally. Keep fighting. One day enough of us will remember that we should love flowers more than coins.
Nowhereman10 at 2:50AM, Feb. 2, 2020
Reminder for those who are just joining this webcomic. Riley's Patreon can be found here: https://www.patreon.com/Jrileymc ...Oh and don't forget to click the "You Like This" button in the lower right hand corner of the comic
mhalpern at 4:19PM, Feb. 1, 2020
you should report the place, not sure but with that age watching TV and not moving around for hours on end can be considered a health concern, thus you might have been unlawfully terminated at the very least they shouldnt have that many kids under their care if they cant have them all moving around and playing and they will be forced to cut back on the numbers or hire more teachers.
Makaira at 11:36AM, Feb. 2, 2020
The risk in doing that is that you'll severely hurt your chances of ever being hired by anyone who hears that you reported your former employer. That's a risk all whistleblowers face. Some of the more notable ones have had to change careers because no company in their former profession would hire them anymore. The playground rule of being a tattletale is very much alive. It has to be a pretty obvious open-and-shut case of criminal neglect - *everyone* has to feel you did the right thing. Otherwise, employers fear you'll report them and cost them a lawsuit simply when your opinion differs from theirs. And if there's one thing employers hate, it's employees telling them how to run their company.
felonimayhem at 10:32AM, Feb. 1, 2020
I remember the children's shows like Fraggle Rock that showed a positive view of the world to children, and how disappointed we are in the real world once we grow up. I guess fiction is made to remind us that the world as it is doesn't have to be the only possibility, and we can make reality better. It does seem like the most selfish people have the most power and control, and the kindest people are working in soup kitchens and other thankless low-influence positions. I'm not sure how to change this.