A Hobo Wedding

[PrettySquareGal]

Yes!!! I'm glad you pointed that out, Prettysquaregal.

Thank you, Marc. (Nice to see you. LTNS.)

 

[PrettySquareGal]

I think that regretsy deserves opprobrium where deserved and credit where it's due.

Exactly. It's a mix of both.

 

[PrettySquareGal]

Gee whiz, Lizzie. I think this is the first time we haven't seen eye to eye. Well, nothing is 100%.

 

[JimWagner]

I think my wife and I spent about $500 on our church wedding and that included the reception. My parents might have spent about another $500 on my wedding for the reception dinner and flowers, but I know no more than $1,000 was spent total. My wife's parents weren't in a position to spend anything and we didn't expect them to.

When our daughter married we footed the whole bill and it might have run about $5,000 with half of that being for the photographer and the dress. That was quite a bit more than I wanted to spend, but you know how it is.

I really cannot imagine a median wedding cost of $15,000. I suspect that if that's true then that is not counting the interest on the plastic that most people must be using to finance said weddings.

As far as all the reaction to the Hobo Wedding - shrug.[huh]

 

[Pompidou]

Ah, well, I see. As long as they slay the occasional dragon, it's perfectly OK for them to also mock people who aren't as smart, cool, talented, or Socially Conscious (TM) as they are. I stand corrected.

That's just what people do. Whether it's a group of anonymous people on the internet, a group of gossiping old ladies at the hair salon, employees around the watercooler, or anything in between, making fun of those perceived to be beneath us is as timeless and honored a human past time as marriage. Why, it even happens here - and since TFL hearkens back to a time when culture was superior, that means there's really nothing to complain about. One person's hobo wedding is another person's saggy pants. We should all just try to get along with people like ourselves and make fun of others. If it's been done in the past, and if it's been done for a long time, that makes it right.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

... says Pompidou with his langue firmly in joue.

 

[LizzieMaine]

My problem with it is this: it's simply a symptom of the empty, stupid nihilism at the heart of so much of modern, and especially internet culture. Nothing is sacred, nothing is sincere, nothing is to be respected -- instead, everything is just a big fat ironic joke. Except most of the time the joke is childish, repetitious, cruel, and just not funny -- "snark" is the furthest possible thing from "wit." Whether it's "Regretsy," "People of Wal-Mart," or any other site like that, it ends up saying more about the stunted souls who create them than it does about the people they set themselves up to critique.

 

[C-dot]

Whether it's "Regretsy," "People of Wal-Mart," or any other site like that, it ends up saying more about the stunted souls who create them than it does about the people they set themselves up to critique.

Well put! Regretsy has blown the proverbial whistle on some Etsy cons, granted, but anyone can see the original purpose of the site. The vast majority of its updates are attacking people maliciously for spelling errors, quality of goods, or taste. The contributors spend quite a bit of time at it, too - It's been updated twice today already.

It should also be said that nothing is entirely black or white: There are merits and shortcomings to every website, group, organization, etc... And both can be argued for.

 

[PrettySquareGal]

It should also be said that nothing is entirely black or white: There are merits and shortcomings to every website, group, organization, etc... And both can be argued for.

Right!

 

[Gingerella72]

It's a sanitized, Hollywood-ized version of it all (of course, it's a kid's movie so it's bound to be sanitized) but one of the American Girl movies - Kit Kittredge - explains hobos and their communities for those not in the know.

I like that they "thunk outside the box" for their wedding theme and I enjoyed looking at the photos of it all. But wowsa....$15,000 is more than half a year's salary for me. I guess debating on whether that's over the top expensive or not is relative to your location and cost of living area, and of course your income level. I can see where that much money might seem like pittance on the left or right coast, but seen as i.n.s.a.n.e. elsewhere. But if it didn't put them in debt to do so, who cares?

One of my dad's brothers, on a visit in 1993, sat down with us one evening and told story after story of his own hobo days in the 20s and 30s and riding the rails looking for work. He was near 90 at the time and died shortly after. To this day we kick ourselves for not thinking to record it in some way....all those great stories lost forever!

 

[PrettySquareGal]

My problem with it is this: it's simply a symptom of the empty, stupid nihilism at the heart of so much of modern, and especially internet culture. Nothing is sacred, nothing is sincere, nothing is to be respected -- instead, everything is just a big fat ironic joke. Except most of the time the joke is childish, repetitious, cruel, and just not funny -- "snark" is the furthest possible thing from "wit." Whether it's "Regretsy," "People of Wal-Mart," or any other site like that, it ends up saying more about the stunted souls who create them than it does about the people they set themselves up to critique.

I understand your point and agree with you on much of it. But I like to read Regretsy. That doesn't mean I condone everything on it, nor that I've become a blind follower. I don't drink, smoke or bounce checks. So this is my bad girl outlet, maybe.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Oh, I understand. I just think the whole Culture of Snark lowers the tone not just of the internet -- which isn't that hard to do, given that it seems to be devolving by the day -- but also of the people who get caught up in it. Me, I prefer to conserve my bile for those institutions which truly deserve it. It's more concentrated that way.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Me, I prefer to conserve my bile for those institutions which truly deserve it. It's more concentrated that way.

Bon mot of the day! Wonderful! :eusa_clap:eusa_clap

 

[C-dot]

Me, I prefer to conserve my bile for those institutions which truly deserve it. It's more concentrated that way.

And it retains its credibility. People who raise hell at every opportunity rarely get taken seriously!

 

[sheeplady]

This was recently posted on Regretsy:http://www.regretsy.com/2011/08/05/faux-bos-and-faux-pas

Basically (and I got tired reading about halfway through and started skimming, so.. my summary is probably highly suspect) but it amounts to: I know what it feels like to be attacked like that, I'm sorry it happened to you because I understand, but you put it on the internet. I'm going to keep doing what I do.

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

This was recently posted on Regretsy:http://www.regretsy.com/2011/08/05/faux-bos-and-faux-pas

Basically (and I got tired reading about halfway through and started skimming, so.. my summary is probably highly suspect) but it amounts to: I know what it feels like to be attacked like that, I'm sorry it happened to you because I understand, but you put it on the internet. I'm going to keep doing what I do.

Geesh, what a small world. I know who April Winchell (aka "Helen Killer") is. A few years back she had a radio talk show here in L.A.

 

[LizzieMaine]

A few years back she had a radio talk show here in L.A.

That explains a lot. Radio talk show hosts are noted for their empathy, their sensitivity, and their willingness to take full responsibility for their remarks.

 

[C-dot]

Basically (and I got tired reading about halfway through and started skimming, so.. my summary is probably highly suspect) but it amounts to: I know what it feels like to be attacked like that, I'm sorry it happened to you because I understand, but you put it on the internet. I'm going to keep doing what I do.

I'll clean up a quote from the post:

"When you put ... anything private online where your context does matter, you are asking for a world of ****."

Whatever way you slice it, she is right.

 

[LizzieMaine]

"Blame The Victim" is never right. Is it?

 

[sheeplady]

"Blame The Victim" is never right. Is it?

Well, it does depend on if you think these people are victims.