tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5554498168264477884.post4558310047999680191..comments2023-09-26T03:53:17.142-04:00Comments on Pentimento: Disarming All HostilityPentimentohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17161146891505294679noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5554498168264477884.post-12405796313088087972011-09-07T11:25:49.017-04:002011-09-07T11:25:49.017-04:00Thank you, Mrs. Darwin. And thank you for your ki...Thank you, Mrs. Darwin. And thank you for your kind words, especially since I think I'm sort of a b*tch a lot of the time.<br /><br />But, as Czeslaw Milosz said in a late poem (quoted up at the top of this blog): "I was not separated from people, grief and pity joined us./We forget -- I kept saying -- that we are all children of the King."Pentimentohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17161146891505294679noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5554498168264477884.post-55356614439785121062011-09-07T09:40:03.341-04:002011-09-07T09:40:03.341-04:00"A kind word turneth away wrath."
That..."A kind word turneth away wrath." <br /><br />That woman and her daughter, and you and your son, are in my prayers. You have a disarming gentleness of spirit, Pentimento, that is a lovely example to me.MrsDarwinhttp://darwincatholic.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5554498168264477884.post-90680588701195363672011-09-06T14:25:54.857-04:002011-09-06T14:25:54.857-04:00There, but for fortune...There, but for fortune...Rodakhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00077919085157653816noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5554498168264477884.post-80241115790043931372011-09-04T12:05:53.178-04:002011-09-04T12:05:53.178-04:00And for all of us. : )And for all of us. : )Pentimentohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17161146891505294679noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5554498168264477884.post-20064345420453007952011-09-04T09:49:37.515-04:002011-09-04T09:49:37.515-04:00Yes, "thank God I'm not like this publica...Yes, "thank God I'm not like this publican" is a big part of it. At least I know it is for me.Anne-Marienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5554498168264477884.post-90662293713147229432011-09-04T07:33:36.810-04:002011-09-04T07:33:36.810-04:00I think that, in our fallenness, we all tend to de...I think that, in our fallenness, we all tend to define and describe ourselves by deciding and articulating what we are not. So if we see some annoying, shocking, or incomprehensible situation going on, we think, "that's not me, that's not something I'd ever do, what is wrong with those people, thank God I'm not like this publican," etc. Although I'm on the "other side" as the mother of an autistic child, I think it's probably remarkably easy to do what Smockity Frocks did. I would even excuse it if she hadn't used that poor little girl and her grandmother as fodder to bolster her own self-image, stem her own insecurity, and feed her own hunger for admiration. But then I have to remember what Longfellow said. It's unkind to make fun of children, disabled or otherwise, but I'm sure if I knew Smockity's real heart it would disarm all my anger at the hurt her post has caused me and many other mothers. It's so much more *fun* to be a hater, though. Sigh.Pentimentohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17161146891505294679noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5554498168264477884.post-45104122928839774332011-09-03T18:41:48.578-04:002011-09-03T18:41:48.578-04:00I will certainly pray.
I have been thinking about...I will certainly pray.<br /><br />I have been thinking about this post, and the cached one you linked to, and another tangentially related one, for several days. It seems to me that it all comes down to the difference between judging an act and judging a person. People can quite reasonably be disturbed or annoyed at a child's behavior, but it's not okay to make the jump to "that child is spoiled" or "she's a bad mother."<br /><br />The difference is especially stark in a single encounter, because while a single instance of unruly behavior may well be disturbing, a single instance of parenting is nothing like grounds for a global assessment.Anne-Marienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5554498168264477884.post-73909174002650787282011-09-01T15:13:39.478-04:002011-09-01T15:13:39.478-04:00I certainly will. The Longfellow quote is one to r...I certainly will. The Longfellow quote is one to remember.Rodakhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00077919085157653816noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5554498168264477884.post-67646539279662950142011-09-01T09:44:00.874-04:002011-09-01T09:44:00.874-04:00Stopping to pray right now.Stopping to pray right now.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5554498168264477884.post-27869288199084695162011-08-31T18:17:49.091-04:002011-08-31T18:17:49.091-04:00I will certainly pray.I will certainly pray.Melanie Bettinellihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12557248434888642114noreply@blogger.com