The World as We Know It...
By Jeff Moffitt
@moffittjc (128835)
Gainesville, Florida
October 19, 2016 6:52am CST
I became convinced yesterday that we no longer have any hope left in this world. Scrolling through Facebook while sipping my morning coffee, I came across a post that I was sure was a hoax. But then, driving to work, I heard the story again on the radio, where they confirmed this was a true story.
This year, our local university (a major world-renowned institution, mind you) plans to offer grief counseling to any of its students who are offended or traumatized by Halloween costumes. Yes, you heard that right...students who are traumatized by scary Halloween costumes can seek counseling and treatment.
WTH??? What is this world coming to? I thought one of the purposes of higher education institutions was to prepare students for life in the real world, not shelter them and cuddle them and protect them from it.
If someone needs counseling as a result of being frightened by a Halloween costume, then I worry about that person's ability to cope in the real world after college.
I'm not trying to be mean or insensitive here, but we need to stop coddling kids so much these days. At the rate we baby them, they are going to be ill-equipped to handle the rigorous and unforgiving world as we know it.
Your thoughts on the matter?
20 people like this
26 responses
@AbbyGreenhill (45490)
• United States
19 Oct 16
I don't live in the cyber-world..I live in the real world and kids/people in general need to grow up.
7 people like this
@moffittjc (128835)
• Gainesville, Florida
19 Oct 16
Thank you! I agree! We cannot protect everyone from the evils of this world. The best way to teach people to cope is to teach them how to deal with these problems and issues, not run and hide from them. We need to teach people to have thicker skin!
4 people like this
@AbbyGreenhill (45490)
• United States
19 Oct 16
@moffittjc Thicker skins and a more useful brain LOL.
5 people like this
@moffittjc (128835)
• Gainesville, Florida
20 Oct 16
@AbbyGreenhill My 16-year old daughter said to me this morning when she heard the news story, "Those wimps need to grow a set of balls!" LOL
1 person likes this
@Happy2BeMe (99353)
• Canada
19 Oct 16
It is scary to think these are the people who are going to be running things in the future. How will they ever cope with the real challenges? Enough is enough already! It is so ridiculous but yet not surprising!
5 people like this
@moffittjc (128835)
• Gainesville, Florida
20 Oct 16
If these people would pull their face out of their smartphones and start learning how to interact with other human beings face to face instead of through social media, they would learn coping mechanisms.
3 people like this
@moffittjc (128835)
• Gainesville, Florida
20 Oct 16
@Happy2BeMe The irony of it all is that we're commenting back and forth here on myLot, and none of us have ever met face-to-face! lol We're just as guilty of burying our faces in our technology gadgets! lol
2 people like this
@LovingMyBabies (85923)
• Valdosta, Georgia
19 Oct 16
Oh my goodness that is insane! Here's some counseling I would give them....Put on your big boy panties and get over it, it's Halloween and fun!!
This world is babying too much. It's crazy.
5 people like this
@moffittjc (128835)
• Gainesville, Florida
20 Oct 16
I love it! "Put on your big boy panties!" That's classic! I would add to that, "Stop crying cupcake, and deal with it!"
2 people like this
@LovingMyBabies (85923)
• Valdosta, Georgia
20 Oct 16
@moffittjc Glad you like it! Lol I also tell my kids Suck it up buttercup and learn to deal! Lol.
2 people like this
@moffittjc (128835)
• Gainesville, Florida
20 Oct 16
I'm sure that's the next "counseling" they will offer, for people who were startled from behind!
3 people like this
@moffittjc (128835)
• Gainesville, Florida
20 Oct 16
But we have to accept some responsibility, because we're the ones that are babying the kids these days. Well, I'm not, but the adults of the world today are trying to protect and shelter the younger generations too much.
1 person likes this
@LadyDuck (502491)
• Italy
19 Oct 16
A few minutes ago I have read that the game "snakes and ladder" is no more produced because kids can be "scared". I fully agree with you, this world is insane. We MUST teach our children to cope with the difficulties of the world and not put them under a crystal bell so they are preserved from every little problem.
4 people like this
@GardenGerty (169479)
• United States
20 Oct 16
@LadyDuck even when my kids were little they called it chutes and ladders and kids went down the chute on the wrong play. We may be pretty sissy.
3 people like this
@moffittjc (128835)
• Gainesville, Florida
20 Oct 16
I feel sorry for these kids, because they are never going to survive in the real world. They are going to get eaten alive, and we'll have an entire generation of people who are walking zombies because they are so doped up on anxiety medicine and anti-depressants.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (128835)
• Gainesville, Florida
20 Oct 16
@GardenGerty It was Snakes and Ladders when I was a kid. And I grew up just fine!
3 people like this
@marguicha (230350)
• Chile
19 Oct 16
I´m old. Still more: I´m an ol´witch. My idea is that once in a while kids need a spanking on the butt. It won´t hurt them. And they should have duties depending on their age. I´m sure my grandson Diego would have been better if both of his parents had done that at the right time. That is not abusing them.
I once had an exchange of words with the dean of the university where I worked as she thought that university students became stressed by studies. I studied while being a mother, a wife and keeping a house and did not need "counseling" for "stress". OMG!!!
3 people like this
@marguicha (230350)
• Chile
20 Oct 16
@CoralLevang I´d be happy to join such a cub. My friends, I´m proud to say, are mostly crazy people
. They are writers and artists so that they say what they think. Maybe this is another such place?
. They are writers and artists so that they say what they think. Maybe this is another such place?2 people like this
@marguicha (230350)
• Chile
20 Oct 16
@CoralLevang You are very welcome. But here, as in any place, you have to look carefully for the people that are like you.
2 people like this
@moffittjc (128835)
• Gainesville, Florida
21 Oct 16
I was spanked by my parents as a child, and I grew up learning discipline and respect. I spanked my children when they were young, and they also have grown up to be very respectful and responsible teenagers. It all starts at home with the parents. Parents nowadays need to stop being best friends with their kids and start being....parents.
@infatuatedbby (94909)
• United States
20 Oct 16
Maybe traumatized if something happened to them with the halloween costume like rape. But just because they wore the costume and done no harm, then I don't see a reason....
2 people like this
@infatuatedbby (94909)
• United States
20 Oct 16
@moffittjc Right! I never visited psychiatrists never knew it was available at schools? But no a special counseling for Halloween costumes is ridiculous so when Christmas rolls around people wearing Santa will be a problem?
2 people like this
@moffittjc (128835)
• Gainesville, Florida
21 Oct 16
@infatuatedbby Oh I hope not! Santa brings hope and joy to children of the world. We can't mess with St. Nick!
2 people like this
@moffittjc (128835)
• Gainesville, Florida
20 Oct 16
But they already have counselors available for situations like rape or other serious psychological issues. They're called psychiatrists! I don't see a need to offer special counseling just for Halloween costumes! lol
2 people like this
@moffittjc (128835)
• Gainesville, Florida
20 Oct 16
I should try to find the location of where they plan on doing the counseling, and then dress up in a scary clown outfit and peak my head into the room while they are being counseled! haha
2 people like this
@moffittjc (128835)
• Gainesville, Florida
21 Oct 16
@DianneN I agree that it would be hysterical! I would make sure to capture it all on film too, because it would be epic!
1 person likes this
@DianneN (254926)
• United States
20 Oct 16
@moffittjc LOL!!!! That would be hysterical and cause them to go into hysterics!
2 people like this
@andriaperry (118793)
• Anniston, Alabama
20 Oct 16
The cure used to be a slap in the face while screaming " get a hold of yourself MAN!"
Raising a bunch of wussies
3 people like this
@moffittjc (128835)
• Gainesville, Florida
20 Oct 16
I love it...a bunch of wussies! Yes, unfortunately, you are right.
1 person likes this
@Mike197602 (15504)
• United Kingdom
19 Oct 16
totally agree.
schools don't seem to prepare kids to fail...they give everyone who runs a race a medal so nobody feels left out
Then when they get into the real world with real pressures and real competition they can't cope.
Then when they get into the real world with real pressures and real competition they can't cope.3 people like this
@moffittjc (128835)
• Gainesville, Florida
20 Oct 16
I have to tell you, the majority of my employees that work for me are college students, and I don't take that crap with my staff. Any one of my staff will tell you that when I'm through with them, they are prepared to take on anything this world can throw at them! It's rough for them at first, but eventually they respond. None of that coddling crap is allowed in my job!
2 people like this
@moffittjc (128835)
• Gainesville, Florida
20 Oct 16
I can tell you, my daughter, who turns 17 next week, was not raised that way. In fact, she had me laughing pretty hard today when she heard the news story and went off on a pretty long rant about all the babies in this world! I was like, "yeah, you go girl!"
2 people like this
@5thHouse (1678)
• Sheffield, England
19 Oct 16
It's another example of political correctness gone mad. Now, I could imagine if someone was the victim of some sort of unpleasant prank, like being chased by some deranged Halloween clown, or the case of vulnerable old people being harassed by teenage trick or treaters demanding money with menaces, fair enough. Those people would need support. I do think modern Halloween celebrations have got a bit distasteful, to be honest. But to be traumatised by costumes??? Indeed, what is the world coming to.
4 people like this
@moffittjc (128835)
• Gainesville, Florida
20 Oct 16
I would also add, that if Halloween costumes scare you, or offend you, then don't go out on Halloween. Stay inside and hide under your covers. Don't go to Halloween parties. Just stay at home and be a recluse. Geez, it's not that difficult to figure out!
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (128835)
• Gainesville, Florida
21 Oct 16
@CoralLevang I wonder if I've ever been deleted by myLot members or reported. I am often less than politically correct on here! lol
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (128835)
• Gainesville, Florida
21 Oct 16
@CoralLevang I'm too nice to challenge people. I'm just a happy-go-lucky sort of guy! haha
1 person likes this
@GardenGerty (169479)
• United States
20 Oct 16
Don't go where the costumes are if they are traumatic for you. Figure out a practical way to live you life. I bet someone somewhere got a grant to provide said counselling or to do a study about the horror caused by costumes. Wake up people!
2 people like this
@moffittjc (128835)
• Gainesville, Florida
20 Oct 16
That's what I was thinking! Maybe it's all just some grad student's research project on the human psyche or something! Tricking people into fake counseling sessions so they can study them and conduct research! lol
1 person likes this
@just4him (323168)
• Green Bay, Wisconsin
21 Oct 16
I agree with you. We already have an entitled generation who thinks they deserve everything and don't want to work for it. So now the powers that be want to coddle them too? They will be completely useless to society at the rate things are moving. Isn't that like progress in reverse?
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (128835)
• Gainesville, Florida
21 Oct 16
This is definitely an example of progress in reverse. We are going to become a society of paralysis due to fear to ever try or do anything.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (128835)
• Gainesville, Florida
25 Oct 16
@just4him As I tell the kids, we just have to make the most of it, and not let what goes on in the world deter our happiness!
1 person likes this
@just4him (323168)
• Green Bay, Wisconsin
24 Oct 16
@moffittjc It's a sad time we live in.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (128835)
• Gainesville, Florida
21 Oct 16
@CoralLevang That sounds like a legit answer to me! I have often wondered why tuition is so high these days, but your explanation sounds very plausible. I certainly wouldn't want to be a professor nowadays!
My former girlfriend is a professor at a university in New York City, and she just finished her first year of professorship (is that a word? haha). Every time I talk to her she is complaining about all the whiny, crybaby students she has to deal with. I always laugh, because I have to remind her that she is only a year or two older than those whiny students she complains so much about!
@moffittjc (128835)
• Gainesville, Florida
22 Oct 16
@CoralLevang She is from Detroit originally, grew up in south Florida, went to college in north Florida, and now lives in one of the toughest neighborhoods in Brooklyn. She's a badass, so it's not her that's the problem! You should hear her run her mouth when she's giving the New Yorkers a piece of her mind! Even the gangbangers in her hood don't mess with her!
@moffittjc (128835)
• Gainesville, Florida
22 Oct 16
@CoralLevang It was hard to do! She got an offer to teach in NYC that she couldn't refuse! Who am I to hold her back from pursuing her dreams?
@moffittjc (128835)
• Gainesville, Florida
20 Oct 16
@polyxena Sure, why not? join the club. Let's all get counseling. I'm traumatized by all the idiots in the world. Which pretty much means every other breathing person on the planet. lol
Well...except for you of course. You're not an idiot. I'm not traumatized by you! LOL
@moffittjc (128835)
• Gainesville, Florida
20 Oct 16
I'm traumatized by people who get traumatized over Halloween costumes. But is anyone offering me counseling? Nope, because I learned how to cope in this world! hahaha
@polyxena (2628)
• Sturgis, Michigan
20 Oct 16
@moffittjc
I wonder if I can get in on this free counseling stuff. Just because I'm traumatized by other folk.
I wonder if I can get in on this free counseling stuff. Just because I'm traumatized by other folk.1 person likes this
@thislittlepennyearns (68246)
• Defuniak Springs, Florida
19 Oct 16
Remember this is the same world where kids get participation trophy's etc. The world gets butthurt by anything they don't agree with or that could even be the teeny bit offensive.
This is ridiculous.
2 people like this
@moffittjc (128835)
• Gainesville, Florida
20 Oct 16
Just last year at work we made the decision to go back to awarding 1st, 2nd and 3rd place trophies, and we got rid of that "every kid gets a trophy" bulls*t. You would think WWIII started with the way parents were freaking out. "What do you mean my kid doesn't get a trophy? How dare you! I'm going to call the Mayor and have you fired!" I'm probably the most hated person in my city right now because I won't give trophies to every little Johnny and Jane that play in our sports programs!
@moffittjc (128835)
• Gainesville, Florida
20 Oct 16
@thislittlepennyearns I want to be coddled!
Wait...I meant cuddled! I want someone to cuddle with me! lol
@thislittlepennyearns (68246)
• Defuniak Springs, Florida
20 Oct 16
@moffittjc I commend you on being firm and not being a push over. Ain't nobody gonna learn how to be a real adult if they are coddled their whole childhood.
1 person likes this
@FayeHazel (40230)
• United States
19 Oct 16
Wow. I saw something on facebook - why pirate costumes are bad, why princess costumes are bad, why ethnic of any sort costumes are bad, why super heros costumes are bad... I was hoping that was a joke. Anyway I tend to agree. If you can't handle seeing Halloween costumes - then what can you handle in real life?
2 people like this
@moffittjc (128835)
• Gainesville, Florida
20 Oct 16
If costumes offend them so much, then they should just stay inside during Halloween and not go trick-or-treating or to Halloween parties! Simple problem to fix! Well, a swift kick in the a$$ would be my first choice for a solution, but I'm sure somebody would be offended by that! lol
3 people like this
@moffittjc (128835)
• Gainesville, Florida
21 Oct 16
@FayeHazel I think so too! That would be very awesome if she did that!
1 person likes this
@FayeHazel (40230)
• United States
20 Oct 16
@CoralLevang I hope you do, that sounds awesome!
2 people like this
