"It is not my place to pass any judgement upon what the mother to be feels appropriate for her own personal life."

Yet its OK to pass judgemnt on your passing judgment? Where is the line where passing judgement becomes 'too judgemental'?

Um. As a citizen, member of tribe, reading public, or just overall general buttinski ahole that I am gives me the place and right to pass judgement.

The problem is most of the time no one will listen to or implement my judgment.

I have passed judgement on gay marriage, drugs, shoes (later blog item), cigars, and a tv show. And overall no one them have changed.

There is a human condition which seeks to avoid responsibility - a fear of being held accountable, for anything. That is being exploited by Thedala Magee's employer and by her erstwhile "attorney".
Even "religious" persons seeking to avoid responsibility cite "judge not, lest ye be judged", as if that excuses them from life itself. They hurry to dismiss the point in that case: "Go, and sin no more."

The reality is that you must pass judgment on a regular basis. That you screw up must also be admitted. Until you do, you can't understand, much less correct the problem you helped bring about, be it suffocating laws or TSA patdowns or an officeholder who has done nothing worthy of election - other than fool the ignorant.

Meanwhile, a reminder for Thedala Magee and others who may or may not enjoy a position of power: the Nuremburg trials hung people who merely carried out orders they should have known were wrong. Until they were dead.

We pass judgment. We make choices. We discriminate. Every day, all day long.

I've been trying to be a little less judgemental when it comes to the little things, because I've been letting other people's stupid sh*t bother me. There has to be a point, though, when you say, "What you're doing is really f*cking stupid." If you want to dress your three kids in stupid t-shirts that say, "My mom's hotter than your mom," that's your perogative. If those three kids are all under the age of four and all have different daddies, I'm allowed to think you're a dumb slut, and I don't want you at my dinner party.

"You're being so judgmental!"

Translation: I don't agree with what you're saying, but I have no rational argument for my side, so I'll play the judgment card and hope you'll go away. Please stop taking me seriously."

Your own blog is not a place where you need to observe the normal etiquette of keeping your mouth shut. No one is forced at gunpoint to read.

The dual-hemisphere brain, stereo vision and hearing, walking erect, the use of tools, and the ability to judge are all part of the success of homo sapiens.

Nobody survived the ancient African savannah by saying "I could use my judgement and assume that lion is eyeballing me because she's hungry, but that would be specist, so I shall ignore her behavior and hope for the best".

No one is forced at gunpoint to read.

Something to add to my "when I rule the world" lisy

"Your own blog is not a place where you need to observe the normal etiquette of keeping your mouth shut. "

So many people these days seem not to get that there is a time and a place for expressing opinions. It's not like Amy went to the woman's funeral and said it there. But the standard these days seems to be that if there is any situation where a particular statement might be appropriate, then it isn't appropriate anywhere. (Which ties in with the next article about the stupid Arizona teacher-censorship bill.)

You people make me feel dirty.

> I've been trying to be a little less judgemental
> when it comes to the little things,

Every day in every way, I try to be a little more judgmental.

But I'm just a man, a human being, much like yourself... Flesh and blood... Toiling against an array of of overpowering forces in a Universe that doesn't care, a lonely champion of excellence tormented by a world I never created. So, some days, I'm unable to pass a more appropriate judgment than on the day before.

So what I like to do, when it's clear that it's one of those days, is to pass judgment a little more quickly.

It saves time! And proficiency is itself a habit.


> Nobody survived the ancient African savannah by
> saying "I could use my judgement and assume that
> lion is eyeballing me because she's hungry, but
> that would be specist, so I shall ignore her
> behavior and hope for the best".

I kinda think they did. I see what you're getting at and all. But in every population you'll find (seemingly) invariable percentages of cowards, freeriders and parasites... Lesser individuals with nice tits or a heritage of wealth who survive without honing insight (of their own or of anyone else).

Postrel has a great end to her Bloomberg piece this week:

Perhaps once you accept that people really are different -- that nobody’s normal and, at least when it comes to food or entertainment or vacations, there’s no one best way to live -- you can, paradoxically enough, start to think about the commonalities known as human nature.