2 ms·

No, it was a tongue-in-cheek reference to Hillary Clinton's book, "It Takes A Village," which is often cited, correctly or not, as a touchstone of government-kn

No, it was a tongue-in-cheek reference to Hillary Clinton's book, "It Takes A Village," which is often cited, correctly or not, as a touchstone of government-knows-best parenting. Apologies for the USA-centric reference :)

m_mueller 12y ago
Thanks for explaining ;). So Hillary Clinton, even though being on the left side of the political spectrum, promotes government steered parenting (='liberal' in the US)? Now I know American liberal doesn't mean the same as European liberal (which is usually attributed to the right/centrist side there), but man - you people sure seem to have a badly infected case of governitis there. Have you tried turning it off and on again?
- brandonmenc 12y ago
  Based on personal experience, our "liberals" are very opposed to physical discipline and putting children in danger of any kind (driving tractors, shooting guns, living with smokers), in contrast with our "conservatives," who subscribe to the idea that getting hurt is part of growing up. Both sides like big government enforcing their pet concerns.
  - darklajid 12y ago
    I like that in a discussion about child safety we've started with 'go to the nearby park unsupervised' and arrived at 'shooting guns'. That's an interesting range right there and potentially another clash of cultures for me (I assume I started with similar values as the thread starter, substitute CH with DE).
    - brandonmenc 12y ago
      I admit to being facetious. What I meant was, "shooting guns under competent adult supervision." Which, I'd rather have my kids do than walk to the park alone. How about this for a culture clash: When I was 14, my mom would drop me off at my high school so that I could participate in the rifle club. We had a shooting range in the basement of the school. Guns and live ammo were kept in the school - in a locker - at all times. This was in like, the year 1994, in a medium-sized city - not some little farm town in the 50s. However, it was a private school. This could never happen at a public school. Crazy, huh?
      - m_mueller 12y ago
        Well, speaking from Switzerland, the only thing 'crazy' about your story would be your mom dropping you off at your high school. That would turn quite a few heads there and lead to lots of 'mommy boy' teasing and such. Weapons? Maybe not at school, but there's enough shooting clubs for teenagers in Switzerland. The kind of rifle you get would be heavily regulated though.

m_mueller 12y ago

Thanks for explaining ;). So Hillary Clinton, even though being on the left side of the political spectrum, promotes government steered parenting (='liberal' in the US)? Now I know American liberal doesn't mean the same as European liberal (which is usually attributed to the right/centrist side there), but man - you people sure seem to have a badly infected case of governitis there. Have you tried turning it off and on again?

brandonmenc 12y ago
Based on personal experience, our "liberals" are very opposed to physical discipline and putting children in danger of any kind (driving tractors, shooting guns, living with smokers), in contrast with our "conservatives," who subscribe to the idea that getting hurt is part of growing up. Both sides like big government enforcing their pet concerns.
- darklajid 12y ago
  I like that in a discussion about child safety we've started with 'go to the nearby park unsupervised' and arrived at 'shooting guns'. That's an interesting range right there and potentially another clash of cultures for me (I assume I started with similar values as the thread starter, substitute CH with DE).
  - brandonmenc 12y ago
    I admit to being facetious. What I meant was, "shooting guns under competent adult supervision." Which, I'd rather have my kids do than walk to the park alone. How about this for a culture clash: When I was 14, my mom would drop me off at my high school so that I could participate in the rifle club. We had a shooting range in the basement of the school. Guns and live ammo were kept in the school - in a locker - at all times. This was in like, the year 1994, in a medium-sized city - not some little farm town in the 50s. However, it was a private school. This could never happen at a public school. Crazy, huh?
    - m_mueller 12y ago
      Well, speaking from Switzerland, the only thing 'crazy' about your story would be your mom dropping you off at your high school. That would turn quite a few heads there and lead to lots of 'mommy boy' teasing and such. Weapons? Maybe not at school, but there's enough shooting clubs for teenagers in Switzerland. The kind of rifle you get would be heavily regulated though.