[Windswept]

I just read this letter written to Dear Abby.

It really made me laugh out loud, because the situation was just SO unbelievable.

Dear Abby: Am I a "sicko" because I step out of the shower naked in front of our dog? My wife thinks so. The trouble started when we got a female dog, "Taffy," from the local animal shelter. My wife insists that I cover up in front of the dog and that Taffy is no different from a child. This has created a lot of stress between us. - In the Doghouse, Temecula, Calif.

Am I right in assuming that such a 'problem' could arise only in the US?

I would like to think that we're not the only country in the world where such a conflict could occur, but I suspect that we are. It's so embarrassing.

*sigh*

Are we the only country where some people seem to have a screw loose, or seem like they're from another era of history altogether - like the Dark Ages, perhaps? Any dummies or weirdos in your country, or do we have the entire world's supply here?

Just... geez.

Abby's reply:

Dear Doghouse: Your wife appears to be jealous or have an overactive imagination. It's no more wrong for a human to be naked in front of a dog than it is for a dog to be naked in front of a human.

[zsummers]

Not to ruin the spoiler tag, but personally I scrupulously ensure that my dog remains covered at all times! I shall brook no canine indecency in my presence!

This reminds me of that scene in the "40 Year Old Virgin": "And right as I'm about to finish, her dog runs up and starts licking my balls. Just going to town." "Did you finish?" "Hell yeah I finished."

To add to the insanity: A friend of my parents recently considered giving up his Hotmail account because the banner ads were for Victoria's Secret. The horror! And his poor, neglected wife!

[turbulentfurball]

I'm just glad that the reply brings some sanity back! It was very well put

[Is it 1981?]

Dear Abby: Am I a "sicko" because I step out of the shower naked in front of our dog? [...] My wife insists that I cover up in front of the dog and that Taffy is no different from a child.

If a child's in the bathroom with you while you're showering, the dog's the least of your problems.

(This reminds me of the current Gillette ad in the UK; "you helped your dad with his mobile, you showed him how to download music onto his MP3 player, now give him the gift he's always wanted!" Insert advertising blurb about a razor; show a shot of the dad in the bathroom shaving, and the (adult) son standing in the background smiling and nodding at him... who the fuck goes in the bathroom to watch his dad shave?)

[torifile]

It's funny because the first countries I thought of WRT prudish attitudes are fundy Muslim countries. It's ironic that so many in this country are so ideologically similar to the 'haters of freedom'.

[Wyatt]

Originally Posted by torifile It's funny because the first countries I thought of WRT prudish attitudes are fundy Muslim countries. It's ironic that so many in this country are so ideologically similar to the 'haters of freedom'.

There's such an outrageous fear of sex and nudity in this country. It would be funny if it wasn't so pathetic. (Perfect example)

[Zodiac]

Oh god they're everywhere.

Like my stepmom, I was looking at my dads machete (Got it in Jamaica, it's fucking wicked) and she came in and claimed later on that I had intentions to hack her up with it. Locked me out of the house plenty times due to being "unsafe" with me.

I saw this one kid lean head-into-the-wall against my school building and cry for 48 minutes because someone slapped him on the back. 48 minutes! We TIMED it.

[Koodari]

Originally Posted by Is it 1981? If a child's in the bathroom with you while you're showering, the dog's the least of your problems.

I don't quite understand. Just to spell things out, what problem do you have when you're in the shower, and kids are using another shower in the same bathroom, brushing teeth at the sink etc?
(Assuming they are not so small that they need constant supervision in the bathroom to not slip on the floor.)

[spikeh]

Originally Posted by Is it 1981? (This reminds me of the current Gillette ad in the UK; "you helped your dad with his mobile, you showed him how to download music onto his MP3 player, now give him the gift he's always wanted!" Insert advertising blurb about a razor; show a shot of the dad in the bathroom shaving, and the (adult) son standing in the background smiling and nodding at him... who the fuck goes in the bathroom to watch his dad shave?)

The copy for that ad should clearly read: "You had to help your dad with his mobile, you had to show him how to download music onto his MP3 player: for fucks sake don't trust him with razor blades."

[spikeh]

Originally Posted by Windswept I just read this letter written to Dear Abby. It really made me laugh out loud, because the situation was just SO unbelievable. Am I right in assuming that such a 'problem' could arise only in the US?

No! Watch The Jeremy Kyle Show from the UK (sure it's on YouTube somewhere), it's just utterly ridiculous. People going on national TV to air their problems is insane enough, but some of the topics are ... odd.

[PKIDelirium]

Originally Posted by Koodari I don't quite understand. Just to spell things out, what problem do you have when you're in the shower, and kids are using another shower in the same bathroom, brushing teeth at the sink etc? (Assuming they are not so small that they need constant supervision in the bathroom to not slip on the floor.)

Sounds like Neverland.

[Koodari]

Originally Posted by PKIDelirium Sounds like Neverland.

Actually, it is like my home and I think most homes in my country. It would sound like Neverland if this was someone else's kids we were talking about.

You didn't answer the question by the way. What's wrong with this, specifically?

[drewprops]

There's nothing wrong with it. Not unless someone has mental problems. Regular families have that happen all the time and nobody thinks about it. Anywhere you find large populations with low income you'll find people doing this all the time without a second thought, nothing untoward happening to an overwhelming majority of the people doing it. Our modern culture is quick to assume bad things, which saves some people from real dangers and subjects some innocents to undeserved judgement. No win situation.

[billybobsky]

While it is awkward, I have seen both of my parents naked since I went off for college. They had also, to some degree, seen me naked in high school (my dad is a physician... there are some things just easier to diagnose or examine when one is right there...). Hell, I walk around naked in my apartment with all of my blinds open -- much to the blinding horror of my neighbors whose windows are only seven feet from my own. It is just the naked human form and in all cases there is nothing sexual about it. Perhaps it is because I wasn't raised in a puritanical Christian household that I find this not the least bit concerning.

I even shocked a girlfriend once when, after a bit of sexual play, I strolled around the hotel room naked -- she had seen me naked not ten minutes before...

Just to remind everyone... you came out of your mother's vagina, the very vagina your biological father stuck his engorged penis into. Your head has more than likely touched her clit.... And now you are worried about being seen naked by your parents or seeing your parents naked? psh.

[spikeh]

Freud had a lot to say about this sort of thing, especially in his essay on 'The Uncanny'. I recommend people having a look at it if they want to know more about why these sort of taboos are apparently 'inherently' perceived as taboos.

[Moogs]

Dear Sicko,

Find a new wife, keep the dog.

-Moogs

[Luca]

The stupidity here in China generally stems from laziness and bureaucracy, not from prudishness. Yes, some people here are extremely prudish, but not about some things. Apparently, people aren't at all squeamish about being naked in front of others in a select few situations, as there are a lot of public bath/shower houses for those who aren't fortunate enough to have their own source of hot water in their home (and there are a lot of them). The physical conditions have necessitated that people are (apparently) not bothered by nudity in the same way Americans are. But then, I say apparently because I've never been to a public shower building.

So yeah, the stupidity here takes the form of things like the mistaken notion some people have that heat falls (it doesn't fall you dummies, take two seconds to test it for yourself). They put the heating units for buildings on the top floors, so the top floors are extremely hot while the bottom floors don't get hot enough. Absolutely retarded, of course, but that's just how things go. Which brings me to the second stupid thing here, and that's the way people never really think for themselves or do anything on their own.

The bureaucracy here is pretty bad. The only way to get anything done is to pester the right people so often that eventually it becomes more trouble for them to put up with you than it does for them to actually take care of your problem. My girlfriend's window broke and she was stuck with an open window in her room for several cold days. She asked them to fix it, and they said "this afternoon." It didn't happen. She went to them again, they said, "Oh yeah, we have this written down, they'll be out this afternoon." That evening, nothing. Go back, "Oh, okay, we'll call someone." They make a call, and someone came out and fixed the window. You have to pester and bother people for them to take even an extremely simple action such as placing a phone call.

So yeah, there's an incredible national laziness and lack of planning here. No one really knows what is going on, and when. But it's not the same as in America. You'd never be able to sue someone here for the things that people sue for in America.

[spikeh]

Dear Dad,

I'm really really really really really really sorry.

- Oedipus.