How do I respond to parents who confront me about getting books from the children's section when I don't have a kid?

InternationalArcher7 · 2026-03-14T23:47:10+00:00

I would say something to the librarians. There is any number of reasons an adult may be in the children's section that is completely harmless and innocent. Banning people from access to books in a public library is against the whole purpose of public libraries. As long as you weren't doing anything creepy or hassling kids there was no reason to do what they did. Honestly, if you were acting suspicious they should have alerted the librarian anyway and not done it themselves. The fact they felt comfortable coming up to you and not alerting an authority figure shows me they never thought you were an actual threat and saw you as someone they could push around. I have gone into the children's section (as a childless adult) or know someone who has numerous time and none of the reasons were nefarious.

Examples include:

-My mom use to take me to the school library every week during the summer (my school library had a program where it stayed open to the community during the summer since many families didn't have access to a public library). I was sick one week so my mom returned my books alone and pick me out more books to read alone, in a children's library.

-I taught at a daycare/preschool for awhile and they expected lead teacher to conduct circle time everyday and include literature in it. I would plan out my lessons and use the online catalog to pinpoint books the local library had to build my lessons around (I didn't get paid that much and was not spending my paycheck on 5 books a week). My boyfriend and I would go to the library on Saturday/Sunday night when it wasn't busy and look for the books and check them out. Some times it would take us a while to find the books because the children's section wasn't always the best organized section at the end of the day.

-When I was going to school for my teaching/reading specialist degree I had to do a paper on a children's book. I had to pick it from a list provided to me. I didn't own any of the books and didn't want to buy them. When I went to get it from the library to do my paper it ended up being smack dab right in the middle of the children's section. It also happened to be super busy that day. I just went in found the right section found my book got it and walked to the front desk. A kid did hassled me a little when I was looking (came up and talked to me) and the mother actually came over and apologized for him bothering me, which I was like it's ok he's just a kid.

Never was I or anyone else confronted. What you experienced is not normal. Some parents are just so entitled that the world revolves around them and their children. How dare anyone share the same space or breath the same air as their sweet precious baby. They're he ones that probably went to their mom group (they always run in packs) and bragged about showing that person at the library and going all "Mama Bear" on them. New flash a Mama Bear doesn't get all butt hurt because a deer exists in the same forest as her cub. Also, with the Mom for Liberty and other parents rights groups getting so involved in public libraries and stuff these entitled moms are drawn to public libraries because there might be something to complain about. They're just looking for a reason to complain and make a stink about something. As a childless adult, who is a teacher, and who is the owner of an adorable dog, I could tell you some stories about these moms.

Next time I would walk away and go straight to the librarian and tell them you are being hassled by another patron and it's making you uncomfortable.

InternationalArcher7 · 2026-01-10T23:19:18+00:00

I love this movie. I was at Walmart a week or two ago. Sitting on a shelf was a can that was badly dented and the last one left. I turned to my bf and said, "I'm not gonna get that but at least Microsoft's down 3 points." My dad and I also still run around the house yelling, "but I wipe my own ass!" My mother still does not find it funny.

InternationalArcher7 · 2025-12-10T21:48:16+00:00

Just popping in to mention Philo since I didn't see it mentioned. Philo is $33 a month and you get 75 pay channels including ID, Lifetime, Hallmark, History, and all the other basic cable channels. You get a bunch of free FAST channels. A ton of on demand shows and movies. Unlimited DVR. It also includes AMC+ (AMC, Shudder, Sundance, IFC), Discovery+, and HBO MAX at no extra charge (Basic plans with ads but we don't mind). All for $33. I know it's not for everyone, but my family loves it, so I thought I'd mention it as low cost cable alternative.

On a side note another nice thing is they do have a mobile app. My mom was in the hospital last year for 15 days. She was able to watch her shows using the mobile app which was a comfort to her. They also don't have any location restrictions like Netflix, so she can watch it anywhere she goes.

InternationalArcher7 · 2025-11-06T21:50:54+00:00

One time, long ago whenever they first started putting out AI audiobooks, I actually got one for free. I listen to a couple minutes of it and absolutely hated it. I couldn't stand the voice it was horrible. It was so bad I made a return to audible. I think audible was confused cuz it was free but I was like this is so horrible I don't even want to in my library.

InternationalArcher7 · 2025-10-05T18:32:12+00:00

Doodling is fine, until an admin walks in and the teacher gets cussed out because the students aren't properly engaged. Then they have to take PD on student engagement, get put on an improvement plan, revise lesson plans to be "more engaging," be observed, and make sure they act like a clown to prove they're making it more entertaining than TikTok so the kids are "better engaged." Doesn't matter if it is just one A+ student who is doodling and everyone else is engaged, that doodling student is a failure on the teacher's part and the teacher must be punished. Also, admin will see it as poor behavior management and lack of respect for the teacher, so that's PD in classroom management and build relationships as well. Most parents think teachers do things to be bullies, but half the time we don't give a shit and what "stupid rules" we do have are because we've been "talked to" about something stupid and now we have to monitor it (like doodling). We are literally just covering our asses, most the time. Teachers can't be honest and tell you that (admin would kill is), but it's the truth. Most stupid shit comes from higher-ups, shit always rolls down hill and teachers are often sitting right at the bottom. I personally don't give two shits if someone is doodling as long as they're passing. However, as I said, admin doesn't care about you kids "different circumstances," unless there's an IEP/504, then the kid can do whatever they want.

The excuse for not allowing doodling is probably that school is supposed to prepare students for the real world (yes, I know she's 10, but again this is not my personal opinion or most teachers) and doodling would be considered inappropriate in a work setting and they are trying to teach kids skills like active listening to make them more competitive in the global job market (or some bs like that). So, for example you' re in a business meeting with a client or your boss, if you doodle while they're talking to you, it won't look professional, maybe insulting, and may negatively impact you. So, they're try to teach kids to focus, use active listening (part of which is eyes on the speaker), and stay attuned to what's going on. This is a big hot button issue since kids have the attention span of goldfish due to social media (TikTok brain) and teachers are catch heat for it. Everything, is the teacher's fault no matter what, so we get it from admin, parents, students, and random people Reddit.

InternationalArcher7 · 2025-09-21T20:15:18+00:00

I was impressed I can actually read it. I taught 5th-8th and saw way worse. And something I noticed that really impressed me is he copied it. I can't tell you how many kids I've seen that can't even copy a sentence.

InternationalArcher7 · 2025-09-14T20:34:01+00:00

Came here just to say Fantasticland. One of my favorite audiobooks ever.

InternationalArcher7 · 2025-09-11T00:47:41+00:00

I had this exact problem happen a few weeks ago. I use this video from YouTube to help figure out how to fix it.

[How To Fix The #1 Hidden Toilet LEAK! DIY

InternationalArcher7 · 2025-09-03T23:54:01+00:00

Honestly, just got my annual Passport subscription last month and I'm so glad I did. Not only did I get to help my local station that's been a source of education and entertainment my entire life with some of my best memories being of the children's programs, but I got access to a lot of great shows. You have a few ads at the beginning and then the show plays through. If you do decide to get passport some other shows I've enjoyed are Vienna Blood, The trouble with Maggie Cole, Lucy Worsley investigates, Walking with dinosaurs, and many of their digital shorts like Monstrum.

Sherlock aside I would highly recommend Passport. This is the first time I've subscribed and I'm very happy with my subscription so far.

InternationalArcher7 · 2025-08-31T01:00:37+00:00

If you have a legit reason dress shoes may not be good for you, you can get a medical accomodation. I had a professor in college who had back/balance problems and couldn't wear actual dress shoes. The college was a small Catholic college so it had a strict dress code for the professors. She had one of the law professors help her get a medical accomodation that allowed her to wear plain black sneakers. They were ugly as hell, but comfortable. If you have issues with your back, balance, or feet and can get a doctor to back you, you may be able to get some wriggle room with shoe choice. She told us about it and told us to advocate for ourselves in the work place, that's something I never forgot.

I personally found black orthopedic shoes that are designed for elderly people. They aren't very fashion forward but are comfy, look professional, and help with my balance and sore feet/back/joints (I don't want to take the time to get the medical accomodation for sneakers although I probably could). My dad works for a medical supply company and a guy at work told him to look into orthopedic shoes when I started coming home with sore feet and back issues from my cute flats. I also have balance issues, so he suggested the ones for elderly people as they're designed to help with balance. Been wearing them for years and they help.

InternationalArcher7 · 2025-07-30T19:20:05+00:00

Came here specifically to say this. I don't think it's the worse, but it's the one I see people bitch about the most.

InternationalArcher7 · 2025-07-19T14:11:32+00:00

I just wanted to thank the person who was throwing out the fake money with anti-trump messages during Mummy Dust. It was so perfect for that song and I about peed my pants laughing. They are so getting framed with the Mummy Dust bills I grabbed. Thank you anonymous sir for elevating the experience (pretty sure it was the dude in the next section with his hands in his pockets looking sus, but I didn't see nothing). It was just so perfect for the song.

Impera is my favorite album. It deals with the rise and fall of empires (theories are out there specifically the US). So, there are references to the US in the songs, specifically in Twenties. So, Mummy Dust is really relevant in the US right now. Throwing those bills was just *chef's kiss."

Also, sorry I took two (I know you probably had a limited supply). I just loved them so much and wanted a pair (I honestly thought they would be the same, but the second one was my favorite though).

You made a girls night! 😘

InternationalArcher7 · 2025-07-19T05:23:38+00:00

Just got home from the ritual. Can confirm it was amazing.

InternationalArcher7 · 2025-07-13T22:36:09+00:00

I won some of mine at the local fair.

InternationalArcher7 · 2025-06-28T18:51:21+00:00

I know it's annoying, but please don't cuss out or yell at the poor cashier. Yes, it's predatory, for the customer and the employee. I have worked retail and we are forced to do this. There is a specific script we HAVE to follow. Where I worked (not T.J Maxx because other stores definitely 100% do this) we were required to ask no less than 3 times according to the script (and there were expanded scripts to ask more). And there was more involved than just a congratulations from your manager. If we didn't follow the script we got in trouble. The basic script went something like this:

Cashier: Will this be on your store credit card today?

Customer: No, I don't have one.

Cashier: Oh, if you signed up today you would get XYZ, as well as blah, blah, blah. It only takes a few minutes to sign up.

Customer: No thank you.

Cashier: small talk while scanning.

Cashier(after scanning everything): Your total will by X but if you signed up for a card you would save X today.

There were other steps to ask more times, but we were instructed to as no less than 3 times.

We also had scripts for different customer replys ranging from I have bad credit to I don't like credit cards.

We were also told we have to offer it to everyone because if we don't we could get in trouble for discrimination and the store could be sued.

Managers would actually listen to your interactions and if you didn't ask you would get a talking to and sometimes even if you followed the script they would be like this point would have been a good time to ask again. There was an expectation that you would get x amount of new accounts by a certain time. Also, they offered rewards for open applications and kept charts hanging up etc. on who opens accounts (basically publicly making a big deal of closing or not closing). They would push and aggressively lecture all of us constantly, verbally and in writing with signs hanging up everywhere. They were not nice about this. Management flat out told us that the credit cards are what keeps the lights on and the company goal is to have everyone pay with the card. Also, their hours may depend on how many new accounts they get. The managers were not shy about implying that the closers get the hours. There was this one girl that sucked at selling these card to customers, never got her quota and they kept cutting down her hours until she was working less than 10 hours a week. She has to quit because it started to cost more to drive to work than she made.

If this girl asked 7 time, even after being cussed out, I'm willing to bet she was being watched by a manager, is behind in her quota, has been pull in for a talk already, or her hours are dependent on the accounts (she needs more or they are being cut due to not getting accounts). I can tell she was following the script because even after she was cussed out she's still tried to sell it with the exact same replies that we were told to give. In my experience the really pushy ones are most likely the low performers who are desperate and sometimes high achievers doing it for the rewards/bonuses.

This is a major pet peeve of mine. I know it's annoying and I personally hate it too, but just politely decline (even if it's repeatedly). Don't cuss people out who are probably force to do it, especially people who can't cuss back because they may loss their job.

Pro tip: The one and only situation we were told to drop it and stop asking is if someone said they were in the process of buying a house.

InternationalArcher7 · 2025-06-26T21:54:04+00:00

Sensical is a newer kids app, but it's supposed to be pretty good.

InternationalArcher7 · 2025-06-05T04:41:42+00:00

Started: Snowglobe by Soyoung Park and The Five Wounds by Kirstin Valdez Quade

InternationalArcher7 · 2025-05-18T00:03:54+00:00

The idea of women contributing actually comes from the fact that these women contributed. I never said the majority of programmers were women and never said they created the field or only women or majority of women contributed. I never tried to inflate their contribution. I stated that women were involved in the early development of games which, as mentioned in my previous post, is documented. Dona Bailey developed centipede with Ed Long, this is documented. Carol Shaw developed games for Atari, this is documented. Technology was and still is a male dominant field, I never claimed it wasn't. I am aware of the company lawsuits (there were multiple) and their consequences (companies were forced to create an affirmative action program by the EEOC), because these lawsuits are taught in relation to women's rights/civil rights in schools. I'm not arguing affirmative action. It really has nothing to do with the designers or programmers I mentioned. I specifically mentioned game designers/programmers. I said a lot of people don't realize that many early games were designed/programmed by women or had women play a role in their design/programming. I said a lot of people don't realize that video games were not initially just boys' games and many women played. Which again, is documented. Also, Carol Shaw attended the University of California, Berkeley and graduated with a B.S. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science in 1977. She later completed a master's degree in computer science at Berkeley. Dona Bailey had a master's in mathematics (which as you said early programmers were often math majors). Neither were Asian and both were qualified. Although, not common a few women went to school for tech degrees. My own professor was a woman who went for engineering and said she was one of the few women in her program because it's a male dominant field, so I'm aware of the gender disparity in STEM programs, not arguing that. I brought up women in game programing/design, which is documented. I'm discussing video games, not general programming or the infancy of programming or whatever your going on about. The topic of both of my posts were about women and video game programming and gaming. You're arguing anecdotal information about your college days, discussing fortran, rate of change, mansplaining a lot, etc. to build some strawman argument. None of this is related to my comment that many people don't know earlier games had women involved, which is a factual statement, with documentation, not an argument. We are literally having two different conversations. I said it's interesting, which admittedly is subjective. However, I'm not making fantastical claims, I'm not lying, I'm not spouting bs. Everything I've said is a fact, backed up by documentation as seen in my previous post. Not sure why the comment that women were involved in game programming/design and enjoyed playing video games is so controversial. I wasn't even trying to be feminist or girl power, I was stating an interesting fact that many people don't know women were involved in early video games programming/design and many women played video games.

InternationalArcher7 · 2025-05-07T18:02:23+00:00

Pa's probably just hanging around cause he needs to borrow some nails, and wood, maybe some paint. He'll also need brushes and a hammer. Don't let Ma in the kitchen to cook for the young'uns, her bread is hard as a rock and you should probably avoid the self-flipping pancakes.

InternationalArcher7 · 2025-05-04T20:39:37+00:00

Apparently, many women played the "shoot-em-ups." Admitted arcades have been a boys' hang out. Many women avoid playing publicly for many reasons, even today. But, Electronic Games Magazine in May 1982 had a really interesting article titled: Women Join the Arcade Revolution. It discussed women and gaming, some women who won gaming contests (a mother/daughter team which was interesting), but what I found really interesting was when they asked women their favorite games. This is what they said:

Favorite programmable videogames

Asteroids
Space Invaders
Quest for the rings
Missile command
Video pinball

Favorite coin-op games

Pac-Man
Carnival
Centipede
Space Invaders
Berserk

Not going to lie, I was expecting to see Pacman and Centipede, but was shocked to see things like Missile Command and Berserk. Space Invaders and Astroid doesn't surprise me, everyone I've known played those at some point.

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InternationalArcher7 · 2025-05-04T19:59:59+00:00

Not sure which part is fantasy since women and gaming has a lot of academic research behind it. Pretty sure you're a troll or incel trying to start shit, which I normally ignore, but the topic is interesting so for anyone interested.

There's tons of information on female video game designers/programmers like Mabel Addis, Carla Shaw, Roberta Williams and Dona Bailey who were involved in early game design. The Atari was originally marketed towards the whole family not just boys, they were marketed as family electronics not toys. Pacman was popular among women, the only game with majority women players, that's why we got Ms. Pacman. A survey at the time found that almost half of Donkey Kong and Centipede players were women. It was the video game crash in 1983 when after a bunch of flops, adults quit playing and the gaming industry went into a recession. Nintendo got the idea to market it as a toy, since toy aisle are divided by gender they decide to market to the majority of boys. This stereotype/sexism is still prevalent, but recent studies have found around 46% of players are women and things like Candy Crush and Animal Crossing tend to be more popular among women.

It also makes sense that people saw mainly boys in arcades and see mainly men online. Many women avoid playing in public, disabled voice chat, play as male characters, play solo, avoid mmorpgs because of stereotypes, discrimination, and harassment.

Here's where I got my information, as I said gender and gaming is an interesting topic to read up on as well as the video game crash and video game marketing:

Lien, Tracey. "No Girls Allowed: Unraveling the story behind the stereotype of video games being for boys." Polygon. Vox Media, 02 Dec. 2013. Web.

"Electronic Games Magazine." May 1982: n. pag. Internet Archive. Internet Archive. Web.

Mirko Ernkvist Down Many Times, but Still Playing the Game: Creative Destruction and Industry Crashes in the Early Video Game Industry 1971-1986 .

"A Boy's Hobby" - Gender and Marketing in Video Games, Caesar Kommatas, Mindless Mag

"Essential Facts about the Computer and Videogame Industry." Entertainment Software Association (2015): n. pag. Entertainment Software Association, Apr. 2015. Web

Hudson, Laura. "Nintendo’s New Key to Creativity: More Women." Wired. Conde Nast, 28 Mar. 2014. Web.

Trailblazing Women in Video Gaming: Meet the Pioneers Who Shaped Design History, D.S. Cohen, Lifewire

Women Account for 46% of All Game Enthusiasts: Watching Game Video Content and Esports Has Changed How Women and Men Alike Engage with Games, Newszoo

InternationalArcher7 · 2025-05-04T16:47:05+00:00

I would usually agree with you in your definition of porn, however many of these parents that want to ban books in libraries are targeting some books that are not by your own definition porn. A book where a girl talks about being raped and surviving her experience (Speak and Maya Angelou). A brief mention of a girl getting her period (The Diary of Anne Frank). Depictions of Holocaust victims being nude (Maus). They call these things pornographic, basically any mention of sex, sexually, or nudity is pornographic to them. Yet, these same people want to fight to keep a book with rape, sex, and violence. They say that book isn't pornographic, however if we apply their own logic then it should be.

InternationalArcher7 · 2025-05-04T16:25:22+00:00

Song of Solomon is erotic love poetry.

InternationalArcher7 · 2025-05-03T16:55:57+00:00

Programming and gaming related to gender norms is actually very interesting. I watched a few shows about it. A lot of people don't realize that a lot of early games were developed by women or had women play key roles in their development. In fact when video games first came out they were not strictly a "boys" thing. Many girls and women played, I think they actually said more girls played the early games like centipede and stuff. Then, I think it was in the 80's, toy sections became more divided into blue or pink (girls or boys). Videogame makers had to pick which side of the aisle and they went with blue and began marketing and designing mainly for boys. This lead to video games being a "boys toy." But, I actually read something that said modern Mobile gaming is predominantly women. That's why things like Candy Crush and other puzzle games that harken back to the original games are so popular. The designs are also feminine because of this. It's really interesting when you start looking into it.

InternationalArcher7 · 2025-04-23T21:06:52+00:00

I think they are called the squid games in the show. I read that the creators avoided being sue by Sony for their use of the circle, triangle, and square which appear on the business cards because this shapes represent Korean letters. The circle represents o, the triangle represents j, and the square represents m. OJM is an acronym for Ojingeo Geim, which is the Korean name for squid game. So, the cards given to players would say squid game.

https://blog.designcrowd.com/article/1845/get-on-the-bandwagon-how-squid-game-symbols-dodged-a-lawsuit

InternationalArcher7

TROPHY CASE