Have a Happy Period!

[lph]

I always figured that the blue liquid was just because too many people would be grossed out by seeing something that actually looked like blood. Lots of people freak out just seeing blood from a scratch, not to mention the "unmentionable" type.

Come to think of it I read somewhere (BBC something on the "disgust" reaction) that blue is a colour people connect with clean, sterile, laboratory, non-biological, so they don't react negatively to it.

[Biciclista]

hey i just thought of a circumstance that would be "a happy period"
some poor woman with 3 kids in diapers who was afraid she was pregnant!!!!

[Aggie_Ama]

Wow! I had no idea they put slogans on them!

What I find humorous is Playtex Sport Tampons have all these motivational statements printed on the outside of the wrapper. I don't have one handy but they are things with a message like "Stay in the game" or "You are a winner". Trust me I feel like neither getting in the game or a winner when I have to use said product.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Well maybe I'm bucking the tide here, but I think that letter from the Austin woman was really rude. I understand what she was saying, but I think her language was incredibly inappropriate. I would never write to a company like that unless they had intentionally caused me harm in some way. (in which case my lawyer would be writing, not me)

Call me old fashioned, but I lament a society where people feel they can freely write to strangers with "f***ing" this and that and "get your head out of your a**", etc. Her letter would have been way more effective without the crude expressions and bad manners. There are a hundred other ways that letter could be just as funny and effective.

Another thing- I fully realize that some women have a hard time during their periods. But I tire of the extreme cliches constantly being tossed around by some women...as though we all are 'homicidal maniacs' with 'out-of-control behavior' and want to shoot ourselves or rip our uteruses out with our bare hands when having our periods. Speak for yourself, but don't include me in this wild generalization. In my mind, the scale of pain and suffering would reach suicidal desperation somewhere in the burn victim or stomach cancer category, not in women having their periods.

Hmmm, maybe I'm just curmudgeonly in my old age. What the heck, I'll post this anyway.

[jobob]

I think it was meant to be funny.

[Aggie_Ama]

Lisa- I actually agree with you to a point. While it being a letter is not too bad, this woman probably does this to the bank teller, her doctor's receptionist, her husband.

I worked my way through college at Lowe's and was amazed how rude people will be to complete strangers. On more than one occassion when they were unhappy with the policies (I worked returns and then worse was a front end manager) they called me stupid, a b*tch, one called me ugly, one told me with my brains it was no wonder I was in retail. I actually have training in mediation and conflict resolution so my managers usually gave glowing reviews of my handling of such situations. Now in my current job there is a lot of phone time, I get it some days from people we have a business relationship with!

While I don't enjoy my period and do not feel all sunshine and happy like those commercials would suggest, I am not homicidal or outwardly angry at the world. And prior to BC I had periods that would get me in so much pain and nauseated that I skipped classes I needed to be in or thoroughly enjoyed. I know bad periods but violence to others or myself has never been triggered by those awful periods. I may be a little less patient (especially with poor DH), I may bemoan being a woman that day but I still am capable of acting like a mature person.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I think it was meant to be funny.

I know that.

[SadieKate]

I've seen that letter before but it still remains hilarious. The satirical tone is priceless.

I highly doubt that someone who is that skilled at satire would be unnecessarily rude to others. If so, there are a bunch of book authors we should be boycotting.

[roadie gal]

Considering that fact that at this moment I am in the throws of a PMS so bad that it feels like my body is one size too small, that I can't stop eating, and I'm ready to kill anyone who looks at me funny... I think that letter isn't strong enough. Talk to me in a week, when I'm human again, and I might think it's over the top.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

So SK, you're saying that was not a real letter that was actually sent?

I like well written satire very much, and crude language can be funny (and fun) if used cleverly.... but I think if that letter were really sent to that company president, then it should have shown the bare minimum amount of decent manners that we would show to any stranger in the street. Others might think differently.

I agree, there's a whole lot of things in this world we should be boycotting. Probably not too many book authors though.

[sfa]

I've seen that letter before but it still remains hilarious. The satirical tone is priceless.

I highly doubt that someone who is that skilled at satire would be unnecessarily rude to others. If so, there are a bunch of book authors we should be boycotting.

I'm not so sure about that.

Personally I think the letter is very funny, and I particularly like the image of homicidal maniacs in capri pants.

But having a sharp wit like the author clearly has can lead to being unnecessarily rude. I do it myself sometimes, and you get into a bad habit of being biting and sarcastic because it's easy to do and it gets laughs. And it's not always nice, but you keep doing it because you like those easy laughs. I suspect that with an appropriate creative outlet (like a book, or a stand-up routine) you're less likely to see unnecessary rudeness, but since we don't know the author of this letter, it's impossible to say if her creative outlet of choice - a letter to a manufacturer - takes care of her satiric urges or if she also would bite the head off a bank teller.

Sarah

[SadieKate]

So SK, you're saying that was not a real letter that was actually sent?

What? I'm saying we can't assume someone who is a skilled satirist, in fiction or non-fiction, is going to be rude without regard. Otherwise, we'll need to add many political columnists and broadcasters to that boycott list also.

[SadieKate]

. . . but since we don't know the author of this letter, it's impossible to say if her creative outlet of choice - a letter to a manufacturer - takes care of her satiric urges or if she also would bite the head off a bank teller.

Sarah

Exactly. And we don't know if this letter was published publicly, like an op-ed, either.

[lph]

I think it's hilarious, and I think she's wording it so obviously over the top that even the recipient might find it funny. I've written a similar letter (not as funny, I'm afraid) to some company that insisted on billing me a gazillion times for a magazine I'd cancelled, and my intent was to get my point across strongly, with humour. And I swear - I've never bitten the head off any bank teller or shop assistant

edited to add: I guess "tiny middle-manager brain" was a bit unnecessarily rude. Unless it was actually directed to somebody at the top, in which case he can probably handle it.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Well it's good that we can all express our thoughts about it.

(hopefully without biting each others' heads off or ripping each other's uteruses out.)

(uterii??)