What's the Most Obnoxious Thing You've Heard a Parent Say at Your DC's Private School?

[Anonymous]

A mom said to me on the playground "oh, that is interesting you work and volunteer. I ONLY do things for my kids at their school..." Turned her nose up at me and walked away.

lovely.

[Anonymous]

A mom (with no job and a full time nanny) once told me she wanted to volunteer but didn't really have time and was trying to decide on the type of issue she "wanted to lend her name to."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A mom said to me on the playground "oh, that is interesting you work and volunteer. I ONLY do things for my kids at their school..." Turned her nose up at me and walked away.

lovely.

If you are at Beauvoir, I know exactly who you are talking about. Does this coven of Stepford Moms have periodic camp-fire get togethers in which they recount the worst abuse they've inflicted on the rest of us, cackling away into the night?!. There can be no other explanation for such blatant offensiveness.

[Anonymous]

Would it be possible to bring out another tray of that fabulous-o brussetta, please?

Said a slightly tipsy Big-3 DCUM at a black tie event, not school related per se, but most everyone from the school was there, to a Hispanic man, who just happened to be the father of one of tipsy's son's classmates.

This father was a true class act. He said something along the lines of, let me see what I can do, and scurried off, and sure enough within a minute there appeared a real waiter with those fabulous-o brussettas.

I think class act took private solace in the fact that he knew his son would be landing at an ivy a few months later, whereas tipsy's son was headed to an obscure college in the midwest.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Would it be possible to bring out another tray of that fabulous-o brussetta, please?

Said a slightly tipsy Big-3 DCUM at a black tie event, not school related per se, but most everyone from the school was there, to a Hispanic man, who just happened to be the father of one of tipsy's son's classmates.

This father was a true class act. He said something along the lines of, let me see what I can do, and scurried off, and sure enough within a minute there appeared a real waiter with those fabulous-o brussettas.

I think class act took private solace in the fact that he knew his son would be landing at an ivy a few months later, whereas tipsy's son was headed to an obscure college in the midwest.

Omg, that's horrible!

[Anonymous]

What a jerk! We are one of the few AA families in a predominately White neighborhood. One afternoon, my husband and several of the fathers on our street were in their respective yards raking their leaves and mowing their grass. A man drove by, stopped his car and yelled out the window to my husband, "We're looking to have some yard work done! How much do you charge?"

Even the other neighborhood fathers cringed at that one.

Anonymous wrote:Would it be possible to bring out another tray of that fabulous-o brussetta, please?

Said a slightly tipsy Big-3 DCUM at a black tie event, not school related per se, but most everyone from the school was there, to a Hispanic man, who just happened to be the father of one of tipsy's son's classmates.

This father was a true class act. He said something along the lines of, let me see what I can do, and scurried off, and sure enough within a minute there appeared a real waiter with those fabulous-o brussettas.

I think class act took private solace in the fact that he knew his son would be landing at an ivy a few months later, whereas tipsy's son was headed to an obscure college in the midwest.

[Anonymous]

Would it be possible to bring out another tray of that fabulous-o brussetta, please?

Said a slightly tipsy Big-3 DCUM at a black tie event, not school related per se, but most everyone from the school was there, to a Hispanic man, who just happened to be the father of one of tipsy's son's classmates.

This father was a true class act. He said something along the lines of, let me see what I can do, and scurried off, and sure enough within a minute there appeared a real waiter with those fabulous-o brussettas.

I think class act took private solace in the fact that he knew his son would be landing at an ivy a few months later, whereas tipsy's son was headed to an obscure college in the midwest.



Omg, that's horrible!

Horrible? I think it's great that class act's son is going ivy while tipsy's son is going obscure!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What a jerk! We are one of the few AA families in a predominately White neighborhood. One afternoon, my husband and several of the fathers on our street were in their respective yards raking their leaves and mowing their grass. A man drove by, stopped his car and yelled out the window to my husband, "We're looking to have some yard work done! How much do you charge?"

Even the other neighborhood fathers cringed at that one.

Goodness, how frightful! What did your husband answer?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you are a minority at our fancy Big 3 school, and there happens to be another family in the same grade who is of the same race/foreign country/ethnic background, mark my words, at one point you will be mistaken for that other family, no matter how many times you have been introduced to the one making the mistake. I always try to wear red at school events so they can at least associate my clothing with my kids (i.e., oh, she's spanish, she's wearing red, oh yes, red + spanish = so and so's mom).

Probably true, but don't assume it's just because of your racial/ethnic background. Everyone's meeting tons of new people, so names get easily confused. I'm as plain-jane white as they come, and other parents (white, AA, and otherwise) mix up my name all the time. And I am terrible at remembering names, so I get to offend everyone, regardless of heritage. I'm probably the person that some PP has complained about not remembering her name. I hope all these other parents don't take it personally and refer to me as the "most obnoxious thing" they've ever heard.

I agree, I am guilty as well and it has nothing to do with race or ethnic background.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What a jerk! We are one of the few AA families in a predominately White neighborhood. One afternoon, my husband and several of the fathers on our street were in their respective yards raking their leaves and mowing their grass. A man drove by, stopped his car and yelled out the window to my husband, "We're looking to have some yard work done! How much do you charge?"

Even the other neighborhood fathers cringed at that one.

We live in an upscale neighborhood in NW. My husband (who is white) loves to do the yard work on his own--everyone around us uses a service. We're at least 20 years younger than our neighbors and most of the people in the area. From time to time DH will be solicited by folks driving by, thinking he's a lawn boy. He takes it as a compliment (obviously they think his work is good), but I think it takes a lot of nerve! Of course, they're always mortified when explains why he's not for hire.

[Anonymous]

My husband was pretty classy about it. He said, "Actually, I own this house. But if I ever hear of anyone who does good yard work, I'll be sure to let you know..." The man's face turned bright red and then he sped off without so much as a word.

Four of the White neighborhood fathers who had been working in their own yards came over to my husband afterward. They called the guy in the car an idiot.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What a jerk! We are one of the few AA families in a predominately White neighborhood. One afternoon, my husband and several of the fathers on our street were in their respective yards raking their leaves and mowing their grass. A man drove by, stopped his car and yelled out the window to my husband, "We're looking to have some yard work done! How much do you charge?"

Even the other neighborhood fathers cringed at that one.

Goodness, how frightful! What did your husband answer?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you are a minority at our fancy Big 3 school, and there happens to be another family in the same grade who is of the same race/foreign country/ethnic background, mark my words, at one point you will be mistaken for that other family, no matter how many times you have been introduced to the one making the mistake. I always try to wear red at school events so they can at least associate my clothing with my kids (i.e., oh, she's spanish, she's wearing red, oh yes, red + spanish = so and so's mom).

Probably true, but don't assume it's just because of your racial/ethnic background. Everyone's meeting tons of new people, so names get easily confused. I'm as plain-jane white as they come, and other parents (white, AA, and otherwise) mix up my name all the time. And I am terrible at remembering names, so I get to offend everyone, regardless of heritage. I'm probably the person that some PP has complained about not remembering her name. I hope all these other parents don't take it personally and refer to me as the "most obnoxious thing" they've ever heard.

I agree, I am guilty as well and it has nothing to do with race or ethnic background.

I do not disagree. But while it is not obnoxious to forget someone's name, it is obnoxious for someone to consistently mistake you for another person, simply because you and that person are of the same race, from the same foreign country, or have the same ethnic background.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I do not disagree. But while it is not obnoxious to forget someone's name, it is obnoxious for someone to consistently mistake you for another person, simply because you and that person are of the same race, from the same foreign country, or have the same ethnic background.

I'm the bad-at-names person who posted earlier. How do you know what's causing me to forget a name or mistake someone? If I don't remember a name, but try to take a guess rather than ashamedly admitting it, I often try to make at least an educated guess. For example, I can usually tell whether it's a man or woman I'm talking to, so I'll guess the right gender. And if I'm talking to a woman who's white, I'll usually guess the name of another white woman in my child's class. Similarly, if I'm talking to an AA man, I'd probably guess the name of one of the AA fathers in my child's class. If I've succeeded in remembering whether particular parents are tall or short, and what style hair they wear, that helps me too. The person who posted that she always wears red to school events would make my life much easier.

I'm sorry you find my mental weakness obnoxious. Please don't judge my child or my school based on my inability to remember your name. Thanks.

[Anonymous]

This thread bugs me. It is human nature to feel slighted more often than is called for and it is also human nature to relish sharing others' obnoxious comments. I've done both more than I ought. This thread just encourages all of us to overparticipate in both behaviors ... it brings out the worst in us. Everyone says incredibly stupid things now and then and hopefully realizes it and learns from it. And those who do not realize it or learn from it possibly deserve our sympathy rather than our scorn. ???

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you are a minority at our fancy Big 3 school, and there happens to be another family in the same grade who is of the same race/foreign country/ethnic background, mark my words, at one point you will be mistaken for that other family, no matter how many times you have been introduced to the one making the mistake. I always try to wear red at school events so they can at least associate my clothing with my kids (i.e., oh, she's spanish, she's wearing red, oh yes, red + spanish = so and so's mom).

Probably true, but don't assume it's just because of your racial/ethnic background. Everyone's meeting tons of new people, so names get easily confused. I'm as plain-jane white as they come, and other parents (white, AA, and otherwise) mix up my name all the time. And I am terrible at remembering names, so I get to offend everyone, regardless of heritage. I'm probably the person that some PP has complained about not remembering her name. I hope all these other parents don't take it personally and refer to me as the "most obnoxious thing" they've ever heard.

I agree, I am guilty as well and it has nothing to do with race or ethnic background.

I do not disagree. But while it is not obnoxious to forget someone's name, it is obnoxious for someone to consistently mistake you for another person, simply because you and that person are of the same race, from the same foreign country, or have the same ethnic background.

I mistake one blonde haired mother of boy in my child's class for every other blonde haired mother of a boy in my child's class. I wolud go by clothes but they all seem to wear the same tight fitted jeans, wrap and sunglasses.