Wednesday's Most Active Threads

Yesterday's top thread in both number of posts and number of views was posted in the "General Parenting Discussion" forum. Titled, "Boy moms, you happy with your choice?", the original poster asks whether the mothers of boys are happy with their decision to have or not have their sons circumcised. Circumcision is traditionally one of the hot button issues on DCUM so it is no surprise that a thread on the topic generated so much interest. Having seen so many similar threads over the years, they've become very predictable. If there is any surprise at all, it's that the debate has not advanced in the slightest over the years. The same arguments being made 15 years ago are still being made today. While proponents of circumcision point to medical benefits to the practice, opponents argue that any such benefits, if they exist at all, are marginal at best. As such, this debate is much more often lodged in tradition than in science. Many of the moms who replied said that they left the decision to their husbands who they considered better equipped (pun intended) to make the decision. Those with religious traditions involving circumcision generally followed their religious practice. Europeans, for whom the practice is not part of their culture, declared circumcision to be barbaric and Americans to be out of touch. At least one poster compared male circumcision to female genital mutilation, but encountered significant pushback. All in all, this thread is fairly tame relative to the level of discourse we normally see on the topic. But, if/when the intactivist crowd discovers the thread, I suspect that will change.

As I have written before, I frequently find myself completely out of touch with DCUM's users. That may never have been more true than in the case of the thread that was second in both number of replies and number of views yesterday. Posted in the "Entertainment and Pop Culture" forum, the thread was titled, "Amy Robach and TJ Holmes relationship". I had to Google "Amy Robach" and "TJ Holmes" in order to figure out who they are and why anyone would care about their relationship. For the benefit of any others who are living in a cultural cave similar to mine, they are hosts of "GMA3: What You Need to Know" which is apparently a spin-off of Good Morning America. However, "GMA3: What You Need to Know" airs in the afternoon and the only thing I needed to know after finding out about it was why it isn't named "Good Afternoon America". But, that is neither here nor there. What is important as far as this thread is concerned is that the two married co-hosts have been having an affair. They've apparently been separated from their spouses for some time, so this may not be the scandal that some posters would have it. Nevertheless, outrage is plentiful among the responders. Quite a few posters completely lost their marbles when it was revealed that Robach is married to Andrew Shue, better known to many as Billy in "Melrose Place". Those responding had considerable sympathy for the jilted spouses, but some saw opportunity in the misfortune and suggested that they hook up as well. Robach and Holmes did have their supporters who were willing to look beyond the transgressions and wish them the best for the future. But that sentiment was definitely in the minority.

A thread in the "Sports General Discussion" forum titled, "Why dont Americans like football" was third in number of replies yesterday and fourth in number of views. The original poster says he is from England where football is everything and he was disappointed that nobody in his apartment building was celebrating after the US victory over Iran in the World Cup. He asks why Americans don't like the sport since it is better than the NFL and baseball. Obviously, by "football" the poster is referring to what we Americans call "soccer". Many who responded said that they didn't like the sport because it was boring. Others argued that soccer is popular in America and that the original poster's apartment building is not representative of the country. The thread quickly transitioned to comparing soccer to other sports such as American football, basketball, hockey, etc. Posters argued the strengths of those sports as compared to soccer. But, no sport was safe from criticism as they all had their detractors. Some posters complained that they are tired of people complaining about Americans' lack of interest in soccer. This thread is very reminiscent of another thread about which I wrote recently on the topic of America being the only country that didn't shut down for World Cup games. So, while Americans may not care about soccer, at least a bunch them who post on DCUM do care about arguing about why they don't like it.

The last thread at which I will look is titled, "How does this end?" and was posted in the "Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS)" forum. This thread was fourth in number of replies and sixth in number of views. The original poster lists a number of factors such as current FCPS staffing shortages, fewer people studying to become teachers, increasingly less competitive salaries, budget constraints, and rising teacher attrition and asks what solutions are available for this apparent crisis. There weren't a lot of optimistic responses in the thread. Teachers who responded predicted that things would get worse and pointed to higher salaries in neighboring school districts and a desire to work from home as being motivations for leaving FCPS. Much of the discussion focused on special education which is both expensive and required by law. Several detailed posts addressed the school system's budget and others delved into legal issues surrounding teachers' rights. Threads like this always remind me that some DCUM posters have really dug into the nitty gritty of school issues and this thread really gets into the weeds at points. At the other end of the spectrum were issues that seem to come up in all education-related threads these days such as Covid-impacts and school calendars. Generally it is hard to read a thread like this and feel that the end about which the original poster asks will be good.