Monday's Most Active Threads

Most of yesterday's most active threads might cause feelings of déjà vu. The first of those was titled, "$300k house near swim and tennis clubs, sports facilities, and great schools and jobs anywhere in the US" and posted in the "Real Estate" forum. I recently discussed a very similar thread in which the poster had a somewhat higher budget of $500,000. The original poster of this thread is recently divorced and must downsize. The poster has a child who is about to enter high school and who is a gifted athlete. The poster says where they live now is too expensive and she would like recommendations for a place where a house can be purchased for $300,000 and has good schools, available sports activities, and good jobs. The responses in many cases remind me of the expression, "good, fast, cheap, pick two" meaning that you can't get all three of those things. In this case, those responding suggest the list is more like, "affordable, quality schools, good jobs, pick two" because as the availability of good jobs and good schools goes up, so does the price of housing. Even so, many responders have suggestions. However, most of the suggestions actually come from the original poster herself who has independently identified potentially suitable cities and asks for opinions about the high schools. Other posters caution about high property taxes in some areas that have otherwise affordable housing. The original poster also seems to prioritize the weather, ruling out several places because they are too cold and also worrying about the bugs and humidity in southern states. Suggestions from other posters as well as from the original poster herself are for locations all over the place with little coherence. One repeated suggestion that also came up in the earlier thread was to look for college towns based on the assumption that the professors would demand good schools.

The next most active thread was posted in the "Family Relationships" forum. Titled, "Difficult niece - family trip", the original poster explains a family trip is coming up in which her 11-year-old daughter will have to share a room with her 9-year-old niece. She says her niece lacks self-awareness and won't leave her daughter alone while her daughter is introverted and has anxiety. Her daughter is so worried about sharing a room with the niece that she doesn't want to go on the vacation. The original poster's husband believes that learning to deal with situations like this is just part of growing up but the original poster thinks that maybe the niece could also change her behavior. She asks what others think should be done. On the first page, opinion is unanimous in supporting the original poster's husband. Posters think that an 11-year-old should be capable of advocating for herself and managing the situation. The original poster noted the unanimous responses but, nevertheless, said that her daughter would probably stay in the original poster's room rather than in a room with her niece. Some posters then accuse the original poster of being an "enabler" and not helping her daughter to develop the skills necessary to self-advocate. But, other posters place blame with the parents of the niece who, they believe, does not satisfactorily discipline her child. Posters propose various strategies involving either redirecting the niece when necessary or discussing the issue with her parents. But, the real disagreements in this thread concern whether it is better to attempt to manage uncomfortable situations of this sort or to try to escape from them. Posters repeatedly bring up college roommates, sometimes as an example of when you have to adjust to a difficult situation and other times as a case when changing rooms might be a better option.

The next most active thread was titled, "Lawsuit targeting LGTBQ books in classrooms" and posted in the "Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS)" forum. If this title rings a bell, it is probably because there was an almost exact duplicate of this thread recently which was also among the most active. Just to refresh, three families are suing the Montgomery County Public Schools system in order to be allowed to have their children opt-out of reading a small number of LGBTQIA+ themed books. These books do not discuss sexual practices by only include LGBTQIA+ characters. This thread has a bit of a twist in that the original poster claims that she is not as concerned about the books themselves as she is about the reaction of one Board of Education member (whose name the original poster got wrong). In the original poster's opinion, the board member was derisive and rude when addressing those supporting an opt-out policy. MCPS policies allow opting out of Family Life and Human Sexuality topics, but these books are not part of that curriculum. Just as the case in the earlier thread, several posters support the books as an important step for inclusion and defend the board member. Others support the ability to opt-out or don't believe the books belong in schools in the first place. As is common with topics such as this, the thread seems to have attracted posters who don't have a connection to MCPS. This results in quite a few uniformed posts such as one that describes a book that is not among those being used in MCPS. Other posters simply use the thread as an opportunity to express and LGBTQIA+ sentiments. I cannot read DCUM these days and conclude anything other than that the economy must be doing great, that the world must largely be peaceful, and that everyone is in near-prefect health. What else could explain the obsession with LGBTQIA+ topics that dominates the forum? The only topic that can rival LGBTQIA+ topics is Taylor Swift. So the reality is that maybe only the Swifties can save us from this flood of LGBTQIA+ themed topics.

The final thread at which I'll look today was posted in the "Metropolitan DC Local Politics" forum. Titled, "When are the restaurant tables that are on the street...", the original poster continues in the body of the post to say, "and causing a lane to be closed going to be removed"? Again, this thread may seem familiar to you given the number of similar threads that have been included among the most active. It is a continuation of the battle between car drivers on one side and bicyclists, pedestrians, and others on the opposite side. Beyond the first post, I don't think the original poster contributed to the thread. But, that spark was enough to start a fire. A considerable number of those responding, probably even most of them, strongly support the "streateries" that sprung up throughout DC during the pandemic. Rather than supporting the removal of outdoor eating facilities as the original poster would like, several posters prefer to see them expanded. Supporters think the streateries make neighborhoods more vibrant and safer. Opponents complain about lost parking, more congested streets, and restaurants using public space for free. Of course, a thread like this would not be complete without bike lanes somehow being worked into the discussion and a poster manages to do that as well. In addition to attempting to pit streateries against bike lanes, bikes come up again when a poster expresses surprise that others can ride a bike on a full stomach. No other poster seems to a have that issue. Another debate that broke out that was probably foreseeable is between city and suburban dwellers. Some posters argue that the suburbs are actually more suitable for outdoor seating than the noisy streets of DC. But, suburban dining choices are given little respect. Suburban critics of DC are dispatched with the traditional DCUM send-off, "Enjoy Applebees". Another conflict is between newer residents of DC who are perceived to be fans of streateries and DC natives. Though, in this case — strictly speaking — the most vocal native may not actually be a native and currently lives in the suburbs. This presents an interesting conundrum: whose opinion matters most? That of a current but recent resident or a suburbanite who may have deep roots in the region if not exactly the District? Trick question. Neither of them matters as long as the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington has anything to say about it.