Reader Shock: Anecdotes Are Not Trends

Raising Hell post by Rachel Fudge on February 14, 2008 - 6:06pm; tagged class war, design, new york times.

The New York Times is at it again, publishing yet another random collection of anecdotes masquerading as a bold new trend. With today's doozy, "Parent Shock: Children Are Not Decor," the paper of record continues to perfect the art of taking a nominally interesting subject -- in this case, the struggle to keep one's multifaceted identity from being completely subsumed into the role of parent -- and turning it into a trend piece on affluent New Yorkers, and then not-so-subtly encouraging us to sneer at the foibles of these overprivileged Americans. At least this time around it isn't just the upper-middle-class moms who take a beating; dads are impugned too -- gay dads, even. Yup, the wheel of progress just keeps a-turning.

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waste of time

Posted by Anna Breshears on February 15, 2008 - 8:58am

reading this was such a huge waste of time.  i hate these types of stories.  you know, the whole subject of losing yourself in the role of parent is a really complicated and interesting one that i'd enjoy an intellectual discussion of.  but offering up fluff about kids destroying expensive furniture that makes the parents look like assholes who don't care about their kids (something which i seriously doubt)...who does this speak to?  i don't like stories that offer up "bad parents" for us to excersize judgement on, so we somehow feel like better parents.  it's not a contest.

Anna Breshears

"Home" section...

Posted by magdalen on February 15, 2008 - 11:14am

if you take a look, you'll notice that this article is in the NYT's "home" section, which usually runs articles about home decor and style. i don't see anything particularly offensive about publishing fluff in a section devoted to fluff. less an attack on parenting, the article is more a typically NYT approach to the unique problems faced by the well-off. what's a designer household to do?

"Behind the eyes of Oregon girls it was raining in Portland. Somehow it was always raining behind the eyes of Oregon girls." -Nelson Algren, A Walk on the Wild Side