Not in my proximity, ever.

And one more thing, from that linked article:

"....while heterosexual men had to meet in secret to hear a speech on ordinary masculinity."
=====================

Uh, no.

What kind of "men" listen to speeches on masculinity?

No kind of man I've ever known.

No I didn't click through to see any more of what now passes for normal. Not in my patch of woods.

How will that kid ever answer the barb, "Your daddy sucks your mommy's black dick." That will occur, simply because kids are mean and don't care about how someone else feels about it. Get four or five kids in a mob and the gang-up taunts are guaranteed. Especially if the kid is a sniveling little pussy.

Maybe normal is the wrong word. Maybe a better word would be imply working as designed. I'm not sure what that word is. Correct? Virtuous?

PS, that Return of Kings place is gross and a bad joke. WTF?

pedofilia is the next thing they want to norm.

It is obvious to me and a bunch of people I know, that a massive culling is the only way to save the race. And, the mega churches are a large part of the problem.

This is a sewing machine from the late 1800s:

http://notsothoreau.com/blog/?p=850

Show me one single, commonly used, modern appliance from your home that comes close to this. There aren't any. They had fancy decals on all the sewing machines of the day. Today, they are cheap plastic crap that make computers look sexy. We have surrounded ourselves with ugliness. (And FYI, I don't have the pictures but there is a local guy that collects old farm equipment. It was made beautiful too.)

We were warned:

"Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism, who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness, these firmest props of the duties of men and citizens. The mere politician, equally with the pious man, ought to respect and to cherish them. A volume could not trace all their connections with private and public felicity. Let it simply be asked: Where is the security for property, for reputation, for life, if the sense of religious obligation desert the oaths which are the instruments of investigation in courts of justice ? And let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion. Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle."

George Washington's Farewell Address of 1796

"In a sort of ghastly simplicity we remove the organ and demand the function. We make men without chests and expect of them virtue and enterprise. We laugh at honour and are shocked to find traitors in our midst. We castrate and bid the geldings be fruitful.”
― C.S. Lewis, The Abolition of Man

No. Is not and never will be. It is a lie and no matter how many times it is told, no matter how polished the package, it is still a lie.

Reason #101 I'm glad I was a Hoover baby and won't have to put up with this crap much longer. Good luck all you Boomers, X'ers, Millenials, Z'ers and whatever comes next.

BillH, I'm with you. I'm 20 years younger than you, but still born into an America without television, filled with music instead of rocknroll, ladies who dressed like women, a common vision of right and wrong.

It was a great country, and still the place where I live despite having spent most of my life watching the Boomy Babers wipe their precious little butts with it.

Lovely machine Teri. I grew up sewing on one very much like it.

The puzzlebox is cool. I bet that quartersawn oak has some outrageous chatoyance when treated properly. (with a very fine touch)

http://www.rockler.com/how-to/what-is-chatoyance

It's funny but the treadles don't really have any value. I paid $50 for that one. People tended to keep them as a heirloom. There are a lot around. I picked up one that had been stored in a barn. Oiled it up and put on a new belt. It sews just fine. You would use a machine like that to clothe your family, maybe even make some extra money sewing.

It is amazing that we have so many people incapable of doing the basics. They can't cook, can't grow food, can't clothe themselves. It's like that list of things you should be able to do as an adult. At least some Boomers took an interest in those things, even as they screwed up others.

I have a Treadle here that I am saving for the Apocalypse, in case I need to sew something by sunlight.

You are right, normal is not the right word. The words are "true, honorable, just, lovely, commendable, excellent and praiseworthy" -- taken from the English Standard Version of Philippians 4:8.

I feel sorry for fucked up people. I don't have any desire to punish them, kill them, humiliate them or even condemn them. Their own lack of peace and whatever is left of their consciences will do a better job than I can. I can love them, just don't ask me to say that fucked up is not fucked up. I can't do that.

The truth, a much wiser Man than me said, will set you free. If you want to live in bondage, go ahead. I am not going to do you any good by getting in the chains next to you.

And I don't want to have to pay for you to fuck up yourself and other people -- especially if those other people are children. The Bible tells me that "speaking the truth in love" is a good thing, and we need a lot more of it.

I love the puzzle box too. I picked up one for my Singer with the Sphinx decals (even though it didn't come with one). Such a clever idea-a folding wooden tool box.

I think the biggest pushback we can do is to insist on more beauty in the public square. We can't keep them from building ugly new buildings. We can personally try to dress better in public, and promote artistic events that truly are artistic. We have to start somewhere.