RachelMills ([info]rachelmills) wrote,
@ 2006-07-01 19:07:00
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Postscript to the last entry...
I left off some things I thought I should address...

11.  Hit me once, shame on you.  Hit me twice, shame on me.  Don't stick around if a relationship becomes violent.  I make it explicitly clear that no man gets a second chance to hit me.  Your apology may be accepted, but my bags won't be coming back to the house.  I'm no one's victim, and once a man starts down that road, forget it, its over.  Check, please.  Men can be battered too, so vice versa.  The same applies.  I've never been hit a first time, btw.

12. Fight fair.  Don't name-call, don't resort to ad-hominem remarks, avoid using attacks that start with absolutes like "You always..." It's an exaggeration and you know it.  Don't compare a woman to her mother in a negative way, or a man to his father.  It can be really below the belt, depending on the situation.  Just argue when you are calm and rational and believe that your SO wants to work it out and understand your perspective.  Thus, most of your statements should start with "I feel that..."  because you are explaining your perspective.  If they really don't give a crap about your perspective you're probably in the wrong relationship and screaming isn't going to make a difference.

13.  Sex.  This is one I really haven't figured out for myself, but I will tell you what I do know.  And that is it is nearly impossible to perfectly match libidos.  Most of the time, guys have a higher libido, but not always.  People have to compromise.  The higher libido partner needs to just have patience and the lower libido partner has to suck it up and put out more often than they might want to.  But don't act bored or like you're not having fun.  There are plenty of people out there who will have fun with your mate in your place.  Both people have to compromise.  You have to figure out what your partner wants and what you want.  And its really hard to read people's minds, so figure it out, and then figure out how to get the message to them.


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Amen!
[info]darkknightradic
2006-07-04 05:08 am UTC (link)
Especially about the violence.

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[info]nou
2006-07-04 03:54 pm UTC (link)
"Don't stick around if a relationship becomes violent. I make it explicitly clear that no man gets a second chance to hit me."

When it's clear-cut like this - absolutely. The tricky situations are the ones which are constantly hovering on the edge of not-quite-violence. There's a continuum between "X smashed a plate once or twice out of frustration" all the way through "X smashes up the house every time he/she feels frustrated" up to "X just hit me". When the violence moves from being directed towards the home to being directed towards the partner is a good, clear point to say "enough". It can take years to get to that point, though, with things getting better and worse and better again. I suppose you could just leave after the first smashed plate, and I think that me being me and knowing what I can and can't put up with I probably would; but I won't condemn someone else for deciding to stick with someone who has anger management issues (and is willing to try to deal with them, this being key).

"Don't name-call, don't resort to ad-hominem remarks, avoid using attacks that start with absolutes like "You always..." It's an exaggeration and you know it."

Oh, gosh, yes, most definitely. I hate "You always...". It's just closing the discussion down before it's even started.

"Sex."

Yes, a hugely tricky issue - made trickier by the fact that libido varies within as well as between people. Maybe I don't want to have sex one week and want to have it every day the next. It doesn't mean I love you more during the second week.

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[info]nou
2006-07-05 01:29 pm UTC (link)
Oh, but "I make it explicitly clear that no man gets a second chance to hit me." is confusing me a bit. Is this a figure of speech, or have you actually said "If you hit me, I will leave you?" to someone?

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[info]rachelmills
2006-07-05 03:39 pm UTC (link)
Yes, that's what I said.

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[info]nou
2006-07-05 06:26 pm UTC (link)
That's fascinating. (I don't mean that in a snarky way, I mean it in a fascinated way.) What was the context, if you don't mind me being nosy?

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[info]rachelmills
2006-07-05 10:55 pm UTC (link)
It was kind of a pre-wedding oh by-the-by... If you ever hit me, I will leave and divorce you, you understand that, right? It's not like there was a comfortable way to fit that into conversation, but I wanted it said, so I said it. That hubby pushed the limits a little on being physical, so I was glad on a couple of occasions that I had made that very explicit, but he knew his boundaries and never hit me.

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[info]nou
2006-07-07 11:41 am UTC (link)
Yes, that makes sense. If you think there's a risk of someone doing something unacceptable then it's not only to your benefit to warn them against it, but it's a lot fairer on them to warn them of the consequences, too.

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tramadol on pharmacy website
(Anonymous)
2007-04-25 06:10 am UTC (link)
Bugaga. Werta nola. Glomita fore spanio..
Hi

G'night
andora magolita. el senora guanesta. ;)

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[info]bashow
2007-05-26 06:30 am UTC (link)
I'm a bit of a Ron Paul junky myself. It's nice to know I'm not the only one.

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fantastic thing you are doing
(Anonymous)
2007-07-05 08:40 am UTC (link)
Hi

Great book. I just want to say what a fantastic thing you are doing! Good luck!


Bye



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Wow, Rachel. I love the way you write!
(Anonymous)
2007-09-09 08:10 pm UTC (link)
Well done...excellent as a matter of fact!

Dick Cheatham

libertarian

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Idetrorce
(Anonymous)
2007-12-15 11:57 pm UTC (link)
very interesting, but I don't agree with you
Idetrorce

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