Am I a Republican?

[owl]

Gakked from ladyelaine, despite the fact there are no Republicans in Northern Ireland (well, not that sort! Republican=IRA and supporters). We're having elections in a week or two. So many political broadcasts for BRITISH PARTIES THAT DON'T EVEN STAND OVER HERE!!

I am: 42% Republican.

"Congratulations, you're a swing voter. When they say 'Soccer Mom', they mean you. Every Democratic ad on the TV set was made just for your viewing enjoyment. Don't you feel special?"

Are You A Republican?

What is a 'soccer Mom', anyway??

And from hymnia

Your English Skills:

Grammar: 100%

Spelling: 100%

Vocabulary: 100%

Punctuation: 80%

Does Your English Cut the Mustard?

No, the comma goes outside the quotation marks when they're surrounding the name of a song.

Comments

[tonichelle.livejournal.com]

Depending on your politics it's one of two things in the US

If you're a Conservative soccor mom just means a mother who is at every soccer game their child plays in, and she basically is there to volunteer for snacks, and other things surrounding it (fundraisers, carpool, etc)

if you're a Liberal it's a derrogatory term because heaven forbid in this day and age a woman be "chained" to her home *gag*

did I mention I'm a conservative? LOL and that my mom was not a "soccer mom" but a "band mom" ;)

[snarkel.livejournal.com]

Okay, background: I'm a liberal feminist, have nothing against women who want to stay at home as long as they're happy doing it. (And not doing it as an excuse to never have to work, socialize, and semi-neglect their child, but that's another story.)

But I consider a 'Soccer Mom' to be someone so crazed about her own kid's right not to sit on the bench (or whatever) that she throws fits and ruins it for everyone else, because her precious' self-esteem is in danger or somesuch. The suburban version of the rabid fangirl, basically. You can be a mom who has kids that play soccer, but not necessarily be a 'Soccer Mom,' in my eyes.

[leeflower.livejournal.com]

ditto on the meaning here. In regards to political demographics, it means an upperclass or upper-middleclass suburban white woman with children, but that is not what it means when it's being used as a derogatory term.

I know several mothers who don't work outside the home (there's no such thing as a mother that doesn't work-- watching kids is a fulltime job) but they aren't 'soccer moms.'

A soccer mom is someone who believes their child warrants special treatment, and therefore involves themself in all their child's activities for the sole purpose of ensuring they recieve said treatment. This includes volunteering at sporting events to make sure their kid doesn't end up on the bench, volunteering for the school play to make sure their child takes the lead role, and generally having a significant amount of free time that they choose to dedicate to living vicariously through their ten-year-old.

It comes with a connotation of selfishness and indulgence: 'soccer moms' tend to be the parents of bullies, brats, and miscreants who get away with bloody murder because their parents believe they can do no wrong. They also tend to be the same people who practice the new-age form of parenting that says that children shouldn't be disciplined because it interferes with self-esteem.

Most people to whom the insult 'soccer mom' applies happen to be in the demographic of the same name, because that much disposable time is a luxury that lower-class and lower middle-class parents simply don't have. But it's not their income, race, or carreer choice that's being insulted. It's their attempt to use their children as a way to further their social standing.

[snarkel.livejournal.com]

Thank you - you phrased that much better than I could.

[violaswamp.livejournal.com]

Basically it's a demographic term used mostly by pollsters for white, suburban stay-at-home mothers.

[hymnia.livejournal.com]

I think I heard somewhere that the comma/quote thing is one of the things that's different between British and American correct useage. So...for your side of the "pond", I think you're right. But technically I should do it the other way. But I don't, because I think the other way is lame.