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Wet Blanket

Today I had another Neighbours and Home and Away coincidence. 

On my episode of Home and Away, young Rebecca Fisher wants to go to a dance and participate in a dirty dancing competition. Her father Donald Fisher, who's also the school headmaster, says, no way.  He's strict with his daughter...a little bit too strict at times.

Rebecca, along with her new boyfriend and newly discovered sister, put pressure on Fisher, and he eventually agrees to let her go to the dance.  Some of the tactics they used were lying, pouting, calling him a "wet-blanket"and reminding him of his failed relationship with his recently deceased son. Fisher eventually gives in and allows her to go to the dance.

I do think Rebecca should have gone to the dance, but I'm not fond of how Donald Fisher was pressured into saying yes. 

It's one thing to provide a valid argument. It's another thing to give people the message we're going to insult you and treat you like crap until we hear what we want to hear from you.

Okay, so that's Home and Away.

On Neighbours, Jim Robinson (an early incarnation of Charles Widmore and Bradford Meade) gets visited by his usually absent mother that he hasn't seen in over five years. She's the type of mother who valued traveling the world over staying home with her child.  She also makes Jim Robinson feel insecure by making comments about his lack of sense of humor.  They don't get along very well.

Oh!  And then she reveals that she's actually not in town to see him.  Or that's not the main reason she's in town. The basic message is she doesn't put her relationship with her son on the top of her priorities.

Jim Robinson's not to pleased to have his mother around but his son Scott is. They have some major grandparent-grandchild bonding. Grandma Robinson offers to take Scott to some film thingie.  The catch is he'll have to miss school. Jim Robinson's pretty strict about school stuff.  Traditional education is important to him.

Now as an unschooling mom, I totally think a kid should take the day off of school to see a special film with his grandmother. But again, this was a case of someone being pressured into giving an answer they didn't want to give.  Grandma Robinson said manipulative things and eventually Jim said yes.

I'm wondering if I've ever used unfair tactics to get someone to say yes to something.  Well, I'm sure I have...somewhere along the line.   I'm guessing I did it more when I was younger.  Hopefully not too often, though.  


P.S-I don't think the movie outing is going to happen, because the episode I watched today ended with Grandma Robinson looking dead on the couch.  

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