Monday, March 12, 2007

Slander and Libel Begins at Home

For quite some time now, Emma has been calling Allison “baby” or “Allycat” when she is mad at Ally or otherwise wants to get a rise out of her. Allycat is actually one of Allison’s nicknames, but for some reason, Emma’s not allowed to use it. Either baby or Allycat does the trick and has her crying that she’s not a baby or she’s not an allycat. You would think that Ann Coulter was in the house or something. The fact is, that Emma’s been able to get away with this more or less because Ally hadn’t learned the fine art of name-calling. As of yesterday, that has all changed.

I can’t recall what the argument was over yesterday, but it probably had to do something with a blanket or some other baby doll accessory. I was in the dining room and Danny was in the kitchen. When she’d had enough of Emma, Ally called her “Emma Booby.” Danny and I busted out laughing. We both knew that we should never laugh at name calling but we couldn’t help it. It hit us out of the blue and we could do nothing but laugh. We calmed down as quickly as we could and sent Allison to time out. Later that evening, however, Allison shouted “Emma Booby” in the living room again. We were prepared this time and thankfully didn’t laugh. Ahh. The things kids invent to call each other. I’m hoping that Ally heard another child use the word “booby,” but I wouldn’t be shocked if she came up with that one on her own.

Thus far, Emma hasn’t gotten upset yet. Ally’s been punished both times. Emma’s got such a sensitive spirit. It won’t take long before Allison has her crying uncle in the slander and libel department.

This got me thinking about the things my siblings and I called each other growing up. If I remember correctly, “poopbutt” was a favorite. It’s hilarious to think about now, but it sure hurt our feelings at the time. Do you care to share the words you used to defile your sibling’s names? I’d love to hear what else is out there.

6 comments:

DD said...

I don't remember the names we called each other when we were your girls' age, but I do recall being in my tweens and the three of us younger girls would go around calling each other douche bag. It sounded like a good name to call each other, with "bag" on the end.

Little did we know what we were actually calling each other. Our parents never said anything to any of us about it. I think they knew we had no idea what the heck we were even saying.

Jennifer said...

DD,

That is a good one! I don't remember ever using that myself, but it does have a nice, insulting ring to it.

Trista said...

Since my sisters were so much older, I didn't participate in name-caling, really. I love to hear Mark's stories of his cousin calling each other Dumby Brat-Head and Butt-Butt. That's right intelligent, I tell ya.

Anonymous said...

My brother called me diesel and I called him poofter.

My entire family called me "ugly" for a large part of my childhood, they thought it was funny, I didn't.

I can't remember other names, my brother and I still use those names with each other, I must e-mail him soon and be sure to call him poofter....

Jennifer said...

Ugly should never be used that way, especially in a family. My first day of first grade, Matt Giles called me ugly. I'll never forget that.

Anonymous said...

Because of this Imus thing, Allison can no longer have a period of rest that's called a "nappy pappy". Sorry about that.