OK folks...seriously

[IwasatWDWforamonth]

There are some posters like who like to post about dolls and stuffed animals, because they just love dolls and stuffed animals. Just because these posters like dolls and stuffed animals that does not mean they are a troll or that they have mental problems and all that.

Now some people will say that I am a troll, because I keep posting about the things that I enjoy even though I get bashed for posting about the things that I enjoy. But I am not a troll. I don't like it when people bash me, but I don't let people push me around I have a very strong mind and I am not going to let people stop me from being happy and I am not going to let people walk all over me So I am going to keep posting about the things that I enjoy even if I get bashed for it

well said,FC

p.s
I love your new dolls

 

[RNMOM]

Flower's Child, you are not the only person who I was referring to. I didn't mean to make you angry but I do wonder why it seems there are so many posts by you about the same thing? I guess it seems to me you know there are a few posters who support you and when you feel the need for this support you post. I guess I wonder if there is not a better way for you to interract with those other DISers such as PM's or emails.

You are a good photographer and a very good communicator. I don't have any idea what you are like in real life but you seem to be a very pleasant person. That said, I have to say the stuffed animals and doll thing makes me very uncomfortable coming from a 30 yr. old man. This is MY issue and I know that. I simply avoid opening your posts. I am certain there are things about me that might irritate you as well, that is what being human is all about.

You are certainly allowed to take anything with you anywhere you want but there may be comments made that you wish you didn't have to hear.

 

[FlowersChild]

I think it's sad that our society has so little compassion that we feel the need to begrudge such simple pleasures.

I hate to admit it, but I would simply assume (not in a bad way) that someone who carried inanimate objects with them and interacted with them in what "normal" people would consider "abnormal" is probably someone of diminished mental capabilities.

The next step is to count my blessings and be happy for the joy they are able to garner from something so harmless.



I have no clue, but maybe their loved ones decided to pick their battles, and allowing them to carry on in such a manner, as far as we know, is the lesser of many "evils".

This is a good post I am not sure if I understand everything that you said, but I like your post

Now I will say that if someone does carry inanimate objects that does not mean that they have mental problems or anything like that. I am happy that even though you would assume people like this would have mental problems ( or something like that ) that you don't mean it in a bad way

I also think you are saying that it's sad that our society looks down on people who are different or something like that. I also think this is sad. People should be more open-minded.

Anyways good post

 

[Magix]

We seem to be having two conversations here. 1 - Is it okay to carry around a doll/stuffed toy and treat it like a live person? 2 - Is it okay to carry around a doll/stuffed toy and take photos of it in the places you visit?

My opinion: Issue #1 is a bit odd and I'd certainly have an opinion on the person doing it, but who am I to decide that someone can't find happiness however it comes to them. If they're not hurting anyone, it's okay with me.

Issue #2 - Heck, yes, it's a fun thing to do! I have a Captain Barbossa action figure who travels with me when I go on international vacations. He's been to London, Paris, Disneyland Paris, Rome, the Amalfi Coast. He'll go on more trips, too. Every time I bring him, the other people in my tour group get a real kick out of him. Everyone on the trip eventually has to give in and ask what the deal is with him. Within a few days, everyone is giving me suggestions on where to pose him and they want to hold him in photos for me. In Rome, I even had someone from outside our tour ask if he could take a photo of him at the Colloseum. He said they had a Pillsbury Doughboy on their trip and he loved the Barbossa idea.

I put together a PhotoPass book of my Adventures by Disney trip and everyone's favorite shots are the ones with Barbossa in them. In Paris, I had a group of French teenagers watching me as I took shots of Barbossa at the Trocadero with the Eiffel Tower in the background. They came over and, in broken English, asked if it was Barbossa. I told them yes and they laughed and said "Cool!".

A doll/plush toy can break down barriers and can really make a trip lots more fun. Nothing wrong with that!

 

[FlowersChild]

Flower's Child, you are not the only person who I was referring to. I didn't mean to make you angry but I do wonder why it seems there are so many posts by you about the same thing? I guess it seems to me you know there are a few posters who support you and when you feel the need for this support you post. I guess I wonder if there is not a better way for you to interract with those other DISers such as PM's or emails.

You are a good photographer and a very good communicator. I don't have any idea what you are like in real life but you seem to be a very pleasant person. That said, I have to say the stuffed animals and doll thing makes me very uncomfortable coming from a 30 yr. old man. This is MY issue and I know that. I simply avoid opening your posts. I am certain there are things about me that might irritate you as well, that is what being human is all about.

You are certainly allowed to take anything with you anywhere you want but there may be comments made that you wish you didn't have to hear.

O no my post was not in anger towards you. I just saw your posts and some other posts and I figured now is my chance to make a point Also I never said you were just talking about me and I was not just talking about me in my post. I was talking about me and my hobbies, but in a way I was also talking about other posters and other people who don't post here

Also not one person in real life has ever given me a hard time, because I have dolls and stuffed animals with me. When people give me a hard time about this they do it online.

 

[FlowersChild]

well said,FC

p.s
I love your new dolls

Thank You

 

[RNMOM]

FC, thanks for your comments. I am glad you haven't had a hard time in R.L.

 

[hopemax]

I hate to admit it, but I would simply assume (not in a bad way) that someone who carried inanimate objects with them and interacted with them in what "normal" people would consider "abnormal" is probably someone of diminished mental capabilities.

And yet both my husband and I have degrees in Aeronautical & Astronautical Engineering, aren't in debt, have lasting friendships, have a successful 9 year marriage, prefer to read history books than watching American Idol or the latest exploits of Paris and Brittney, and so on. We have added to Mr. Elephant in the last 10 years, and they do talk and have their own personalities and interests (for example, Oso, our polar bear is very put out because it is 107 degrees in Phoenix today).

Our "guys" as we call them, are a bit of creative outlet (we encourage free play in children, but adults can't benefit from it?), a bit of a family, since it's just the two of us (no kids or pets) and a bit of comfort when one of us isn't here.

Put Mr. Elephant and me in a room with someone who spends a little too much, someone who drinks a little too much, someone with a bad marriage, and I'm guessing I'm the one people would think most needs counseling. Everyone else has "normal" adult issues. But the stuffed animal sure gives people something to *cluck* *cluck* about.

Our guys are a form of personal expression. We know people will look down at us for having them, and yet we do it anyway. I thought we were supposed to celebrate and appreciate non-conformity, but yet when it actually shows its head...well, there MUST be something wrong with that person.

 

[FlowersChild]

We seem to be having two conversations here. 1 - Is it okay to carry around a doll/stuffed toy and treat it like a live person? 2 - Is it okay to carry around a doll/stuffed toy and take photos of it in the places you visit?

My opinion: Issue #1 is a bit odd and I'd certainly have an opinion on the person doing it, but who am I to decide that someone can't find happiness however it comes to them. If they're not hurting anyone, it's okay with me.

Issue #2 - Heck, yes, it's a fun thing to do! I have a Captain Barbossa action figure who travels with me when I go on international vacations. He's been to London, Paris, Disneyland Paris, Rome, the Amalfi Coast. He'll go on more trips, too. Every time I bring him, the other people in my tour group get a real kick out of him. Everyone on the trip eventually has to give in and ask what the deal is with him. Within a few days, everyone is giving me suggestions on where to pose him and they want to hold him in photos for me. In Rome, I even had someone from outside our tour ask if he could take a photo of him at the Colloseum. He said they had a Pillsbury Doughboy on their trip and he loved the Barbossa idea.

I put together a PhotoPass book of my Adventures by Disney trip and everyone's favorite shots are the ones with Barbossa in them. In Paris, I had a group of French teenagers watching me as I took shots of Barbossa at the Trocadero with the Eiffel Tower in the background. They came over and, in broken English, asked if it was Barbossa. I told them yes and they laughed and said "Cool!".

A doll/plush toy can break down barriers and can really make a trip lots more fun. Nothing wrong with that!

Captain Barbossa is awesome I loved it when this Pirate was talking baby talk to his pet Monkey I wish Barbossa would come to the Magic Kingdom If I had my stuffed animal bunny with me, maybe Barbossa would talk baby talk to the little bunny

Also what if I had my little Norway doll with me when I got a photo taken with some other Pirates in DisneyWorld Maybe the Pirates would start to play with the doll

One time Captain Hook saw my Perla mouse keychain and he liked it This big bad Pirate liked my cutesy little Perla mouse keychain and that was awesome

 

[Cantw8]

This is a little twisted but here goes. I used to work in NYC when I was much younger. We had a boss who looked like a Ken doll whom we all despised. Anywho, there were a group of us that had an actual Ken doll and he always came to lunch with us so we could tell him off. We had so much fun with that darn doll. Told him every thing we thought of him Well one day he really pissed off this one guy and we took Ken and put him out the street and watched him get run over by a bus, then we walked him down to the subway and sprinkled body parts over the tracks. Boy it felt so good.

Disclaimer- I would never do such horrible things now. It was back in the
80s when things were a little different

a little twisted????? That's great Does anyone remember the people who posted pics of an orange with a face on it that they used to drag all over Disney???? That cracked me up

 

[DisneyfeverTN]

I have an autistic brother who is still a child. Sure, at a childs age it is fine to carry them around, but when he started bringing his toy Panda everywhere and talking to it alot, we had to stop this. Sure, he wasn't hurting anyone, but socially it wasn't giving him the best reactions.

I agree with this. I have a relative that has mental problems. When he was a teenager he was still playing with Power Rangers and things like that. We would NEVER have encouraged him to take his toys to stores. His family had to teach him how to act his age so that he could have friends his own age. He is now able to drive a car and hold a job. He doesn't play with children's toys anymore. He acts in an age appropriate way.

If we had encouraged him to act childlike, he would have never been able to have the kind of life he has now and be treated like an adult by people.

Also, since our kids could walk and talk we have told them that they could not bring toys into a store.

 

[MUFFYCAT]

Just my own opinion but I think any normal grown person carrying dolls around with them is a bit odd.
But too each is own.

 

[Lewski709]

YES IT'S TERRIBLY ODD, unless there is a handicap/disability. I don't think thats what we are commenting on here though. I know a FAMILY, now, that does this. WEIRD is right! You might find them DIS posting too. :O

 

[TurboKitty]

Disclaimer 1. Theme parks, amusement parks or anyplace that encourages imaginary play is exempt from the following.

Disclaimer 2. The following is in no way an accusation or indictment of any poster on this board. I am talking about behavior and not directing this at any specific person.

I know why this bothers me. I don't think it's right to normalize this kind of thing. If impressionable young children see an adult acting this way, most especially in a non-appropriate public place, it may make them more accessable to someone who may play with toys and infantalize themselves in an effort to gain the trust of a child for illegal, immoral and distasteful purposes.

(Smaller words version) If a grown, typically abled, man plays with toys, calls hmself a little baby (in a baby voice) and generally tries to act very childlike, often times it is to gain the trust of a child, in order to perpetrate some form of abuse on that child. That is why we see this kind of thing as creepy.

And, it may not hurt anyone, but this behavior shouldn't become normalized to our children, as that could lead them to harm.

 

[Missy1961]

All I can say is different strokes for different folks. I collect things, but I don't carry them around with me. And my nieces will bring their dolls to my house when they come over, but they don't bring them to the restaurant or the store. They don't want to lose them.

 

[RNMOM]

Turbokitty,

I have to agree with this. I feel parents of disabled children do need to encourage and teach them to behave in more age appropriate ways as they grow up. DH has an aunt like this who is about 80 now and has had a very difficult life as she was never taught how to behave in social situations and as her family passed on she was left more and more alone. It is really difficult to deal with her as she trusted only her immediate family.

Adults who act like children when in regular society make me very uncomfortable.

 

[BelleBoo&AmisMum]

My kids don't get to take stuffed animals with them when we leave, I can't imagine doing it as an adult.

If the kids choose to take one out of the house it stays in the car when we get out to go somewhere.

 

[Disney Doll]

I have bigger fish to fry at WDW than to worry about who's carting around what doodad.

 

[Poohnatic]

Well...we have a small stuffed Gossamer (from the Warner Bros. cartoons) who is our travel mascot. We have never taken him into a theme park, but we do photograph him at landmarks and hotels, sort of like a "Where's Gossamer" thing. My nephew gets a kick out of looking at the pictures and trying to figure out where he is.

Gossamer also comes in handy when unhappy kids are seated behind us on planes. We just make Gossamer peek over the seat and that usually diverts the kid(s).

But I know he's not real.

Gossamer is my favorite WB character. Unfortunately, every plush Gossamer I've been given doesn't look right. Is your's?

I'm with Turbo Kitty. Other than Pal Mickey, we've got to model appropriate behavior for my older son. It's not common to find people carrying these types of objects around, so he'd be firmly told he can't. We spend most of our time in public saying "Do you see anyone else doing XYZ? No? Why do you think that is?" It gets tiring, but I'd much rather take the time now so that people aren't wondering about him as an adult.


Suzanne

 

[DisneyPhD]

Disclaimer 1. Theme parks, amusement parks or anyplace that encourages imaginary play is exempt from the following.

Disclaimer 2. The following is in no way an accusation or indictment of any poster on this board. I am talking about behavior and not directing this at any specific person.

I know why this bothers me. I don't think it's right to normalize this kind of thing. If impressionable young children see an adult acting this way, most especially in a non-appropriate public place, it may make them more accessable to someone who may play with toys and infantalize themselves in an effort to gain the trust of a child for illegal, immoral and distasteful purposes.

(Smaller words version) If a grown, typically abled, man plays with toys, calls hmself a little baby (in a baby voice) and generally tries to act very childlike, often times it is to gain the trust of a child, in order to perpetrate some form of abuse on that child. That is why we see this kind of thing as creepy.

And, it may not hurt anyone, but this behavior shouldn't become normalized to our children, as that could lead them to harm.

Turbokitty, bravo and well said.