Really? Are people actually getting taught that?
I mean I have 5 scholarly degrees and speak several languages, yet I’m incapable of processing this command. It looks like a meaningless jumble of words. How can one “always justify one’s actions”? I just used the toilet, sorry for the TMI. Am I now supposed to go knock on a neighbor’s door and justify that action? Or should I justify it right here on the blog? I could do that, of course, but in the 10 minutes that have passed since that action, I have engaged in about 50 more. Should I justify them all?
And who should be the recipient of my explanations as to how I feel? Other than my doctor, I can’t imagine anybody all that interested in constant updates on how I feel and what I’ve been doing about it.
This is just a small example of why generalizations suck. The linked blogger could have written a much more interesting post had s/he started it with “I was raised by a bunch of very eccentric folks who taught me these ridiculous things I will now tell you about.”
P.S. I will save you time and tell you what that long and boring post is about. Its message is that students are very inarticulate. I know, this must come as a total shock. Especially after such a highly articulate beginning to a post that discusses the issue.
Clarissa's Blog 
Explain how I feel? No. But justify all my actions? Absolutely. Every single one. Your bathroom example? If my parents needed me while I was in the bathroom, it was my duty to tell them why I wasn’t there when they wanted me. I didn’t have to justify anything without prompting (So I didn’t have to go find my parents and justify it every time I used the bathroom), but I had to be ready to justify everything if asked. (Not that I agree with this in the slightest. It was not a healthy way to grow up or live my life. And it’s a hell of a hard habit to shake now…)
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This is very very sad. I’m very sorry you had to go through this.
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Americans are always telling me how they feel. Here is an example of a recent interaction with a complete stranger:
magentareverb 1 hour ago
i hope you are not a teacher (because of your belief that some people “just aren’t going to get it”)
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Jennifer Armstrong 1 hour ago
NO I am certain you will get it all the way. You seem like somebody who can.
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magentareverb 1 hour ago
i have to disagree – authority is innately oppressive
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Jennifer Armstrong 1 hour ago
Then I wish you a future without any authority. Just as you like it.
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“i have to disagree – authority is innately oppressive”
– Sounds very Leninist. 🙂
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And then elsewhere they shoot off at the mouth saying that accepting any cultural ambiguity means the death of a culture. Well they can’t have it both ways. If you’re afraid of ambiguity, you’re probably going to want some authority to clear they way for you and tell you what to do.
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