Questions about Barb.

[Kamen Rider Black RX]

Would Chris have still been mainstreamed if Bob was the sole caretaker? As I've stated before, I feel the reason they did this was to make Christ look normal in the eyes of others so Borb, as parents, wouldn't look bad. But Bob always seemed like the one who wanted to get Chris off his fat ass and doing something while Barb is a textbook enabler. o, I think she was more hostile to sending Chris to a specialized environment away from the normal kids than Bob would have been. Therefore my question.

 

[Billpalazzo-sama]

And I know that's a horrible thing to say. Nobody deserves to lose their mom. But other than going to prom with Chris and supporting (tolerating?) Sonichu, I can't think of a single positive thing she's done for him. Some of the stuff she's done, like threatening to kill herself when Chris "came out" as a tomgirl, just makes me sick. We know she was being a drama queen, but do you think Chris did? I'm not proud of myself for feeling this way. I just hate this woman.

Keep in mind that we don't have an omniscient view into the Chandler household. You might not be able to think of a single positive thing she's done, but our information is mostly derived from what Christian has put on the internet. This means that when Christian thinks his mom isn't being fair, he rants about it on facebook and we learn about it, but we never hear about the good things she does because Chris doesn't rant about them.

 

[Johnny Bravo]

And I know that's a horrible thing to say. Nobody deserves to lose their mom. But other than going to prom with Chris and supporting (tolerating?) Sonichu, I can't think of a single positive thing she's done for him. Some of the stuff she's done, like threatening to kill herself when Chris "came out" as a tomgirl, just makes me sick. We know she was being a drama queen, but do you think Chris did? I'm not proud of myself for feeling this way. I just hate this woman.

Keep in mind that we don't have an omniscient view into the Chandler household. You might not be able to think of a single positive thing she's done, but our information is mostly derived from what Christian has put on the internet. This means that when Christian thinks his mom isn't being fair, he rants about it on facebook and we learn about it, but we never hear about the good things she does because Chris doesn't rant about them.

That's true. I try to remember that, but it's hard to get past all the other stuff she's done. There's probably a reason Coleslaw doesn't want to be around her and I don't think it's entirely to do with Chris. Anyway, that's all I'm going to say on my Barb hate.

Back on the topic of Barb's health: I've been thinking a lot about the status Chris posted about breast cancer. He called his mom a survivor. Chris being Chris, I wouldn't be surprised if her diagnosis was actually much more recent and he's grossly misunderstanding the meaning of the phrase "breast cancer survivor." Unless there's another reason he would bring it up out of the blue?

 

[A-№1]

Would Chris have still been mainstreamed if Bob was the sole caretaker? As I've stated before, I feel the reason they did this was to make Christ look normal in the eyes of others so Borb, as parents, wouldn't look bad. But Bob always seemed like the one who wanted to get Chris off his fat ass and doing something while Barb is a textbook enabler. o, I think she was more hostile to sending Chris to a specialized environment away from the normal kids than Bob would have been. Therefore my question.

I think it's more a case that Barb wanted Chris to appear normal (except whenever it got them special privileges) out of some mistaken sense of Hillbilly Bumpkin Pride while Bob wanted Chris to actually put in the effort to be normal because he knew Chris was fucked otherwise. If Bob really was in favor of the mainstreaming, and it wasn't just to get Barb to STFU, I suspect it may have been out of a mistaken belief that Chris wouldn't ever become normal in a system that caters to his exceptional individuality.

 

[Coldgrip]

Back on the topic of Barb's health: I've been thinking a lot about the status Chris posted about breast cancer. He called his mom a survivor. Chris being Chris, I wouldn't be surprised if her diagnosis was actually much more recent and he's grossly misunderstanding the meaning of the phrase "breast cancer survivor." Unless there's another reason he would bring it up out of the blue?

I don't think she was ever diagnosed with breast cancer. If she was she would of used it to guilt-trip Chris who would of then whined on Facebook about how his mom had lady cancer and how it's all that evil GERMAN WARFARE BITCH'S/Jew Snyder/Twolls fault.

As for how he got it into his head his mom had cancer, I think a little while back somebody posted on their facebook or his something about breast cancer awareness and Chris being Chris thought; "Cancer makes you go to da hospital. My mommy's been to da hospital, so my momma survived da breast cancer .

 

[The Grim Reaper]

I personally promise that Barb will probably die before 2015. I need to stock up on q-sands, I think she'll like those more than cookies, but I could be wrong.

 

[rosechuismywaifu]

I must be one of the few people around here that thinks that Barb might be judged just a bit too harshly. I wouldn't want her as a mother and there's no doubt that she's done a sub-par job of raising Chris, but people really seem to accept all of the allegations against Barb without questioning. I'm no psychologist, but I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of her problems are due to her own mental issues - since Bob died and Coleslaw doesn't even associate with her, Chris is really all she has. It seems to me that she genuinely does care about Chris a lot, and she really did want to provide for her autistic son, even if some of her attempts were misguided. I think that deep down she knows that Chris hasn't turned out the way they had hoped, so she coddles him because she knows that it's the realest love that Chris is going to experience.

And besides, many of Barb's greatest offences are just reports from Chris, someone who is notorious for making up lies and exaggerating stories for sympathy and attention. That being said, the Snyder incident is inexcusable, although Chris probably fed her some story about Snyder playing KICK THE AUTISTIC which she took literally and so she swooped in to protect her son. It was a terrible thing that she did, but under that rationale it makes her seem slightly less awful. Slightly.

 

[The Dude]

^ I'll be honest what the Chandlers are dealing with seems pretty damn fair to me. The majority of problems are results of their actions.They have the opportunity to change their situation and they don't. If you get dealt a pretty fair hand and you spit in the dealers face that's on you.

This is my feeling exactly. They are the one's who are willingly living in squalor and filth. Is it fair to their neighbors? No. But it's the Chandlers' life and their property. They made their bed (figuratively) and now they're lying in it (literally).

We have to remember that from a legal standpoint, Chris is neither Barb's caregiver, nor her dependent.

As soon as the hoard achieves sentience, Chris and Barb will legally be its parents, and they can be arrested for child neglect for letting it live in those conditions.

If that happens and they clean it up won't they technically be committing infanticide?

 

[Marvin]

I must be one of the few people around here that thinks that Barb might be judged just a bit too harshly. I wouldn't want her as a mother and there's no doubt that she's done a sub-par job of raising Chris, but people really seem to accept all of the allegations against Barb without questioning. I'm no psychologist, but I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of her problems are due to her own mental issues - since Bob died and Coleslaw doesn't even associate with her, Chris is really all she has. It seems to me that she genuinely does care about Chris a lot, and she really did want to provide for her autistic son, even if some of her attempts were misguided. I think that deep down she knows that Chris hasn't turned out the way they had hoped, so she coddles him because she knows that it's the realest love that Chris is going to experience.

Nah, the accusations about Barb are true. The ones I've seen, anyway. She mostly treats Chris as a possession or a pet. I don't know why people think Barb coddles Chris. I mean, I guess they're basing that on old perspectives? But yeah, it hasn't been the case for awhile. Nowadays the purpose of Chris, to Barb, is to bandage her ass and bring her food.

 

[Smutley]

I must be one of the few people around here that thinks that Barb might be judged just a bit too harshly. I wouldn't want her as a mother and there's no doubt that she's done a sub-par job of raising Chris, but people really seem to accept all of the allegations against Barb without questioning. I'm no psychologist, but I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of her problems are due to her own mental issues - since Bob died and Coleslaw doesn't even associate with her, Chris is really all she has. It seems to me that she genuinely does care about Chris a lot, and she really did want to provide for her autistic son, even if some of her attempts were misguided. I think that deep down she knows that Chris hasn't turned out the way they had hoped, so she coddles him because she knows that it's the realest love that Chris is going to experience.

I understand completely people who don't want to cast aspersions on others, especially without knowing the full story. But there's a lot to be inferred from what we do know. Such as the Chandlers have very little contact with either the Weston's or Bob's first children and the rest of his family, and Barb's other son has completely written her out of his life. It's entirely possible to be a poisonous person, an absolutely manipulative cur, and still care for the only son that will talk to you.

If you're misunderstood, you'd have "the one brother" who doesn't talk to you. You wouldn't have two sets of families avoiding you completely and an entire town seemingly against you.

 

[Kosher Dill]

I don't know why people think Barb coddles Chris.

Well, she spoons with him and runs her hands through his hair and whispers sweet nothings in his ear, and...
Oh wait you said "coddles" not "cuddles"? Yeah I dunno.

 

[The Grim Reaper]

Well, she spoons with him and runs her MANOS through his hair and whispers sweet nothings in his ear, and...
Oh wait you said "coddles" not "cuddles"? Yeah I dunno.

This is probably how Barb's corpse will be discovered by Chris, I'm not at liberty to give any more information, but the aftermath isn't pretty.

 

[CaptainDong]

Could someone post a link to the 'holey buttocks' source? I would like to maybe try and get a sense as to whether he's talking about a bedsore, or something else. We know that she was previously hospitalized for Colitis in the past, if she has developed a fistula (which can happen in some cases of Colitis, and is pretty common with people with Crohn's disease) then that means there's a good chance that her Colitis may be worsening...but at the same time if he's talking about a bedsore, that's not something to take lightly either, all it takes is a small infection to turn a person septic.

 

[WhiteKnight]

Could someone post a link to the 'holey buttocks' source? I would like to maybe try and get a sense as to whether he's talking about a bedsore, or something else. We know that she was previously hospitalized for Colitis in the past, if she has developed a fistula (which can happen in some cases of Colitis, and is pretty common with people with Crohn's disease) then that means there's a good chance that her Colitis may be worsening...but at the same time if he's talking about a bedsore, that's not something to take lightly either, all it takes is a small infection to turn a person septic.

its somewhere in the recent tweets to cole smithey

 

[CaptainDong]

Thanks, WhiteKnight...I found the tweets, but of course there wasn't anything else in them to really figure out what he means by 'holey buttocks'. If I were to use my professional judgement, based on her age, body type, history (that we know of), and the fact that she never leaves the house, I'd be willing to bet she may have a bedsore or two (if it were for a cyst removal, I'm sure there would be a facebook post or something). If that's the case, considering how nasty the house is on the inside, and the fact that Chris is changing the dressings (and we know what his hygiene is like *outside of the excessive sanitizer use*), she's at a very high risk for infection.

 

[A-№1]

she's at a very high risk for infection.

True, but consider this: people who live long term in filth and squalor tend to have very highly developed, well exercised immune systems. This is partly due to the constant exposure to pathogens and partly because the ones with weak or compromised immune systems don't last long. Moreover, such people don't usually overuse anti-bacterial cleaning products, or any cleaning products for that matter, so the pathogens they are exposed to tend to be fairly unsophisticated and highly susceptible to even simple disinfection methods.

Or at least that's the scientific explanation. Personally I think the bacteria and parasites and whatnot leave Barb alone out of professional courtesy.

 

[Mourning Dove]

she's at a very high risk for infection.

True, but consider this: people who live long term in filth and squalor tend to have very highly developed, well exercised immune systems. This is partly due to the constant exposure to pathogens and partly because the ones with weak or compromised immune systems don't last long. Moreover, such people don't usually overuse anti-bacterial cleaning products, or any cleaning products for that matter, so the pathogens they are exposed to tend to be fairly unsophisticated and highly susceptible to even simple disinfection methods.

Or at least that's the scientific explanation. Personally I think the bacteria and parasites and whatnot leave Barb alone out of professional courtesy.

But wouldn't their immune systems still be compromised by unhealthy diets, lack of movement/exercise, lack of natural sunlight, and STRESS in general?

 

[A-№1]

But wouldn't their immune systems still be compromised by unhealthy diets, lack of movement/exercise, lack of natural sunlight, and STRESS in general?

Nah. That all tends to compromise the cardiovascular system, not the immune system.

Also: the Chandler definition of STRESS diverges greatly from the clinical definition.

 

[Rossacciu]

I read in a health magazine last night that after having colitis for 7 years, the risk of colon cancer increases. Significantly, from what I gathered. Haven't looked into it beyond reading that, but it's food for thought.

 

[Smutley]

Moreover, such people don't usually overuse anti-bacterial cleaning products, or any cleaning products for that matter, so the pathogens they are exposed to tend to be fairly unsophisticated and highly susceptible to even simple disinfection methods.

Would Chris's obsessive use of hand sanitizer affect this in any way, though?