Sep 04 2008
Good for her.
Like the announcer, I have always wanted to see this happen.
“Damn, Kerry. There is no romance in your soul.”
I don’t find anything romantic about the public proposal. To me, the public proposal means, “You have to say yes or all these people will boo you.” It’s commitment coercion. Marriage proposal terrorism.
Note to all the geniuses thinking about trying this: I didn’t hear anybody booing her. Half of them were thinking “I’ve always wanted to see a refusal” and the other half were thinking “Can we get back to the friggin’ game now?”
You know what a marriage proposal refusal says to me? There was no discussion of marriage beforehand, no “Are we in the same place? Do we want the same things for the future?” dialogue. The answer to “Will you marry me?” should never come as a SURPRISE.
It makes me wonder if she said something last week about not being happy, and instead of thinking “This relationship isn’t working,” he thought “Let’s get married!” was the solution.
Note to all the geniuses thinking about trying this: You can’t fix a bad relationship by making it legally binding.
I am not a huge fan of the institution of marriage simply because it doesn’t MEAN anything anymore. Very rarely is it entered into as a symbol of commitment by two people to spend the rest of their lives together. It’s because somebody wants financial security or community respectability, or because they’re “at that age” and it’s “expected,” or because a relationship has nowhere else to go but down the aisle and it’s more convenient to get married than split up and find somebody new, or because everbody’s drunk at the time and it seems like more fun than going bowling. And if we don’t like it, hey, we can throw it away tomorrow because it’s just a piece of paper.
I had no intention of turning this into a Pro Gay Marriage rant, but as long as I’m in the general vicinity, I’m all for it because if they’re willing to FIGHT for it, they’re bloody well going to take it more seriously than the majority of the population that takes it for granted.
Loading ...
11/4
11/4
11/25
September 4th, 2008 at 9:40 am
Hmmm. Some of your nearest and dearest have a theory that you have so much romance in your soul, it’s sacred to you, and you’re offended that people treat it like a game and refuse to play on their level.
I can hardly wait for The Guy For You. What will he do to impress the girl who isn’t impressed by the mating rituals we’ve all been learning since puberty?
If the writing thing doesn’t work out, you should be a premarital counselor. Let me tell you, I never took anything more seriously than the decision to marry your best friend because you were quite up front about killing me dead if I screw him over years down the line.
September 4th, 2008 at 9:56 am
Um, yeah… If you see The Guy For Me, give me a heads-up so I can run in the opposite direction. If the “that which you most fear is that which you are most in need of” theory has any merit, he’s going to be one of those freaks who insists upon “emotional honesty” and won’t allow me to resort to humor and sarcasm when I feel emotionally imperiled, leaving me as weak and defenseless as a turtle without its shell, for which I will hate him with most of the fibers of my being. He’ll have to do an awful lot of household chores unasked to overcome that strike against him.
And you can relax now. You’ve earned my seal of approval.
September 4th, 2008 at 11:16 am
I agree about the pre-proposal dialogue thing, absolutely. What you said, “The answer to “Will you marry me?” should never come as a SURPRISE.” should be on T-shirts and bumper stickers all over the freaking world, certainly all over the US.
My husband and I talked about getting married to the point where the proposal itself was fairly anti-climatic. We don’t even agree on how it happened or who said what; I have only vague memories of it and can’t swear that what I do remember is right and what my husband remembers is wrong. And it doesn’t matter because that wasn’t the huge turning point.
The surprise was a couple of months later at a conference we were both working when he handed me the most gorgeous engagement ring in the world. :D
But yeah. I have enough romance in my heart for at least three or four people and I still think the Ambush Proposal is one of the stupider ideas humanity has ever come up with. :P
Angie
September 4th, 2008 at 12:47 pm
My proposal story: We were in a hotel room in Atlantic City, vacationing with his extended family. He turned to his mother (in my presence), pointed at me and said, “I’m gonna marry her.” Then he turned around and walked out of the room.
His mother? Less than thrilled, though she’s warmed up to me since (naming my daughter after her helped). I honestly don’t remember my own reaction. I think I was more concerned with getting out of my wet, sandy bathing suit and into something more appropriate for the Wynona Judd concert we were attending that evening. Yeah. :nods:
Coincidentally, today is our fourteenth wedding anniversary.
Topic at hand: It takes a boatload of arrogance to spring that shit on somebody without knowing the answer beforehand. Girlfriend dodged a bullet, to my way of thinking, and Idiot with the Ring maybe learned a good life lesson.
September 4th, 2008 at 1:08 pm
To me, the guy didn’t look crestfallen. He looked pissed. Like “Who does that fat bitch think she is? Thinks she can do better than me? I’m going to get drunk and beat the shit out of her for humiliating me.”
Reason #47 to always drive yourself to a date (or at least carry cab fare and a phone number): If the moron springs a proposal on you that you have to decline, you don’t want to rely on him for a ride home.
September 4th, 2008 at 1:21 pm
Wasn’t this a prank?
September 4th, 2008 at 1:43 pm
Angie, you ARE evil. Such an editor, making me look shit up…
There are conflicting reports. Some of the “this is a joke” links are clearly not taking place at the same game, and there’s some talk that any “ha-ha, it was a joke” statements on the guy’s part are merely an attempt to make himself look like less of a loser.
If it makes one dude think twice about the high-pressure proposal, I don’t really care if it’s real or not.
It would make a good beer commercial, come to think of it…
Real men of geniiiiiuuuuus…
Mr. Proposed-in-front-of-millions-of-peeeeeee-heeple…