As I entered the library today, I noticed two things: a new photography exhibit lining the western wall, and a kid being bitched out by his Dad. This poor pre-pubescent kid was enduring a public barrage of "you need to learn respect" and "no more video games" due to some nefarious (and likely anti-Christian) offense he had committed with some friends. The father's argument was, as much as I could piece it together, that the son had decided to "play the video games" with his friends instead of helping with some bullshit around the house. Couple of thoughts I had on this...
1). Where's the kids mother? She's probably one of the pill-popping wino suburbanites who play Christian to appear socially-upstanding. Clearly, she drives an SUV of the large and obnoxious variety, the tailgate of which is peppered with all the 99-cent patriotism one can afford. Three books on her nightstand: Sarah Palin's autobiography, Twilight, and a bible that has pretty flowers etched into a protective leather cover. She'd never admit it in public, but that Ann Coulter makes a lot of sense. She's not happy that a black couple moved in three houses down, but boy oh boy can she whip up one heckuva pecan pie.
2). What is this guy trying to make up for? What is he so afraid of letting slip away? His lack of vocabulary to describe the video games he was bemoaning leads me to believe his lecture was more the result of peer expectations than his own true feelings on the subject. Why donate all that money to church if they weren't giving sound parenting advice, right? Perhaps there was even a six-part series recently, a post Christmas, start-the-New-Year-on-the-right-track oeuvre of lectures that promised a renaissance of family values through strict parenting while focusing on the dangers of technology and, of course, porn. Lots and lots of gooey porn.
3). I don't have a family, so I could be totally full of shit.* However, I do have parents, and I can identify the source of our mutual discontent, and it all stems from a lack of communication. The inability to understand doesn't have to be a precedent for anger or an imposition of one's will. When a kid screws up and needs to be disciplined, well, that's life. But to publicly embarrass and berate your child to prove how good of a parent you are- I'm thinking the problem isn't the child, it's you. Not to mention, kids who are good at video games these days have legitimate career options, and these careers are ten times more lucrative than going door to door selling vacuums.
I wanted to say something, I wanted to tell the kid, "save your money, go to college as far away as possible, and don't ever, under any circumstance, allow your parents to drive you away from the life you want to live." But, I didn't. It's not my place, although I don't think I would've been hurting this particular kid in any way. I don't know. What's the proper course of action when you see a resentment being born in real-time? Oh well. Poor kid got an earful and he won't be playing video games for a while, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. The part I have a problem with is what happens next: does the kid evaluate what is important in life and use this experience to his benefit, or is he going to withdraw into his own world of fantasy even more, slowly shutting the doors of parent/child communication...
Anyway, yeah. I'm not a parent for a reason(s), obviously...
P.S. Ann Coulter looks like the byproduct of an anorexic llama who banged one of those hooded horseman from "Fellowship of the Rings." I bet it coughs and lets out a puff of white smoke when you touch it...Kind of like when they elect a new Pope.
*It's true.
