“Don’t let her hit me again,” I said.
Her mother glanced over to me, “Excuse me?”
“I said don’t let her hit me again.” I reiterated. Her daughter’s monosyllabic modulations masked my monotonically mentioned words.
The mother rolled her eyes and bent near her precious. “He doesn’t like to be touched,” she advised her four year old. She spoke the words as if having an aversion to assault was abnormal.
“No, I don’t like to be hit,” I reproved. I started to admonish her and educate her about the appropriate behavior of children in a civilized society and the rules of personal space, but I saw she was beyond reason. Anyone who would deem it socially acceptable to allow her child to stand in a public space and strike strangers is beyond social skills. And anyone who would judge it unreasonable to prevent a child from striking out is beyond cognitive skills.
I don’t understand why parents self-deceive. No one is amused by an out of control child. No one. Not even the ones who had the satiation of procreation. If this mother thought her daughter was so delightful, then why did she feign obliviousness instead of standing beside her offspring and offering her applause? Oh that’s right. It’s easier to ignore than to instruct and it’s easier to medicate than to educate. Society would rather provide a pill than give guidelines. The child crossed the line. The mother was out of line. And I got out of the line and went to another cashier. My God, we’re at the end of the line. Aren’t we?
November 14, 2007
