Nothing says "I hate you" like lead in the brain
Well, there's finally a U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission recall on a toy we own. It's for excessive levels of lead in its paint, and of course the toy was made in China.
My mama-bear reaction was to get really mad at China. The whole country of China, and all 1.3 billion citizens. Isabel was watching Ni Hao, Kai-lan when I read about the recall, and I wanted to go over and stop her from learning how to say "ni hao." That's how irrationally angry I was. It's hard to explain the protective instinct that changes my thinking. Suddenly it seems completely rational to consider going to China and dumping lead in the water supply for all the major cities so that they could see how they like raising a generation of IQ-stunted children (as if they aren't already; they must be, if their lead paint laws are so useless). I am not normally angry or vindictive, or prone to irrational thinking, but as soon as Isabel's health is threatened in any way, my rational thinking short-circuits and out come my claws. It's good to know this about myself, and that certain provocations can cause me to act outside my character. Fortunately, I don't think I would really do anything unreasonable, so I can just sit back and laugh at my crazy ideas.
