IN the NEWS: "Bittersweet Success" Edition
At least it begins with some refreshing honesty: MeMe Roth, a publicist and an Upper West Side mother of two, is getting really, really mad - “and I do not mean angry,” she clarified. “I mean mad, like crazy.” Ms. Roth is being driven mad by Public School 9, where her children are in second and fourth grades, and it seems that P.S. 9, in turn, is being driven mad by Ms. Roth.
If I had not noticed the headline, I'd have wondered: what persistent irritation could lead to such a heated battle? Did this mother send the school a bill for all the cuteness her kids were broadcasting? Are the kids being publicly spanked at various teachers' whims? Did Ms. Roth paint over all the lines in the faculty parking lot? Are the children being given knives as school party favors?
No, comrades; according to her, it is even more disturbing than that: Ms. Roth, who runs a group called National Action Against Obesity, has no problem with the school lunches provided at the highly regarded elementary school on Columbus Avenue and 84th Street. What sets her off is the junk food served on special occasions: the cupcakes that come out for every birthday, the doughnuts her children were once given in gym, the sugary “Fun-Dip” packets that some parent provided the whole class on Valentine’s Day.
The irritation is slightly more understandable, then. Given her outrage, Ms. Roth's helpless offspring must be getting singled out and strapped down while assorted classmates and teachers brutalize them with delectable sugary morsels of happiness. Powerless to stop this assault, the little ones have apparently cried out to their heroic mother so that she may defend them from the unrelenting terror: Ms. Roth and her husband, Ben, say they were told by Helene Moffatt, a school safety official, that if they considered the regular dissemination of junk food a threat to their children’s health and safety - and indeed, they do - they should request a health and safety transfer, something that generally follows threats of violence. That transfer request, they were told, would also require filing a complaint with the police.
“What would that conversation even sound like?” asked Mr. Roth, who works in marketing. “ ‘We know you guys are dealing with stabbings and shootings, but stop everything: We have a cupcake situation’ ?”
He gets it, to some degree: "put up or shut up". Odd though this surely is, Ms. Roth's actions can be mostly excused, since she is merely exercising her duty of care of her children, and permitting others to raise their own: Her extreme methods have earned her attention before: The police were called to a Y.M.C.A. in 2007 when she absconded with the sprinkles and syrups on a table where members were being served ice cream. That was Ms. Roth who called Santa Claus fat on television that Christmas, and she has a continuing campaign against the humble Girl Scout cookies, on the premise that no community activity should promote unhealthy eating.
Seriously, though: I'll give her that last one, as those damnable wafers have turned many parents and a few kids into pushy, intrusive jerks (without even being nearly as delicious as Trail's End popcorn).
Q: Why childfree? Roth's mother, father, grandmother and uncles are all obese. Her father weighs 300lb. Her mother is diabetic. Her grandmother needs 24-hour nursing care. When I ask what her family thinks of her crusade, she acknowledges that "it's hurtful", but says they are "highly supportive". The thing is, Roth doesn't just see her parents as victims of obesity: "I've been to obesity," she says, "and I don't want anyone else to go there."
A: Certain people do not mix well with "OMG, for teh childrens!!"
The sad part about this is that the content of the message is (mostly) on-target; it's her delivery that needs some polish. It's not as if most listeners would react by saying "actually, American children's daily cupcake consumption is terribly low. Please stop spreading your lies". When a person can be that irritating even though most of the evidence supports her general point, that's impressive. (Be sure to read the end of the latter story for additional facepalm and headdesk.)
If I had not noticed the headline, I'd have wondered: what persistent irritation could lead to such a heated battle? Did this mother send the school a bill for all the cuteness her kids were broadcasting? Are the kids being publicly spanked at various teachers' whims? Did Ms. Roth paint over all the lines in the faculty parking lot? Are the children being given knives as school party favors?
No, comrades; according to her, it is even more disturbing than that: Ms. Roth, who runs a group called National Action Against Obesity, has no problem with the school lunches provided at the highly regarded elementary school on Columbus Avenue and 84th Street. What sets her off is the junk food served on special occasions: the cupcakes that come out for every birthday, the doughnuts her children were once given in gym, the sugary “Fun-Dip” packets that some parent provided the whole class on Valentine’s Day.
The irritation is slightly more understandable, then. Given her outrage, Ms. Roth's helpless offspring must be getting singled out and strapped down while assorted classmates and teachers brutalize them with delectable sugary morsels of happiness. Powerless to stop this assault, the little ones have apparently cried out to their heroic mother so that she may defend them from the unrelenting terror: Ms. Roth and her husband, Ben, say they were told by Helene Moffatt, a school safety official, that if they considered the regular dissemination of junk food a threat to their children’s health and safety - and indeed, they do - they should request a health and safety transfer, something that generally follows threats of violence. That transfer request, they were told, would also require filing a complaint with the police.
“What would that conversation even sound like?” asked Mr. Roth, who works in marketing. “ ‘We know you guys are dealing with stabbings and shootings, but stop everything: We have a cupcake situation’ ?”
He gets it, to some degree: "put up or shut up". Odd though this surely is, Ms. Roth's actions can be mostly excused, since she is merely exercising her duty of care of her children, and permitting others to raise their own: Her extreme methods have earned her attention before: The police were called to a Y.M.C.A. in 2007 when she absconded with the sprinkles and syrups on a table where members were being served ice cream. That was Ms. Roth who called Santa Claus fat on television that Christmas, and she has a continuing campaign against the humble Girl Scout cookies, on the premise that no community activity should promote unhealthy eating.
Seriously, though: I'll give her that last one, as those damnable wafers have turned many parents and a few kids into pushy, intrusive jerks (without even being nearly as delicious as Trail's End popcorn).
Q: Why childfree? Roth's mother, father, grandmother and uncles are all obese. Her father weighs 300lb. Her mother is diabetic. Her grandmother needs 24-hour nursing care. When I ask what her family thinks of her crusade, she acknowledges that "it's hurtful", but says they are "highly supportive". The thing is, Roth doesn't just see her parents as victims of obesity: "I've been to obesity," she says, "and I don't want anyone else to go there."
A: Certain people do not mix well with "OMG, for teh childrens!!"
The sad part about this is that the content of the message is (mostly) on-target; it's her delivery that needs some polish. It's not as if most listeners would react by saying "actually, American children's daily cupcake consumption is terribly low. Please stop spreading your lies". When a person can be that irritating even though most of the evidence supports her general point, that's impressive. (Be sure to read the end of the latter story for additional facepalm and headdesk.)