Calling a Spade a Spade
I know that I'm going to be skewered, and I'll probably offend a few people whom I otherwise love and respect, but I have to say something that's been brewing in my mind for a while now. To all of those people who are very vocal about the fact that they do not like children, I tell you: You are a bigot.
"They smell." "They don't know how to behave in public." "They shouldn't be allowed among normal people." If you were to say those things about blacks or Jews or gays or any other racial/ethnic/gender group (and variants of them have been said about all those groups at one time or another), people would call you out for it. You would be branded intolerant and shamed. People would point out to you that it's offensive to paint an entire group of people with the faults of a few individuals.I understand that many of you have had unpleasant experiences with individual children at one time or another, but to condemn children as a whole because some are poorly-behaved or (heaven forbid) not as sweet-smelling as yourself is no different than saying all blacks are criminals by nature, that all Russians are mobsters, that all gays are child molesters. It's not just wrong, it's insulting.
I love children. I like spending time with them and think that it's offensive to hear from otherwise open-minded people that they hate children and think that they should never see the light of day. It's rude, hurtful and disrespectful, as ALL bigotry is. So, while I don't want to infringe on your right to say what you think, I do want you to be honest with yourself. Stand up and say "I hate children and think that they should all be kept in closets." But right after that, look yourself in the eye and say "I'm a bigot, and I'm okay with that."
"They smell." "They don't know how to behave in public." "They shouldn't be allowed among normal people." If you were to say those things about blacks or Jews or gays or any other racial/ethnic/gender group (and variants of them have been said about all those groups at one time or another), people would call you out for it. You would be branded intolerant and shamed. People would point out to you that it's offensive to paint an entire group of people with the faults of a few individuals.I understand that many of you have had unpleasant experiences with individual children at one time or another, but to condemn children as a whole because some are poorly-behaved or (heaven forbid) not as sweet-smelling as yourself is no different than saying all blacks are criminals by nature, that all Russians are mobsters, that all gays are child molesters. It's not just wrong, it's insulting.
I love children. I like spending time with them and think that it's offensive to hear from otherwise open-minded people that they hate children and think that they should never see the light of day. It's rude, hurtful and disrespectful, as ALL bigotry is. So, while I don't want to infringe on your right to say what you think, I do want you to be honest with yourself. Stand up and say "I hate children and think that they should all be kept in closets." But right after that, look yourself in the eye and say "I'm a bigot, and I'm okay with that."