Saturday, September 26, 2009
The Sanctity of Motherhood
Everywhere I look I am told that our most important resource is our children, and everything should be done to ensure their care. I am also told that motherhood is sacred, and as a society we need to do all in our power to preserve the rights of all mothers everywhere.
I'm supposing this statement includes such wonderful mothers as Susan Smith. Ma Barker is another that comes to mind.
This afternoon while walking from one of my jobs to another I witnessed an incident that I would call child abuse. This abuse was perpetrated by what I have come to call the Angry Mommie Brigade. The Angry Mommie Brigade takes over the streets of Manhattan by ramming strollers into the ankles of pedestrians who are walking slower than the Angry Mommie wants to move, because the Angry Mommie happens to suck at time management and needs everyone else to pay the price for it.
This Angry Mommie was coming out of a storefront that may have been a store or a restaurant- I didn't notice, because I myself was in a bit of a hurry. The Angry Mommie was accompanied by her husband and three small children. The youngest was dutifully strapped into the right-hand seat of a twin stroller, while the other two children were on foot. The oldest, who could not have been more than four years old, sat in the open seat. He was a little too big to fit and was trying to settle in. The middle child, a girl, made no protest that this should have been her seat. She stood nearby, holding the hand of her father. The boy, still trying to squeeze himself into the seat was smiling, but only for a moment.
Angry Mommie suddenly and without any verbal warning, jerked the stroller sharply to the right, dumping the boy out of the seat onto the sidewalk.
"Why did you do that?" The startled boy asked.
"Because I told you not to sit there." Angry Mommie barked in reply.
The husband said and did nothing. It was another average day.
The boy did not cry and did not seem to be visibly bruised. Should I have called 911? I was unsure. One thing I was sure of- I was appalled. The parents were well dressed and walking in a very expensive part of Manhattan. These are the children that will grow up attending the best schools and getting the best opportunity to become pillars of the community. I shudder to think of what jobs they will get and who they will be affecting.
The saddest part of this story is that this is not a unique sighting. Far from the first and certainly not the last time I will witness such behavior. When I tell people about these incidents I am told it is best to mind my own business and not get involved.
It is unfortunate that there is no such thing as a parental license. Anyone can have a kid if they are biologically able, and the rich can have kids even if they're not biologically able. Because it's the most important thing one can do. To populate the planet with angry abused damaged souls.
I'm supposing this statement includes such wonderful mothers as Susan Smith. Ma Barker is another that comes to mind.
This afternoon while walking from one of my jobs to another I witnessed an incident that I would call child abuse. This abuse was perpetrated by what I have come to call the Angry Mommie Brigade. The Angry Mommie Brigade takes over the streets of Manhattan by ramming strollers into the ankles of pedestrians who are walking slower than the Angry Mommie wants to move, because the Angry Mommie happens to suck at time management and needs everyone else to pay the price for it.
This Angry Mommie was coming out of a storefront that may have been a store or a restaurant- I didn't notice, because I myself was in a bit of a hurry. The Angry Mommie was accompanied by her husband and three small children. The youngest was dutifully strapped into the right-hand seat of a twin stroller, while the other two children were on foot. The oldest, who could not have been more than four years old, sat in the open seat. He was a little too big to fit and was trying to settle in. The middle child, a girl, made no protest that this should have been her seat. She stood nearby, holding the hand of her father. The boy, still trying to squeeze himself into the seat was smiling, but only for a moment.
Angry Mommie suddenly and without any verbal warning, jerked the stroller sharply to the right, dumping the boy out of the seat onto the sidewalk.
"Why did you do that?" The startled boy asked.
"Because I told you not to sit there." Angry Mommie barked in reply.
The husband said and did nothing. It was another average day.
The boy did not cry and did not seem to be visibly bruised. Should I have called 911? I was unsure. One thing I was sure of- I was appalled. The parents were well dressed and walking in a very expensive part of Manhattan. These are the children that will grow up attending the best schools and getting the best opportunity to become pillars of the community. I shudder to think of what jobs they will get and who they will be affecting.
The saddest part of this story is that this is not a unique sighting. Far from the first and certainly not the last time I will witness such behavior. When I tell people about these incidents I am told it is best to mind my own business and not get involved.
It is unfortunate that there is no such thing as a parental license. Anyone can have a kid if they are biologically able, and the rich can have kids even if they're not biologically able. Because it's the most important thing one can do. To populate the planet with angry abused damaged souls.
