I was with my kids at our crowded local post office today. As you know, they always have displays of the speciality stamps one can buy. In her carrying voice, my oldest announced, “If I had the money, I’d buy the one to help prevent family violence.”
“Hmm,” I thought, “that’s interesting.”
So I asked, “Why?”
“Because that’s such a big problem for us,” she replied.
At that moment, every head in the post office turned my way. I kept my cool.
“What do you mean?”
“Well,” she said. “My little brother and I fight all the time.”
I couldn’t help myself. I burst out laughing, as everyone around us broke into relieved smiles. I explained that the family violence they were talking about was when the Mommy and Daddy had problems controlling themselves. She was satisfied with that, and announced that, if she had her druthers, she’d buy the stamp booklet to help wild animals.
Thank God we got that whole thing out in the open before someone called Child Protective Services!
Filed under: Silly Stuff
I don’t know that anyone not living in CA or places similar has a clue as to the actual threat represented by your daughter’s remark. Around here (Chattanooga area), I don’t think it would be a big deal……but in the Bay Area? Serious. You could get the knock on the door, and the State would take custody of your kids, probably letting you keep them, but only so long as your performance was approved.
Interesting times in which to live.
I may not live in California, but I did read 1984 and studied WWII historical events concerning children in Germany. All I have to do is to juxtapose the events, and decrease the percent duty cycle by 50%, and it more or less correlates.
You know that old joke from “Airplane”, where the guy says he has a drinking problem and then tries to drink from a glass and pours it down his shirt?
I spilled my glass at the dinner table one night when my son was in first grade and sadly announced that I obviously had a drinking problem.; the next day he was telling all his friends about daddy’s problem…
I wonder when the term ‘family violence’ entered the MSM lexicon? born during the Clinton era?
The MSM have a motive in pushing the term. It sells a lot of their TV news, investigations, sitcoms, madeforTV movies (and regular movies, too, I suppose.)
It’s also a weapon of stigmatization; in your story everyone, sensitized to the idea, turns to check out the source. With Earl, I hope you were really able to dissuade them.
An ‘out of the mouth of babes’ moment:
My three year old firmly and LOUDLY told an elderly veteran, who was sitting in front of the Air Force Base Commissary, “Smoking makes you DEAD!” Luckily, the gentleman took it in stride and told him it was a bad habit and he hoped my son would never smoke. My son solemnly told him that he wouldn’t, as they shook hands.
Think we’d gone a bit heavy on the no smoking message?
Children are easy to brainwash. Most of the time it isn’t permanent. Hopefully.