i have been accused of hating children.
the truth is, i don't.

i actually like kids.

what i DO hate, though, is the way out society conceptualizes children.
and society is very schizophrenic about kids, generally.

on one level, the children are seen as innocent.
uncorrupted, innocent beings that represent all that was good about humanity
before we allegedly fell from God's grace.

children represent a world before the evils of sex.
a world before the dangers of drugs.
a world that is completely detached from the evils of the adult world.



then again, we-- as a society-- hate children.
hate them.

because they are out here in the streets.
they're cussing before they even get to college.
they hang out together and form gangs.
they listen to subversive music.

and we really need to get them under control
because all will be lost if we don't punish them harshly and severely
for moving too soon in the adult world.


kid smokes pot?
lock them up, throw them away.

kid talks back to a teacher?
put them in special classes.

kid won't pull up their pants?
well it's no wonder they get harnessed by cops.
these kids deserve that.




the truth is "the children" are neither infaliable nor evil.
they are people. super dumb little people.
they fuck up sometimes, and they get some things right.

and rest assured, they had some inchoate thoughts about sex before they saw it on TV.
because humans generally are preoccupied with sex.

rest assured, some kids had interest in drugs.
not most of them. but some of them.

putting the kid in prison won't make that go away.

please don't lock this post because i am talking about a broader point here.



the way we think of the children is ridiculous,
and the people that suffer most because of our draconian methods of protecting them are, ironically, children.



how many bad ideas can we justify in the name we of the children?



any law with a cloying name that was passed because a white girl died?
artistic censorship?
oppressing gay ppl?
the war on drugs?

none of this stuff is helping the children.
I don't care how many pictures of "crack babies" you show me,
it can't justify this.

I don't care how many pictures of kids wearing matching clothes for
gang colors, it can't justify this.


seriously, every time i hear somebody say "think of the children,"
i almost think that i hate kids.

but i don't.

the kids are alright.

i just hate the ppl that claim to think about them when they want to
get their dumb laws passed.


"think of the children" is just as grating as "support the troops."

the phrase helps no one.