Sticks and stones
I recently, for the first time in my life, felt an overwhelming urge to put the smack down on a kid. How is that possible, you ask? Well, let me tell you, I’m not a violent person, but a few days ago in a park in Oslo I felt that deep unsettling urge to really cause pain.
I have a little sister. She’s the most beautiful little girl. Dark brown hair, bottomless brown eyes, skin that looks slightly tanned all the time. She’s surprisingly tall for her age considering where she is from originally, and solidly built like her ancestors. She’s good natured and loving, a little shy, especially around strangers, but she has a great sense of humour. Needless to say I adore her.
We were meeting my goddaughter, who is just a year older than my sister, and her mother to play in the park and have lunch together. We were meeting in Vigelandsparken or Frognerparken as it is known to those who live in Oslo, and as we were walking along towards the big sculptures in the park two kids walk towards us. Boys, probably about 6 years old, and not only does one of them make a comment about my sister being fat, which she really isn’t in the slightest, but he also managed to throw out a racial slur so offensive that I’m certainly not going to repeat it. It happened quickly, I’m not even sure my sister noticed, but I just wanted to turn around and kick that kid like a football to the other side of the park. My goddaughter on the other hand noticed and mentioned it, to which I said the kid was talking to me.
I just can’t help but thinking that the kid has picked all of that up somewhere, and if your child feels it’s ok to go around saying things like that to anyone, let alone perfect strangers, then you are seriously failing in your child rearing. We all know kids tease each other, and as much as I hate that my sister may experience some of that, it’s something I’m going to have to learn to live with and help her deal with if it does. But there is a difference between teasing someone in a schoolyard and just spewing shit like this to anyone you meet on the street. And at 6 you should know that it’s not acceptable behaviour.
I don’t live in Norway at the moment. I’m slowly coming to the realisation that I may never live there again, (of course now that I’ve said that, I’ll probably be moving back there within a year). Norway isn’t an easy country to live in. While it’s beautiful, wealthy and on the surface very liberal, there are so many deep-seated prejudices that appear regularly that it makes it difficult to deal with sometimes, whether it is related to race, body image, politics, sexuality. I worry about my sister sometimes. The fact that she was born in Ecuador and adopted makes her a very special gift to us, but to some children who are being taught by example at home, she may just be different enough to be someone to pick on. All we can do to counteract that is make sure that she knows she is loved, valued and worthy. That she is beautiful, smart and funny. And of course I’ll have to continue to control the urge to drop kick anyone who harms her in any way, shape or form.
I have a little sister. She’s the most beautiful little girl. Dark brown hair, bottomless brown eyes, skin that looks slightly tanned all the time. She’s surprisingly tall for her age considering where she is from originally, and solidly built like her ancestors. She’s good natured and loving, a little shy, especially around strangers, but she has a great sense of humour. Needless to say I adore her.
We were meeting my goddaughter, who is just a year older than my sister, and her mother to play in the park and have lunch together. We were meeting in Vigelandsparken or Frognerparken as it is known to those who live in Oslo, and as we were walking along towards the big sculptures in the park two kids walk towards us. Boys, probably about 6 years old, and not only does one of them make a comment about my sister being fat, which she really isn’t in the slightest, but he also managed to throw out a racial slur so offensive that I’m certainly not going to repeat it. It happened quickly, I’m not even sure my sister noticed, but I just wanted to turn around and kick that kid like a football to the other side of the park. My goddaughter on the other hand noticed and mentioned it, to which I said the kid was talking to me.
I just can’t help but thinking that the kid has picked all of that up somewhere, and if your child feels it’s ok to go around saying things like that to anyone, let alone perfect strangers, then you are seriously failing in your child rearing. We all know kids tease each other, and as much as I hate that my sister may experience some of that, it’s something I’m going to have to learn to live with and help her deal with if it does. But there is a difference between teasing someone in a schoolyard and just spewing shit like this to anyone you meet on the street. And at 6 you should know that it’s not acceptable behaviour.
I don’t live in Norway at the moment. I’m slowly coming to the realisation that I may never live there again, (of course now that I’ve said that, I’ll probably be moving back there within a year). Norway isn’t an easy country to live in. While it’s beautiful, wealthy and on the surface very liberal, there are so many deep-seated prejudices that appear regularly that it makes it difficult to deal with sometimes, whether it is related to race, body image, politics, sexuality. I worry about my sister sometimes. The fact that she was born in Ecuador and adopted makes her a very special gift to us, but to some children who are being taught by example at home, she may just be different enough to be someone to pick on. All we can do to counteract that is make sure that she knows she is loved, valued and worthy. That she is beautiful, smart and funny. And of course I’ll have to continue to control the urge to drop kick anyone who harms her in any way, shape or form.
posted by Annette at 11:02 AM
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