Maybe I'm oblivious, but I don't see a lot of prejudicial behaviors in public, except for one sector: Teenage boys. I've been out without my own, and watched store owners and patrons, pedestrians and other general-public-types take closer looks, become 'alert' , and raise eyebrows in a "I've got my eye on you" kind of way. They are being pre-judged based on age/gender.
Now, granted, this particular group of humans does have its downfalls. They are, every one of them, experiencing surging hormones along with the infamous frontal lobe regression. Some have driven their parents to the brink of insanity, and then left the house to see whom they could deliver there next. Some were never taught to respect other people and their possessions. Some have been hurt beyond anything we are capable of comprehending, and don't have what it takes to control their outlashes at a society that failed them.
But, in the grand scheme, most of them are good boys. I've spent hours at cross-country meets, crew meets, field trips all over the MOV and beyond, volunteering in classrooms, with smaller groups of them in my attic, in my kitchen, and my back yard. There's really only one that I've banned from the house, and that was because he had had way more than three strikes, and seemed to show no remorse for breaking rule after rule after rule. (and I'm not talking about small infractions. This kid was out for destruction of anything my family held in esteem or guarded as holy, and laughed like a demon when he accomplished it). All in all, these are good kids. They are bigger, smellier, louder and roudier than the cute little boys you once dressed in baby blue and cooed over, but they are the same being, and, inside, still want to be smiled at and loved.
The next time a teenage boy walks into a place of business, passes you on the sidewalk or rides his bike past your lawn, give him a smile and a wave...it might be the first one he's had all day. Remember, your adorable little tykes are going to grow into these awkward, finding-myself creatures one day. How do you want people to respond to them?
Now, granted, this particular group of humans does have its downfalls. They are, every one of them, experiencing surging hormones along with the infamous frontal lobe regression. Some have driven their parents to the brink of insanity, and then left the house to see whom they could deliver there next. Some were never taught to respect other people and their possessions. Some have been hurt beyond anything we are capable of comprehending, and don't have what it takes to control their outlashes at a society that failed them.
But, in the grand scheme, most of them are good boys. I've spent hours at cross-country meets, crew meets, field trips all over the MOV and beyond, volunteering in classrooms, with smaller groups of them in my attic, in my kitchen, and my back yard. There's really only one that I've banned from the house, and that was because he had had way more than three strikes, and seemed to show no remorse for breaking rule after rule after rule. (and I'm not talking about small infractions. This kid was out for destruction of anything my family held in esteem or guarded as holy, and laughed like a demon when he accomplished it). All in all, these are good kids. They are bigger, smellier, louder and roudier than the cute little boys you once dressed in baby blue and cooed over, but they are the same being, and, inside, still want to be smiled at and loved.
The next time a teenage boy walks into a place of business, passes you on the sidewalk or rides his bike past your lawn, give him a smile and a wave...it might be the first one he's had all day. Remember, your adorable little tykes are going to grow into these awkward, finding-myself creatures one day. How do you want people to respond to them?
