There’s a car in a neighborhood not too far from here. Someone has written on the back window “Honk “4 Fuck Trump”. The car has been marked like that for months and the owner routinely drives it around. Here’s what it looks like:
Imagine that you’re a parent with a youngster just starting to read. You’re sitting at a stoplight and your kid is trying to read the back of the car in front of you. They’re still learning so they have to sound things out. “Hoooonnnk…Fooooor…Fuuuuuck…”. I suspect you’ll be hoping the light turns green before they finish the third word.
Or, you could be one of the people who simply lives near where the car is parked. Would you be comfortable with your kids playing in the front yard or the nearby park? I’m guessing you wouldn’t.
I guess you could just ask the guy to remove the sign but I sure wouldn’t. Someone not possessing enough brain cells to realize this is inappropriate may not be thinking rationally and could quite possibly be dangerous.
So he doesn’t like the President. I get that. A lot of people don’t. But there are other ways for him to make his point. I find it difficult to understand how someone could have such a lack of respect for their neighbors.
There used to be something called “common decency”. Common decency is the everyday respect, courtesy and politeness that is expected by social convention. The rules weren’t always written down, but everyone seemed to know where the line was drawn. You showed respect to your elders, you didn’t cuss in front of your mother and you didn’t use profanity in plain view of kids.
The owner of the car has every right to put that on his window. He also has the right to park the car on the street for everyone to see. But, just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should. The use of first amendment rights, without the use of common sense, has brought about the demise of common decency.
I’m really glad I no longer have a youngster in my home, because, unfortunately, the problem isn’t just limited to a single idiot in a small neighborhood. The first amendment is being used to justify bad behavior everywhere making it nearly impossible for parents to protect their children’s innocence.
When my son was young, it was pretty easy to keep him away from things that weren’t age appropriate. We could monitor his Internet usage and keep track of what he was exposed to. But these days, with the ease of media sharing, and nearly every kid having their own cell phone, parents are fighting a losing battle.
Kids have almost immediate access to increasingly explicit content. Though, if you’ve seen the lyrics to the song WAP by Cardi B, it’s hard to imagine that things could get more explicit than they already are. The song doesn’t just cross the line that defines good taste, it obliterates it. Just to make some money.
Trying to keep your kids away from things you don’t want them to see is a battle that can’t be won. Not only do you have to try to keep your kids protected from multi-national corporations, you also have to keep them from seeing your dick neighbor’s car.
People say whatever they want whenever they want. And, while it’s true that they have that right, it doesn’t actually make it right. There are some lines that decent people won’t cross.
