Sunday, February 18, 2007
Swearing at babies on a sunday morning stroll
Today we went to Heaton Park to attempt to get the cold air to blow away the remnants of our illnesses. It looks like the ducks have been stricken with the same lethargy - they seemed very reluctant to take the bread we were chucking at them. Normally they bite my hand off.
I love wandering round Heaton Park. I think it's one of Manchester's finest treasures and I am sceptical of any plans to build on it, as are being mooted at present. But one thing that got me today was the unbelievable language being used by parents in front of their kids. Now, I don't have any kids, so I don't know what drives parents to do it, but on a number of occasions they were just screaming obscenities towards them or about them, or between themselves comfortably within ear-shot of them. When I was growing up I don't think I heard my parents swear once! Even now it's a rarity, and I wince when I hear the swear to be "cool" towards me. And I certainly don't swear in front of them, excpet on the rarest of occasions.
And yet here there were toddlers, little kids, swearing like they were sailors on the deck of a Navy frigate in a war-zone hurricane, and being sworn at by their parents. How hard can it be not to swear around children? Surely they've got to be taught that certain words are unacceptable in public? Am I asking too much of parents? I don't know - I'm not one. But surely that's the minimum expectation?
It almost took the shine off seeing the alpacas. But not quite.
I'm off leafletting in half an hour. I will steal a few hundred more to do in the week as well. Now that I can withstand an hour in the park without keeling over, I can manage a leaflet round!
Rick
I love wandering round Heaton Park. I think it's one of Manchester's finest treasures and I am sceptical of any plans to build on it, as are being mooted at present. But one thing that got me today was the unbelievable language being used by parents in front of their kids. Now, I don't have any kids, so I don't know what drives parents to do it, but on a number of occasions they were just screaming obscenities towards them or about them, or between themselves comfortably within ear-shot of them. When I was growing up I don't think I heard my parents swear once! Even now it's a rarity, and I wince when I hear the swear to be "cool" towards me. And I certainly don't swear in front of them, excpet on the rarest of occasions.
And yet here there were toddlers, little kids, swearing like they were sailors on the deck of a Navy frigate in a war-zone hurricane, and being sworn at by their parents. How hard can it be not to swear around children? Surely they've got to be taught that certain words are unacceptable in public? Am I asking too much of parents? I don't know - I'm not one. But surely that's the minimum expectation?
It almost took the shine off seeing the alpacas. But not quite.
I'm off leafletting in half an hour. I will steal a few hundred more to do in the week as well. Now that I can withstand an hour in the park without keeling over, I can manage a leaflet round!
Rick
# posted by Richard Baum @ 15:13 
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I saw a two year old being sworn at for crying waiting for a bus in Norwich a few days ago. The mother just stoof their hurling abuse at this child who was clearly tired and upset, but actually was no more trouble than that.
I wanted to go over to her and tell her to stop, but you can't interfere in such circumstances.
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I wanted to go over to her and tell her to stop, but you can't interfere in such circumstances.
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